The fact that this topic is so debated is a testament to Cubase. Of course, everyone knows they COULD use one of several other DAWs without a dongle (or any copy protection method at all). The fact it, THEY DON"T WANT TO. They want to use Cubase. If Cubase was a weak product, they would have left long ago. The ironic thing is that this high demand for Cubase is why it needs strong copy protection.