filmscanners: Re: SilverFast Upgrade Disaster

[Allen Graves <ahgraves@prodigy.net>]

Title: Re: SilverFast Upgrade Disaster

I bought on Sunday. 8/5 and  couldn't upgrade the demo. I e-mailed for the passwords (including the scanner model, OS, language and serial number_ the first 3 are required to get the right password).  I had an answer within 4 hours. The upgrade includes quite a bit of added functionality. I have had to pay for upgrades that were far less of an improvement functionally (ref. almost any Microsoft upgrade in its first, buggy, iteration). I also get  the impression that LaserSoft is a relatively small operation -especially on the retail end-but they've always managed to work out the kinks which seem to occur when they introduce a significant upgrade.

I have also noticed that their passwords are  case sensitive and very specific to the individual piece of software you are trying to download- I sometimes have had to enter the passwords 2 or 3 times until I get it right.

I agree that having to recalibrate after every upgrade is annoying,  but this may be a spillover from the commercial roots of the program. I've read of people at service bureaus, etc, who recalibrate monitors & scanners weekly.

> Does anyone
> know if the $45US upgrade includes both SilverFast Ai and HDR?
>  
> Or do we have to spend $45 for each, for a total of $90?
>  SilverFast isn't
> responding to my e-mails and they aren't answering my questions at
> their
> forum site.  
>
> I think they're busy with their meltdown over serial numbers and
> faulty
> passwords.  No one seems to be able to get what they paid for,
> serial numbers
> don't work, etc.  I paid my $45 thinking the upgrade was good for
> both Ai and
> HDR, but their download site implies otherwise.  I haven't been
> able to do
> any downloads because the password and user name they gave me after I
> paid my
> $45 don't work.  Both of my scanners are off-line right now
> because I don't
> want to go through the effort of another IT-8 calibration if the
> upgrade
> destroys the calibration.  (It did when I installed the SS120.)
>  By the way,
> the SilverFast download site implies that they'll only upgrade for the
> SS120
> on SCSI, and not if connected via Firewire.  Can't get them to
> tell me if
> that's true or not.  
>
> My recommendation would be that no one have anything to do with
> SilverFast
> until they
> get their house in order.

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