Steinberg's dongle alternative coming

I do agree with you, and a mutually beneficial system would be preferred, but given Steinbergs history with piracy (I am convert) I understand their reluctance on this to some extent. I know people will argue that “you knew it needed a dongle before you bought”, and that is very true, but given the way in which licencing CAN be managed now, I am sure that some form of solution is out there.

Again, bear in mind that my main field is within construction, and the software I buy can make the cost of Nuendo look like a 2nd hand Xbox Classic, but most of these companies offer more flexible solutions as they know that some of the environments the users work in are extremely susceptible to Jonny Lightfingers and his pals, so many offer licence checkouts and the like. Definitely worth looking at.

Why did you pay a lot of money for a solution that does not meet your needs and requirements? Why give up your hard earned money for something that is way too much hassle for you? Perhaps you should have invested in another product.

You deserve what was agreed upon when you made the purchase. Is there something that was agreed upon that has not been fulfilled?

Ah, now to be fair, I know the dongle is quite a sore point for many users, and I know a few that won’t touch Cubase because of it, and yes, you know the requirement when you buy, but I think that last statement is a bit tough. After all, if that is the case, what is the point of the feature request section of the forum? The features weren’t there when they bought the product, so why ask now?

Apples and oranges. :unamused:

The Dongle was there when purchased.

WTF is the big deal about the Dongle? Sure, you could have argued, back in the day, that losing the Dongle would require re-purchase, but that policy has changed. Why shouldn’t a company be allowed to protect their product? Never had a single issue with my Dongle. :wink:

Sorry if it came across that way, but I have absolutely no issue with a company protecting its products at all. The testiment is the last cracked version being 5.1.2, it is more in the restriction this can place on genuine customers now that there are workable alternatives out there. I have tried all the various DAW’s and Cubase for me has always just sat right, and as such I accept the dongle as being something I have to accept if I want to use it, but I don’t think the current system is flexible enough as the way in which music is made / recorded has changed. Just because a system has always worked in one way to suit the needs of both the developer and the user, if things change then surely it is imperative for a developer to do so also. Just look at how Avid have been forced to alter their model.

Again, I know this system HAS to work to keep the money coming in to keep SB going as a business, and as a niche product (which a DAW is, with far less users than the likes of most Adobe or Autodesk products as they cross industries) they do need to convert more potential users into actual ones. Its pretty much accepted that the easy protection of Autodesk and Adobe products helped establish them as the defacto software in the early years, knowing that the business users HAD to buy the seats, but this is not a model that would work for a DAW developer.

The fact is, if the Reason system is working and is still uncracked, then there must be alternatives that can be used to appease users and protect the hard work the devs do.

What exactly isn’t “flexible enough”?

In a perfect world, the dongle works, but when recording in pubs, with kids, wanting to do bits on the laptop in the house as opposed to in the studio, its much more risky.

I am sure you have, but if you read on forums about the biggest problem with dongles it is the risk when moving around(well, apart from the recent iLok problems!!). So this is the legitimate concern of dongle users, not just Steinberg, and as such other companies have addressed those concerns whilst still protecting their IP.

Steinberg offers a solution for the “pub” argument, it’s called Cubase Elements. Has all necessary feature for the task.

As for kids, that’s your job to teach them, not Steinberg’s.

Very true on both counts, not very helpful or pragmatic, but I can’t argue with that.

Again though, look at those that have migrated from Cubase, when reading most forums on the reasons, the dongle is USUALLY mentioned. If my business was losing customers because of this, I would address it and quickly, because if you look at where Cubase is in the cost hierarchy of DAW’s, its pretty near the top, and whilst each has their own unique take on doing things (which, as I said earlier, fits in with me as it is where I started), if others start out and want to get into this legitimately, they would look at the cost and also the dongle as being a negative factor, so what else is going to bring them as new customers in?

And don’t bother with the Artist or Elements arguement, people getting into a piece of software these days don’t want to pay for a cut down version, they generally want the full fat product, and I would guess in most cases they would get a cracked version, they learn it and if they make money, they then buy that.

Been around a long time. If I had a nickel for everyone that said they were sick of the Dongle and quitting Cubase and then posted in the next version forum I’d be rich. Anyone running a business, making money, would invest the pittance it costs for Elements for “outside” work. If it were true that the migrants were hurting SB’s bottom line, things would have changed.

As to the risk of damaging the Dongle, SB has a policy of issuing a 100 hr temp license until the Dongle can be replaced so there’s no real issue any way you look at it, is there?

The thing is many users, myself included, use cubase for a hobby, so the extra is a significant amount, and I have 2 dongles as both C7 and WL8 were bought boxed, so it’s not a huge problem.

In this economic climate and with the technological changes developers, like any business, cannot afford to ignore the needs or requests of their customers, and given the amount of posts and views in this thread, it is clearly an important topic.

I don’t mind the dongle in my desktop DAW but if I had to record remotely with a laptop I’d use Reaper on it and transfer the tracks into Cubase. I wouldn’t want to be worrying about the dongle getting stolen, lost or broken.

It is one thing to say, “Hey Steinberg, the dongle is inconvenient and I would be even more interested in your product if I didn’t have to use it.” It is even acceptable to say, “I won’t buy another product that requires it.” This is what the feature request forum is for…

It is another to say, “I can’t believe I have to use a dongle! I am the customer and you have to make me happy. I can’t live by the terms of the transaction I have already agreed to.” This is just whining.

It is so lame to whine about a deal after one has agreed to it.

Never agree to terms that are not acceptable to you. If enough agree, then of course, the vendor will have to make an adjustment. If you give in and buy anyway, then you are just confirming that the terms were reasonable.

That´s the point…

And on that I fully agree, and as a user that is the deal I think most agree with, but as a business it is something I believe steinberg should address BEFORE people vote with their wallets.

RitchieM, maybe I’m misunderstanding your post, but users have been voting with their wallets for years now, and they are saying, “Okay, I’m cool with having to use the dongle.”

Sorry Steve, you’ve misread my ballot. Mine says “I’ll put up with the dongle another year because the pros of sticking with it still outweigh the cons of moving to Logic”

Not quite the same…

Now I’m completely lost. I was responding to RitchieM. :confused:

I don’t mind the dongle …infact I like it :slight_smile:
I just wish everything else used it instead of having to buy an iLok!

This is my point entirely, the feature sets between DAW’s is now so close that it really is down to workflow and other factors that may affect an individuals decision, one of those being the dongle. When PT was the only game in town for reliable track counts, or the Cubase MIDI features (obviously still the best, but others are catching up) then a certain amount of complacency was common, but that just CANNOT be the case in 2013.