A Technical Look at D&D Insider Applications

Mercule · Oct 24, 2007

JVisgaitis said:
If I read the phrase "Windows rich" one more time I think my head would asplod.

Erm... You're breaking down the phrase the wrong way. It's not Windows that's rich, it's the client. I work on a development team that does both web and desktop applications. The term "rich client" is used to differentiate a desktop interface from a web interface. Calling it a "rich client" also implies that there is communication between the client application and a server somewhere -- in this case the DDI database.

If it was built for Macintosh, it would be correct to call it a "Mac rich client" application. If it was cross-platform (or the platform was understood by the whole audience), simply saying "rich client" would be appropriate.

Sorry. What you're reading isn't random hype. It's an industry term that relates definite meaning and was being used correctly.

Scribble · Oct 24, 2007

epochrpg said:
I like that. It is much harder to steal, and easier to notice if someone else has. You go into a bookstore to buy a D&D book-- you have no way of knowing if someone has copied the serial number already and is using the digital version themselves. But if they do this via CD, then you can easily see-- the cd is missing from this book! Physical ownership of the CD could be enough to prove ownership of the book. I hope they go this route.

If you also include a serial number for each book, then you can also make it easier for stores to report CDs as missing. Then if wizards checks its DB and sees a book registered that is reported as missing, they can take action. (Or just turn off that book.)

Reaper Steve · Oct 24, 2007

Scott_Rouse said:
The codes will be unique to each book and you will not need to be a D&D Insider subscriber to activate the E-Book version.

So my PHB will have a different code than yours? If so, good.
And then to activate the code someone pays a couple bucks via credit card, which then identifies the register. (The theory being if someone copies the code and activates it, they can be tracked.) Ok, also cool with that.

But is there a way to protect the code from being stolen in the first place? I'd hate to buy a book and then find out the code has been used when I try to register. What will the solution be for that? Will I have to email WotC and wait for them to investigate the issue? But if the code is protected via a sticker or a strach off or something, and a pirate removes that in the store, that book won't sell. 'Oh look, a whole rack of 4E, with all the codes scratched off.'

I'm not being flip... I'm intrigued as to how they will make this work without overly inconvienencing the honest people. I hope it does work, but I have to wonder: at what cost?

Lackhand · Oct 24, 2007

If they discover a rack of books with the codes scratched off, the store can return them for refunds, and wizards can "eat the cost".

Then, they can see who used the codes to register the books: they have the physical book in their possession, so they have proof that something fishy went on.

Then, they can either sell the erstwhile thief the book (possibly with a penalty, to reflect all that tracking-down time?) or take 'em to court.

Either way, You, the Innocent Consumer, don't really have to worry too much

If you *do* have the physical book in your possession but the code doesn't work, again, they can take whatever relevant steps are necessary.

And if someone just scratches off the code, but doesn't use it, this is petty vandalism. I have no idea what bookstores do for that now, but they'd continue to do it here.

All in all, a pretty slick solution. Embed the identifying information (including & especially the *credit card numbers*) in plain view on every page of the .pdf, and you bind the .pdf pretty securely to the purchaser.

A pirate could still bust open the pdf and reencode it without the watermark, but at least Wizards got $1 out of them, and they could do this before with a scanner and free time. This way, if they slip up, there's a chance of still nabbing 'em.

Lackhand · Oct 24, 2007

Actually, putting the credit card number in the order would be unnecessarily punitive. Gleemax name + password, plus real world name, should be sufficient.

The worry is that the parents of kids would be unwilling to purchase the books for them, which is a fair concern.

Zaruthustran · Oct 25, 2007

Reaper Steve said:
So my PHB will have a different code than yours? I'd hate to buy a book and then find out the code has been used when I try to register.

I think what he meant by "the code will be unique to each book" is that each book (like, say, "Player's Handbook") will have its own code. Not that each copy of a book will have a unique code.

In publishing, the term "book" = title/product. Not an actual, finished individual item.

Scott, please correct me if I'm misinterpreting.

Reaper Steve · Oct 25, 2007

Zaruthustran said:
I think what he meant by "the code will be unique to each book" is that each book (like, say, "Player's Handbook") will have its own code. Not that each copy of a book will have a unique code.

Scott, please correct me if I'm misinterpreting.

I'm asking because Scott's answer could be interpreted two ways based on the original question.
Remathilis stated: "I doubt the codes will be unique to each book. More likely, there will be one generic code for each book."
Scott answered the code will be unique to each book. Does that mean:
1) each copy of the PHB will have its very one code, no two are alike, or
2) The PHB code is different from the DMG code.

I'm hoping (1) and I am intrigued as to how they will do it. (2) is certainly much easier, but would be an exercise in futility as it would do nothing to prevent access.

occam · Oct 25, 2007

Charwoman Gene said:
Well, except the cost is high. On the order of $300 between a legal virtualizable copy of windows and the cost for parallels.

And the cost is much higher than mere money, my friend.

In most cases, one must make a conscious choice to use a Mac instead of a Windows PC. There are reasons people make that choice, and almost none of them are "so I can run programs in Windows". Offering that as an option to "support" Mac users is... well, to be charitable, unfortunate.

occam · Oct 25, 2007

Kravell said:
Of course Wizards can charge any price they want for anything they sell. However, Paizo, a much smaller company, offers free PDFs to me when I buy the paper copy of Pathfinder by subscription.

If I'm already paying for online content why not get my PDFs free from Wizards as well if I buy the paper copy of a book? As a consumer I think that is a very good question. Why does Paizo give me a better deal than Wizards when Wizards is bigger, sells more, and controls a large portion of the market?

The key word in your second sentence is "subscription". Paizo won't give you a free PDF if you buy one of their products in a store, or even if you buy an individual product from their Website. You need a subscription, which means you have an account with them, they know who you are, and there's an ongoing financial relationship. It's worth it to Paizo to encourage that, and makes it easier to prevent fraud.

Also, as has been pointed out by others, WotC isn't just providing a PDF of the book (if that is indeed what it ends up being), but integration with the DDI tools.

Scott_Rouse · Oct 25, 2007

Zaruthustran said:
I think what he meant by "the code will be unique to each book" is that each book (like, say, "Player's Handbook") will have its own code. Not that each copy of a book will have a unique code.

In publishing, the term "book" = title/product. Not an actual, finished individual item.

Scott, please correct me if I'm misinterpreting.

Each copy will have a unique code. No two are alike