It is nice to see that you have listened to the user feedback on activation issues and streamlined the process, many other companies do not seem to care about what users feel about their products.
I can understand both sides of the activation “problem”.
For the USERS, activation of a “freeware” program creates a few problems. Worries about why a company would need certain information, why a freeware program would need to be activated at all is another, and a third is one that I am personally worried about… a freeware program should stand alone, in the sense that if I download it now, I should still be able to install it 20 years from now (on older hardware for instance). However in most cases, companies requiring product activation are no longer in business or server addresses would have long since changed, rendering the freeware products un-useable, for no reason other than the activation couldn’t complete. This is unfortunate since many times the products still have good usefulness. I often face this scenario when I am tinkering with older systems.
For the COMPANY, it is important to track popularity & installation-base of the product, to evaluate further development, support, and marketing decisions. In the case of Comodo Firewall, I believe this is the case as stated elsewhere by the CEO.
Many companies have found a COMPROMISE for this problem without requiring ‘activation’. They use methods such as ‘opt-in anonymous usage statistics’, for instance, which need not break the application functionality if the server cannot be reached. Also, they might view feedback and download statistics on the internet for thier applications, and will follow discussion boards and blogs as well. These techniques, although they may not provide exact numbers for installed usage, provide a strong foundation for statistical extrapolation (educated guessing, etc) and give the company a good idea of reaction to their product, and ability to make future marketing/development decisions.
There is always a way to satisfy both users’ needs and a companies’ needs when both remain open minded and creative. Users should never have to suffer applications that may break over time, whether freeware or purchased. Especially, a legally acquired application should not break simply because it can no longer reach an activation-server or because the author-company may have gone out of business. Once acquired, an application should always be able to work on the platform it was designed for.
Just some thoughts…