I have Houdini Master and it occurs to me that it would be very useful to be able to “hand off” a license to a laptop that I could use to bring to a client's location. This would enable me to interactively rotate/move objects, do renders … even adjust timings of an animation on the spot. And it would be very useful to take a full project home on the weekends to continue my work.

But since every PC needs a connection to a “SESI authorized” license server this is not possible. Even trying to get an internet connection at a client's location (to grab a license) is not reliable or practical.

The apprentice version saves to a non-commercial format so any changes made with the client would be unusable later.

A “hand off” might involve the laptop getting a license from the server and keeping it until it is “handed back” (whether power is on or off).

The SESI programmers are a creative bunch … I'm sure they could come up with a way to limit licenses to those actually purchaseed, but give us users more flexibility in how to use them. It would also be to their advantage, since this would expose our clients more to the impressive features of Houdini … and help build Houdini name recognition.

Any thoughts?