Catalogs on DVD

[clif]

has anybody else been tempted by the idea of catalogs on DVD? 

example

this seems like a bargain beyond compare to me ... the ability to zoom in on the text ... the not having to manhandle heavy and bulky catalogs ... the ability to print the pages you actually need ... 

is it legit? 

** disclaimer ... I may or may not have already purchased one and am wondering if I should feel guilty about having done so/considering doing so ...

[Craig]

I just bought one. I have the 2005 Scott set on DVD, and this would be an update (2009) for me. And at about eight bucks delivered, it's worth chancing it.

Thanks for the link!

[khj]

I assume you are referring to the Scott software catalogs. The genuine Scott 2009 software set requires registration and has the Adobe direct print capabilities disabled.

Which basically means that all the 2009 Scott DVDs on ---- are illegal pirated copies. If you can direct print on your 2009 pdfs, they are illegal pirated copies. All on one DVD, guaranteed to be illegal copies.

It is also very very hard to find a legitimate 2007 set (those are on CDs). Can't tell you how many vendors I went through, almost all of them were pirated CDs.

Legitimate Scott CDs are manufactured, not burned. There are easy ways to tell a pirated copy just by looking at the CD. But if you have ever owned one purchased directly from Amos, there is a world of difference in the quality.

One time, I did purchase a 2007 CD that was quite convincing initially (it was professionally shrink-wrapped. But the CD was clearly burned. The printing on the CD and jewel case were quite good quality. But there was a typo on the CD jacket!!! It said "GLASSIC" instead of "CLASSIC"! I still have that jacket somewhere. I will scan it if I can find it. Always go by the CD/DVD, not the packaging. Again, genuine CDs/DVDs are always manufactured CDs, not burned.

I did quite a bit of studying and tracking of 2005-2009 pirated Scott software catalogs. Amos really shot themselves in the foot with their business model. They sold the sofware at $5-$10 less than the print catalog. Greatly annoyed people like me who purchased legal software directly from Amos. Then to stop the piracy, they forced registration and disabled the print function.

All this (pricing, copy-protection, disabled printing), opened up the illegal software market. Amos shot themselves in the foot. I'm disappointed that I can no longer purchase new software from Amos. But they are the ones who drove away their customer base with an overly-priced and eventually unusable product.

Their recent software offering is better quality, but again limited functionality. If they keep it as is, this new software product line will also fail.