One simple reason, single player.

This isn't true in most cases, the algorithim is known as it is present in the memory of the cracker's computer. A debugger (typically OllyDbg or Immunity Debugger) will be used and the algorithim identified and replicated in the form of a keygen.

The dongle method moves that algorithim to an external component, if that component is simply returning a serial or some such it is easy enough to patch. However if critical functionality exists on the dongle, then the cracker would have to emulate this or otherwise fill in the missing functionality in the compiled binary. This is no small task (but has been done before).

So a dongle that contains core functionality and only accepts signed code and has an encrypted update mechanism will be quite robust in terms of protection offered. However when you have a 10k price on your product, it opens the door for commercial piracy ventures to move in, these guys have no problem cloning hardware and will be selling your software for 5k a peice instead of 10.

So yeah, dongles can work well at stopping non-commercial piracy.

The Xbox won't run unsigned code, Microsoft have to sign the executable with their private key.

So if MS don't give it the go ahead, it wont run.

So you can develop and distribute it all you want, but without MS love it wont actually be usable on the Xbox platform.

As a researcher at a university I can safely say that 1 through 3 don't happen anymore. As for 4 & 5, managing those students is harder than doing the work yourself. We have to give those students the opportunity however (even though we almost always end up re-doing the work ourselves).

Yeah, thats the legal protection most mod chip providers use in Australia. I got myself through uni by modding consoles and working helpdesk. I never touched a region free console like the DS or PSP, for this exact reason.

Because it allows you to change ISP without issue. I've had my email addresses professional & personal for over a decade. I would hate to have to have to ask everyone to update their contacts whenever I swaped ISPs.

You can do this for less than the $40, I get mine from http://rofltron.com/ and host the email with google apps, but they include free email forwarding if you'd rather just keep receiving mail at your ISP address.

The advantage is portability. I know people who are still paying ~$10 a month to some ISP to keep forwarding their email. You don't want to be in that situation.

Well, you need someone to clear the bugs, cockroaches and moths, otherwise the systems will eventually be filled with bugs.

Observations of pulsars show that the speed of gravity is definitely finite (that is, Newton was wrong), and is likely equal to the speed of light.

Yes, it would and it has. If you're dealing with 50+ resumes, any little thing like that helps reduce the pile. Unfair, perhaps, but if someone's supposed to be on good behavior, presenting their best face, and don't know better than to use, 'jedimaster@', how serious are clients going to take them?

Well stated good sir! I'm pretty sure geekmux is just trolling.