Dear Todd, I just read your blog on the encryption/red key topic and found it very interesting that you said "to pass along the old red key with your system" - would that not be considered sharing patterns and therefore running into copyright issues if you sold the system??? TIA

@Tanya,

I assume this was meant to be posted to the Encryption blog entry.

In the scenario of getting a new system and passing on an old, you have two options. 1) You can include the existing pattern library that you have built up in the selling price. In this case, the dongle/key (we'll call it 'A') would remain with the old system. 2) If you intend to have the patterns you have purchased remain with you, and the buyer gets only the basic set that came with the machine from Statler, you would save your pattern library over to a back up (a drive, burned to CD, etc...) and keep the dongle/key (A) that the patterns are encrypted to. Pass on the new dongle/key (B) on with the old system for the buyer. NOTE: this is only valid if you encrypt entirely to the key and NOT the controller. There is not any violation of copyright, since without the original key (A), the patterns you have purchased over the years would be useless to the new owner of the system.

I am toying with getting the EXDXF plug-in, but got a little concerned when I read the license agreement. It says something about "not to be used for profit". Do you read this as just meaning we aren't supposed to convert someone's files for money? I'm sure there's a language barrier thing there -- but did you ever verify with them? Second, after trying a couple of patterns, looks to me like a "best practice" might be to add a bunch of points in illustrator. Is that what you do (otherwise looked very choppy on the Statler end - altho' I didn't do a test stitch)?