Ask Slashdot: Which Software/Devices Are Unusable Without Connecting to the Internet? (techdirt.com)

New submitter AlejandroTejadaC writes: Currently, most commercial software and hardware manufactures rely on an internet connection for registering or activating their products and providing additional functionality. In an ideal world this works fine, but in our real world the buyer could lose access to internet for months -- such as in emergency situations like the aftermath of hurricane Maria -- and their products will refuse to work because they need an internet connection. Which companies are using their internet servers as replacements for hardware dongles? I want to see a complete list of software and devices that become completely unusable without a live internet connection. Just remember the infamous case of the Razer Synapse.

Comments

Re: Depends on what it does

[cas2000]

have you ever heard the term "false dichotomy"?

because, you know, internet spyware and $1000 dongles are not the only alternatives.

A lot of software packages...

[rnturn]

...no longer include on-disk help files any more. Click on "About->Help" (or whatever) and you wind up directed to an external web page. I suppose it saved some disk space when the application was installed but pretty annoying if you hit a snag while using the software, need to access a reference, and internet access isn't available.