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Groups > comp.lang.java.programmer > #20091

Re: Arranging free trials for online services.

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On 03/12/2012 19:45, Roedy Green allegedly wrote:
> I was disturbed when a grammar checking online service wanted my
> credit card before they would even let me see the product.  I
> declined.
> 
> Then I started to wonder what such a service could to prevent people
> from getting endless free trials.  Software you install can hide
> something in the registry, but what can online software do?
> 
> They have used a credit card number, which presumably they can check
> for validity, and prevent reuse, then issue a login/password for the
> trial period.
> 
> It would be nice if people had unique ids.  Perhaps someday everyone
> will get a code-signing cert to use as online ID.
> 
> You could track IP, but a student at a university plugging in anywhere
> to a campus net would get a different IP and many students would get
> the same IP.
> 
> You could run some JWS signed code to snoop on the CPU ID, but that
> can be turned off and AMD chips don't have one.
> 
> Ideas?

I'm not enthused, to say the least, by your suggestion to fix certain
people's business model by an invasion of everyone's privacy -- not to
mention the inevitable statist structure which maintaining such a scheme
would require.

-- 
DF.

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Thread

Arranging free trials for online services. Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2012-12-03 10:45 -0800
  Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2012-12-03 10:53 -0800
  Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Leif Roar Moldskred <leifm@dimnakorr.com> - 2012-12-03 14:06 -0600
  Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> - 2012-12-03 22:22 -0500
  Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Daniele Futtorovic <da.futt.news@laposte-dot-net.invalid> - 2012-12-04 16:02 +0100
    Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2012-12-04 18:06 -0800
      Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2012-12-05 10:39 -0800
        Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2012-12-05 14:27 -0800
      Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Daniele Futtorovic <da.futt.news@laposte-dot-net.invalid> - 2012-12-06 00:18 +0100
  Re: Arranging free trials for online services. "Chris Uppal" <chris.uppal@metagnostic.REMOVE-THIS.org> - 2012-12-04 18:31 +0000
    Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2012-12-04 12:59 -0800
    Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Roedy Green <see_website@mindprod.com.invalid> - 2012-12-04 18:02 -0800
      Re: Arranging free trials for online services. "Chris Uppal" <chris.uppal@metagnostic.REMOVE-THIS.org> - 2012-12-15 12:24 +0000
    Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Gene Wirchenko <genew@telus.net> - 2012-12-13 09:01 -0800
  Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Joshua Cranmer <Pidgeot18@verizon.invalid> - 2012-12-06 11:01 -0600
    Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Leif Roar Moldskred <leifm@dimnakorr.com> - 2012-12-06 11:50 -0600
      Re: Arranging free trials for online services. Lew <lewbloch@gmail.com> - 2012-12-06 10:49 -0800

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