One of the big new features in Avid’s 3.5 Media Composer update that was released last week was the elimination of the hardware dongle for copy protection. The dongle has been long hated by many since it takes up a USB port, has to be updated with it’s own licensing information and software on occasion, can be forgotten or lost if you aren’t careful and can even be accidentally destroyed! No dongle means your Avid software won’t run. A plus of the Avid dongle is that you can install your software on different computers and legally run the app as long as you have your dongle to plug in.  Avid has decided to move to a software/Internet based licensing system with the new version. Like any big change, you can’t make everyone happy.

Enter the website Save the Dongle. I got a Twitter from Dylan Reeve that there are folks out there that actually want to keep that little thing around. If you are one of them then click over to Save the Dongle and make your voice heard. They are pushing to always have the option of hardware dongle OR online authorization of the software. I guess that would make the best of both worlds. It just goes to show that if you are making software with a large installed base you can never make everyone happy!

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