Dongle+Bespoke Software Written By Lord Lucan=GRRR

valiant23

I have a couple of friends who run a taxi firm. A long time ago (the 80’s) they bought a piece of software from Peter Norris Computing called Taximan Systems.



Whilst the program has satisfied their business needs, they have had occasional problems that have required attention. The thing is Peter Norris Computing no longer exists, and the copyright expired in 1999, and so there is no software support.



Recently my friends moved their business premises, and one of the things Taximan is used for is billing but because of a dongle they say they cannot even change their business address, or get other much needed maintenance doing (last year or so they’ve started to have printing related problems).



Is this true? Is it possible to bypass or disable the dongle to update their records and get some bugs ironed out, or do they have to bin it all and start again.

They don’t embrace new technology readily, and I daresay it has taken them 15yrs to become comfortable with this system, so I don’t think they would buy a modern software package, so your ideas/suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

blinky

The copyright won't have expired as copyright lasts for 50 years after the company has ceased trading or the person died.

While in theory it should be possible to bypass the dongle, it isn't trivial and cannot be discussed here due to legal reasons.

It appears to be two options:

i) Try and find somebody who programmed this package and hope they can alter it for you.
ii) Find another package.

Given the age of the package it is likely only the section option is practical.