The other posted above summed up things quite well, although I want to just clarify a few details in regards to each of your points.
1. I once bought a product that used SA and the company subsequently went out of business. Reinstalled my OS and now that product is sitting on a shelf and it's impossible for me to use.
I've been burned like this before as well, so I can understand the concern. As some measure of reassurance, Lone Wolf has been in business for 16 years now, and we've been publishing our own software for gamers for 12 of those years. We've always used an activation technology all those 12 years, and we even still actively support the activation mechanism for users who continue to utilize long-outdated versions of our software - such as Army Builder V2 that was last updated 9 years ago.
2. I am also not a fan of per-node licensing. I am the only one who would ever use this software so it really shouldn't matter if I install it on my PC and laptop and another smaller laptop I take on a plane.
The drawback of "trust" licensing like you suggest is that it's probably the worst form of licensing amongst gamers - at least, based on everything we've learned over the past many years. The primary reason is that one member of a gaming group often buys the software and then gives it to everyone else in his group. Heck, we get multiple groups of gamers every year at GenCon pooling their money right in front of us to share a copy amongst them. If that brazen behavior goes on right in front of the company, how often is it happening in the privacy of the gaming group?
To offset this, we provide a free secondary license so everyone can use the product on a second computer. That handles most users. Additional secondary licenses are also available for only $10 apiece to accommodate those users who are the exception and want to run the product on three or more computers.
3. Too many headaches about activation (just a look at your forum confirms this).
There are occasional hiccups in the activation process for users. However, it's significantly less than 1% of our overall userbase and always due to either a technical issue with the user's computer configuration (e.g. internet security blocking the product from the internet or something similar) or the user making an inadvertent mistake. In either case, we are pretty good about getting things sorted out for the user as quickly as possible - as Rithralas, our latest user with an activation problem, attests to above.
4. Why should I have headaches if I change computers? I upgrade my PC or laptop probably once a year and there's often an OS reinstall or major hardware change...and then I have to sit on the phone or wait on email.
In general, you won't have headaches changing computers. The licensing mechanism is intended to keep one person in a gaming group from sharing their copy with everyone else in the group - not to make everyone's life difficult. When a user activates a license on a new computer (or the first), a clock starts. After 4 months, that license can be moved to a new computer and reactivated automatically. Since the average user typically upgrades or reinstalls his computer every 18-24 months, the four-month waiting period is generally plenty. The only time we need to be contacted is when the reinstall occurs less than 4 months after the last activation, and we can usually get the user up and running again within 24 hours when that happens.
Yes, some of the "big guys" use it, but while I'm forced to use MS Windows, I'm not forced to use Hero Lab.
No one is forced to buy any product from any company, including Microsoft even. There are alternative tools to Hero Lab available, and they work perfectly well. We believe we offer the best value for the investment of time and money, and the fact that Hero Lab is the favored tool among most gamers bears that out. It's entirely your choice which tools you choose to use for any purpose.
I realize piracy is a problem, but SA is a bad way to try to solve it. And I say that as someone who publishes electronically.
Unfortunately, software activation is the only reliable way that we've found. Is it perfect? Not in the least. But piracy is a reality, and it's HUGE amongst gamers, so we need to take the necessary steps to keep the company in business so we can continue producing quality tools.
If someone were to propose an alternate method that will RELIABLY produce equal or better results, we'd love to hear it. Thus far, we haven't seen such an alternative.
) and it has been a God Send for me. I admit I wish all the game systems I play were supported by Hero Lab, I just realize some are not large enough to pull in the support. 