Steinberg's dongle alternative coming

I’ve read posts from Steinberg staff in other forums mentioning a dongle alternative in the works. I am very interested in a dongle-less Cubase! This will also allow new users to trial Cubase without purchasing a dongle (seriously overdue).

Any info on when this might be available?

For me the main thing is that I would be able to use it on m laptop for teaching and performance. Currently I still use Sonar X2 since it is dongle-less. I would have a dongle broken or lost within a week if I took it with me.

there are ways to keep your dongle safe while using a laptop , loads of people do it including myself , if you value your licence then your careful with it :wink:

But my way is foolproof. :slight_smile:

I have to agree. Are you saying that you can’t use your laptop with any usb attachments? Mouse? WiFi dongle? external HD?

Do you have your laptop on a guitar strap around your neck during performances? If not, why can’t you ensure your dongle is safe?

Steve.

There is zero need to debunk people’s distaste for dongles in this thread. Clearly, license dongles are a major turn-off to many customers and potential customers. But, love them, hate them, or don’t care about them… I heard of an alternative on the way from Steinberg and simply wanted to get a feel for how far out that was.

yes there was a hint that Steinberg were looking into other methods

Briefly mentioned at Gearslutz… Maybe when the next paid update comes out we’ll find out?

if they decide on an alternative I want a refund for my dongles !

The dongle has a place to attach a key ring so you won’t lose it, and they are strong enough to withstand day-to-day knocks.

Erm… that’s not strictly true. If you like me carry your eLicenser from home to work everyday, you’ll see how fast it falls apart, precisely for the key ring. They should be made of metal, not plastic.

Yeah, the plastic bit for the key ring broke when I tried to use it on a key ring.

In the past I have just super glued the all the plastic parts.

The wibu Cm stick has a number of variants, of which the propellerhead version i believe is metal.

Hmmmm. Hope it’s not by doing an ‘Adobe’ and charging monthly and the software gets validated every month!

If they decide on an alternative, I will happily smash my dongle with a hammer.

I have other stuff (Arturia, IKM, Vienna …) on the dongle, so it isn’t going anywhere even if we get another option.

Hello,

Lets not jump ahead to anything.
It was me, in some threads, (I don’t remember which ones) somebody was complaining about ilok and elicenser dongle based secured software etc… I mentioned that we were considering that as well, but that was it.

As much as some of you would like to have a dongle free software, unfortunately, I do not see that happening in the near future :frowning:

Best regards,
GN

Well, my laptop is dongle free but also free from Steinberg products. Go figure.

I’m even considering buying a tablet and I don’t think that any Steinberg product will find it’s way on this device. Having to attach an USB-hub to a tablet to be able to connect dongles to the tablet just to run software is just plain absurd.

Apologies. I had read your posts as if an alternative was on the horizon.

You also mentioned working on a dongle-free trial for Cubase 7. That seems critical from a business/logic perspective. Can you even estimate how much business is lost due to this? Potential customers are forced to buy a proprietary dongle before they can even trial Cubase. They cannot simply download and try; they actually have to go out and buy this thing, or order it and wait for delivery. Then, if they want the full version, they get another dongle. :confused:

Will a dongle-free trial be available in the near future?

Thank you for your response.

If so we will see cracked C7! :imp: