Steinberg's dongle alternative coming

Of course, a metal case would be more solid but please keep in mind that we do not produce them in quantities Patriot produces their USB sticks. This would result in a price increase for the USB-eLicenser. The new one will be shorter and we will have a look at the material again as well but chances are high that it will continue to be a plastic case.

hi Ed, how about offering users a choice?

That would be even more expensive :wink:

How about wood instead of metal? (no, I’m not kidding)

a smaller but yet plastic usb dongle is screaming “more fragile” to me, I (personally) don’t care about the size if it is robust (also, the more tiny the usb dongle is, more likely to be forgotten)

Patriot at least shows that there is a way to design an USB stick that is very stable and robust enough to be put on an average male’s bunch of keys and that survives it in the long run; that’s exactly what I would expect from a software dongle, too.

for who?
You, me or everyone?

Steinberg lets US pay for THEIR problem. So it would be more expensive for us, yes.

Coming from someone so knowledgeable in the field that conclusion seems rather simplistic.

Would it really? I mean, if people are having problems with the current ones, to the point of having to replace them, then wouldn’t better assembly and casings be cheaper in the long run? (At least for them.) I’d rather pay triple the price and having ten times tougher a dongle! :wink:

I have never had any problems with mine, but I wouldn’t mind a much smaller (shorter, as in not sticking out so much) and if I dropped it, I would just smile because it was all titanium. Help me protect my licenses! :slight_smile:

I find that the gen 2 iLoks seem more robust than the eLicenser, and they come with a little cap for protection. Besides, iLok has ZDT and with the new Loss and Theft option, it seems a much better system than eLicenser at the moment.

DG

Wrap key in some silly putty and have fun bouncing it around.

Aloha E,

Had the same thoughts but then realized;

Can we Cubase users get a blank dongle from
BestBuy or RadioShack or MonoPrice etc?

Don’t think so.

AFAIK we can only get a blank replacement dongle from Steiny.

So if and when your dongle starts packing its bags to head south,
there is only one game in town.

That being said;
I just can’t see Yamaha/Steinberg make a lot of $$$
from selling blank dongles, but however small the Cubase DAW base,
Yamyberg or Steinha do have this corner of the market sewn up.

So like many others I just gaffer tape the f*ck out of it,
(I leave a lil hole so I can make sure the red LED lights up)
put it on my keyring and bob’s yer uncle’.

IMHO
Users would be wise to have a spare (they are not too expensive) hanging around just in case;
and for mobile pros a total 2nd license would also be good insurance.
Pass the cost on to yer clients.
{‘-’}

For my real job, I have a 8 year old Sandisk 8 gb Cruzer thumb drive with a slide out connector on my key ring. It looks no different than the dongle except for the slide out connector…

That thing gets the s#!t beat out of it 6 days a week and has a backup of our accounting file on it. It is a critical backup. My dongle only sits in my desktop rear USB slot and has fallen apart several times. Someone here mentioned it fell on carpet and came apart…so did mine

No argument on how the Cubase security works only that if the license has such a value,give us an opportunity to preserve it. My wireless USB keyboard and mouse receiver stick out only 1/4".

I know this has been said over and over again but, WTF…can one more time hurt? Yep, I have a spare un opened for the last 4 years

Dongles delicate? Nonsense. You can drive a tank over any plastic dongle and it will still work. Besides if Steinberg had a software key and PROtools had a dongle I’d say the same voices would be heard clamouring for a dongle.
If Cubase is unusable… It’s YOU. The guys that can’t cope with a dongle and keep losing their housekeys (with dongle attached) or letting it fall out of their pocket or have it stolen because it’s right there ready to go…
As far as I can tell Cubase is a lot older than most of the complainers here. This means that the dongle has a reliable history. Users aren’t losing dongles in droves otherwise it would make the daily news. Which means that there’s about three people who are really unhappy with the arrangement.
I’d rather trust Steinberg’s security than some kid (ex-kid even) on the net who thinks an old joke is a new idea. :mrgreen:

And was an independent company.

Mauri.

  1. I hate the dongle, bought some software that doesn’t need it… making more music live. Cool

Still love and use Cubase on the desktop.

Not to stir the pot, but several companies that use the iLok have recently announced they are going to give users the option of iLok or authorization to a hard drive. One is VI Labs, makers of True Key Pianos, and the other is GospelMusicians, makers of the Neo Soul Keys products. Both of these companies are utilizing the UVi engine so maybe it is related to that platform/engine only. But my question is, if it can be done for iLok owners, why not us? Just wondering. There may be valid reasons why it cannot, but I’d like to hear them.

I have no problem with the dongle, but it would be nice to have the choice of maybe purchasing a much more “durable” dongle. Like something made out of brushed aluminum, or something similar.

Dongles?
I need more Dongles!!
I LOVE colorful Dongles!!!
Very nice on christmas trees (tip!)
:mrgreen: