* Follow-up below

Globescape puts out a pretty nice FTP program. Cute FTP allows you to transfer files as well as edit files directly on the server. It’s pretty rich in features. I recently received an incentive to upgrade from version 7 to version 8 of this program, however after upgrading, the email I received was disturbing. Printed next to my new license key were the words, “each computer requires one license.”

Now, as many of you know, I work a heck of a lot. This mean I work at home, at another office and also when on the road. As a result I work from at least three computers on any given day. Now if I can only install this program on only one of three computers, I am screwed… actually my wallet is screwed and I have to eat a lot of spaghetti for the next couple weeks.

When I saw this message in my email, I promptly hit the support link and sent them an email. I told them that if I can’t install this on the different computers I use (insert explanation here), then refund me. There are several other FTP programs out there that I can use freely. They might not be as simple to use (to edit and transfer as an all-in-one solution), but they sure are cheaper. I want them to know that I won’t take that kind of crap.

If you are in the same boat, let me know. I’ll offer up some solutions and you too can tell Globescape to go blow.

** Follow-up

So, Globescape got back to my email regarding the problem I have with their licensing. The letter they wrote was a surprise.

We apologize about any misunderstanding concerning the terms of the license.  The restriction to one computer has always been a part of the license.  Note that we do also allow the primary user of a computer for which a license has been purchased to use one copy of the Software on his or her portable computer.

Having reviewed your account  I see that you have been a CuteFTP user since at least 2001.  We appreciate your business and would hate to see you go away over something like this so I’m upgrading your single-seat license to a 2-seat license for free.  This means you are licensed for two main computers (and two portable computers).  You can use the same serial number that you have now.

That does certainly make things better. I rescind my rant.

Going back a few posts, I write about the acquisition of a few game servers for use on MODSonline.com. I had big ideas that I am still working to implement. I wanted to allow members to upload their maps and, shortly thereafter, play them online with anyone who wants to join them.

Well, these plans might not make it to reality. The server company that is sponsoring our efforts has switched ownership and they are asking me to pay for the servers. Part of what makes this possible is the fact that I don’t have to pay for the servers. Instead, I offer advertising publicity.

Those of you who know me (even from MODSonair) know that I like to rant. I certainly hope this doesn’t become another topic of rant, but I have a feeling it will.We should see what’s happening within the week. You might want to tune into the next couple shows of MODSonair to see what happens.

In case you didn’t know, I’ve been heading up a weekly podcast for over a year a now. MODSonair is a show covering gaming topics in the news that relate around the MODSonline.com community. A lot of PC gaming topics are covered.

I recently started getting into using Google documents to write the weekly topics list. The benefit is that I can invite the other hosts of the show to view the topics list rather than having to email it to them after every change as we approach the weekly recording date. This topics list contains the title of an article we will discuss as well as any relevant URLS. We can use these links to research the topic for discussion and then post these notes along with the show for the listeners to follow-up on if the want.
In using Google documents, I resurrected an old utility that is starting to become out dated. I used to use notepad which didn’t accept text formatting… a good thing for easy-to-read notes. However, Google Documents don’t strip out the formatting of text such as the copied title of an article found online. This utility for FireFox does that very easily.

CopyPlusURL is a Firefox extension that allows you to customize what is copied when you right click your selection on a page. I set it up to copy the selected text, insert a line break, then also copy the URL of the page. This is perfect for the topics list. The problem is that this extension is only good for FireFox 1.8 and older and we are up to version 2.0. Luckily, I found a fix and I will post it here for you now… good for reference for me too later when I forget.

• Download this modified version of the extension. Follow the prompt to install.
• Restart Firefox and then close it again.
• Navigate to your preferences file for Firefox. It should be located at C:\Documents and Settings\\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\
  \prefs.js
• Open prefs.js with a plain text editor.
• Locate any lines that start as:
  user_pref(”copyurlplus
• Delete these lines and then you can start to add your own. For information, search google for the CopyPlusURL website. It’s old, but contains all the information you would need. I added the following lines for the MODSonair topics:
  user_pref(”copyurlplus.menus.1.copy”, “%EOL%%EOL%- %SEL%%EOL%%URL%”);
  user_pref(”copyurlplus.menus.1.label”, “MODSonair”);
• Save the new js file. Close the file. Restart Firefox. Open a page, select some text and right click to find your new options.

Now, if you want to know about recording methods, setup ,etc., that’s a whole other post. You’ll have to coax me into posting that one. lol.