orgo2

Hi everybody. While I'm new to the forums, I've been using AM since v9 in 2002 and was planning to upgrade to the 2006 version. So please bear with me as some of these questions might seem elementary. I was wondering what exactly the v12.Op Installer available at this site did, and whether that was the same as ordering the 2006 upgrade from the AM flyer that recently came in the mail. One thing that kinda worried me was accidentally scratching the AM CD, and having to buy the whole thing over again. It happened once before, with my 2002 CD. I had the Complete Guide to AM:2002 by David Rogers and the 2002 program itself, and was content to stick with that... up until my CD was damaged. Even though by then I was learning Maya, I knew that AM was a program I wanted to keep. That's when I picked up the 2004, which I then registered. So, I guess what I'm getting at is this: is there any way to protect or insure the application CD? Do we need always use it? $300 isn't always going to be as conveniently spent as when my other disk was damaged. Is there support for registered users? I'm using AM:2004 at the moment, and was wondering if the mail-in offer I got could upgrade from 2004 to 2006, or if I would have to first upgrade from 2004 to 2005. But then when I bought 2004 it seemed to upgrade from 2002 all right. Just checking. thanks in advance.