Author: Albert Silver
Date: 19:30:48 12/03/04
Go up one level in this thread
On December 03, 2004 at 22:01:16, Mark R. Anderson wrote:
>On December 03, 2004 at 18:21:14, Albert Silver wrote:
>
>>The best copy protection I've seen would have to be for the professional
>>backgammon program, Snowie 4. It is a *very* expensive program ($380) and used
>>by almost every pro there is, so you can imagine that the demand for piracy
>>would be huge. But as far as I know, the piracy must be at a strict minimum,
>>since I've only heard of a handful of failed attempts. I'm a legal owner of it,
>>and can only say that there are 2 codes, plus a 3rd that is created especially
>>for the copy, and it must be activated via the internet or stop working within
>>21 days. It may sound very similar to many such protection schemes, but as I
>>said, I've been to quite a number of tourney halls and have yet to see even one
>>pirated copy.
>>
>
>Albert,
>
>About Snowie 4 ... I own a registered copy of Snowie 4 Student (the middle
>version, $100, equal in all respects, but won't do rollouts). I was a bit
>hesitant to upgrade to the Pro version because of the price ($300 for an
>upgrade), but I wanted to do rollouts, so I was going to "take the plunge."
>*Then*, I ran across GNU Backgammon for Windows, which is a fully-featured
>package ... at least an equal player to Snowie (this has been tested by myself
>and others ... also, Nack Ballard, #1 in the world, agrees with this), it
>performs rollouts, it has a better and easier to use interface, it's easier to
>analyze matches, games or sessions, it does many types of rollouts, it has a
>much nicer to use and ergonomic GUI, it has a more attractive boards, more
>features, etc. The price? $0. That's right ... zero. So, I say, $380 for
>Snowie Pro? They've got to be kidding ... no thanks.
>
>If you don't believe me, the popular "sparring partner" of the pros on one of
>the backgammon servers is "GG Raccoon." This is GNU Backgammon 0.14 set on ply
>0 (plies 1, 2, 3, and 4 are available and stronger, and rollouts are available
>too). GNU on Ply 0 is equivalent to Snowie on Ply 1 (a difference in the way
>they "count" plies). GNU on ply 0 is rated very highly and is a favored
>partner. Try GNU on ply 1 or 2 with an extended match against yourself and you
>will see that it's a toughie. Also, when analyzing matches, games or sessions,
>it's a harder "grader" than Snowie. Give it a try! Also, try playing it in
>matches against Snowie 4 using "Dueller" software, and you will soon be using
>GNU also. Of course, like me, no doubt you'll still want to keep Snowie. It's
>a formidable partner and good "teacher" and I have respect for it also. It's
>good to have a second opinion sometimes, like we here have with our chess
>engines.
>
>Oh, by the way, don't confuse GNU Backgammon with GNU chess. GNU chess is a
>weak program (yes, we need those too, to play against), but GNU Backgammon is
>strictly world-class and will *bury* you in a long match (as will Snowie).
>
>Mark Anderson
I know a little something about GNU Backgammon:
http://www.bkgm.com/gnu/AllAboutGNU.html
Albert
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