Firstly, thanks for writing this program. It's a good thing to have a logbook system that conforms to local requirements.

However I have some serious reservations about how it is put together and supported.

I recently received an e-mail with notice of an update. I decided to download it and try it in the hope that things have put right. Bear in mind that I have complained before to the company - listing in detail various problems. This has always been met with an attitude that screams "DON'T COMPLAIN", but I'm always prepared to accept that people can reform.

I was also hoping that some of the bugs had been sorted out. One of the previous releases didn't handle fields for intrument & simulator flying and there were some other issues - the main one being compliance with new regulations.

The update notice directs the recipient to the Aviation Direct page where one can go to the EasyLogbook update page to check for updates. One has to enter a 'Program ID' to ensure that one's purchase is still supported. So far so, good. My Program Id is checked and an update for EasyLogbook Version 3.055_4 is offered for download. This is a 2.1Mb file that needs to be downloaded. No instructions or pre-requisites are given.


Once downloaded and run, it starts the install quite happily and the user can click through the usual install options.

Now things start to go awry. A window pops up saying "EasyLogbook will now be installed on your pocket PC now". The options are 'Extract Cab' with a button to the left and a 'Next/Cancel' button to the right. Which to choose, even if I did have a pocket PC, which I don't?

I chose 'Next', went through a standard license agreement page, until it finished the install. However it now tells that "ActiveSynch is not found on this computer. Setup cannot continue and will now exit."

Ok, so I needed to have another piece of software BEFORE installing the software, well why not tell us that first?

Despite the above bad news, the program has indeed been installed and now shows another pop-up with yet another license agreement. It askes for Program ID and Program Key. A Device ID box is also displayed, but has already been filled in automatically. Now I know that the original disk came with the program ID, so it's the other Program Key that needs to come from the company. Not wanting to make a long-distance call to anybody at lunch time, I chose the option to Register Online. I filled in the Program ID and clicked away.

For some reason, the program is set to run the Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) browser. Now many people I know don't use this because there are far better choices, such as Firefox. Some even recommend that computer owners remove IE to save space. Why doesn't the program just use the default browser?

We now get another box with three fields in it. Two are now quite familiar, having seen them twice already - Program ID, Device ID. The new one is PC Description, where one can type anything about the PC in use, like "Home Laptop". One then clicks the "Continue Registration" box. Things are not going to plan now because I now get the following message "The maximum number of devices for this EasyPlanID have been registered. Please call AviationDirect".

That comes as a surprise because I usually use this program on one PC. I did try and install it on another PC once when mine was proken, but was hampered by the nefarious system above.

Occasionally I reinstall Windows XP, as many people do, to resolve problems. Clearly, the program interprets a fresh windows install as a new PC. I wish it would have warned me about this before I started. I checked the license agreement. Yes, it allows an install on one PC. Arguably I have only ever used it on one PC at one time. I don't have an close relatives who need pilot logbooks and have never lent the software to any fellow aviators.

So how to resolve this.

A buyer of this program might now be frustrated and end up sticking it in the cupboard. I'm tempted to do this, so over to you for recommendations. I suppose it's too late for my R600 refund?

The point I'm trying to make is that copy protection should not hamper use of the software or create a load on your support system that you aren't prepared to bear. The install process should be fast, transparent and intuitive. It shouldn't leave the user puzzled or frustrated.

Just to add:

Another problem I encountered with the last version I tried was with the copy protection system. There are three places where numbers go in order to validate the software - Program ID (supplied); Device ID (formulated from the PC Hardware) and Program Key (?). I haven't been able to test the new software yet, but these parameters were mistakenly switched around in the code, which meant that all attempts at registration failed and a phone call had to be made. If it was out-of-hours, then bad luck - or if you were on your mobile, then large expense incurred making a support call.

The backup system was also confusing. If you re-install your operating system, then you lose all your logbook data. There is a facility to save it, but I couldn't make head or tail of it. I tried to do it, but it failed. In the end, I just copy/pasted the whole directory. I'm still hoping one of the methods I employed actually worked. It won't be fun going through 20 years of logbook entries.

Without being able to test the old version because of the problems above, I can't really be more precise about the columns that didn't add up. Maybe I should have documented it.