Finally the very good news from Steinberg!!!

[chk071]

I at least found a post where they say that they're planning an offline activation: https://forums.steinberg.net/t/license- ... u=chakkman

Can't find the one I think I read about the occasional activation check. Maybe I imagined it. I read so much about the stuff that it's a bit hard to remember all of it.

Anyway, those are all tentative "We plan XY..." posts anyway. We will see. I'm confident that they come up with a good solution. And I'm 100% sure that it'll be better than sticking a dongle up your computer's USB port.

[Gregorius]

Funny how the "we plan" argument suddenly becomes valid. Some pages back it was interpreted as "fixed" there'll be no subscription when they said "we plan".

[pixel85]

I hope that they will allow deactivating licenses from their website (like PA, for example).
Nothing better than having a serious issue with PC and being blocked because of 'all activations already used', and the only option to fix that is by contacting (very slow) support.
I also hope they will not do anything similar to Best Service: 3 activations which often require re-activation because of tiny changes in PC (yesterday I did the necessary BIOS update, and now I need to activate their libraries once again).

[chk071]

Funny how the "we plan" argument suddenly becomes valid. Some pages back it was interpreted as "fixed" there'll be no subscription when they said "we plan".

The subscription statement was a bit more definite: https://forums.steinberg.net/t/license- ... u=chakkman

And, my disclaimer was rather to please the "But... but... they all lie anyway!" people. Maybe I'm wrong to do so, and I should just write what I want to write, without taking care of the always unsatisfied. Probably.

[DollyNipples]

Even the dongle isn't that foolproof, I bet.

[cptgone]

I remember when cubase went the dongle way, many legit users used cracked versions because they were twice as fast as the official release.

Cubase always used dongle.
Screen Shot 2021-04-28 at 17.01.04.jpg

Not my first Cubase (Cubase Lite).

[enroe]

@Lerian: Good historical summary!

[Lerian]

*double post*

[DollyNipples]

Dunno why people would use Cubase with the dongle and other stupid requirements, when there are other DAWs that are better and have less headachey validation, or even some free ones like Cakewalk or Waveform. Maybe even get Reaper, which has an honor-based registration system, or FL Studio which is so frikkin' nice with their demo that it's a stone's-throw away from being honor-based. Podium isn't too shabby either. It's got a free version which has a few little restrictions but none of them seem to be much of a hindrance.

[trtzbass]

Dunno why people would use Cubase with the dongle and other stupid requirements, when there are other DAWs that are better and have less headachey validation, or even some free ones like Cakewalk or Waveform. Maybe even get Reaper, which has an honor-based registration system, or FL Studio which is so frikkin' nice with their demo that it's a stone's-throw away from being honor-based. Podium isn't too shabby either. It's got a free version which has a few little restrictions but none of them seem to be much of a hindrance.

Shhhh don't say that. Some people REALLY like that dongle. They will be very upset and call you names. Early 90s copy protection is the best copy protection as we all know and we are irresponsible because we wish for Steinberg to lose money to piracy.
Gotta save those jobs at Steinberg, it's on us.

Source: got pelted and insulted a couple times when saying exactly the same obvious, logical, crystal clear truth that you're saying too.

Yes this is a little victory dance. Guilty as charged. Could I be a bigger man and take the high road? Yes I could.
Am I going to do it? Nah. Just this one time I'm enjoying this.

The dongle sucked immensely, got in my way of delivering work in a timely manner like any on the move producer can these days and finally it's going for good.
Happy days, looking forward to using Cubase (and Dorico) wherever I am, whenever I want. This is how things work in 2021

[chk071]

Dunno why people would use Cubase with the dongle and other stupid requirements, when there are other DAWs that are better and have less headachey validation

I'm pretty sure most put up with the dongle, because there is nothing better for them than Cubase.

Anyway, not sure why we're going on discussing this when Steinberg announced that they drop the dongle.

BTW, from the DAW's you mentioned, none is better than Cubase for me. Opinions eh?

[Soundplex]

Dunno why people would use Cubase

That's the right question

[DollyNipples]

Dunno why people would use Cubase with the dongle and other stupid requirements, when there are other DAWs that are better and have less headachey validation, or even some free ones like Cakewalk or Waveform. Maybe even get Reaper, which has an honor-based registration system, or FL Studio which is so frikkin' nice with their demo that it's a stone's-throw away from being honor-based. Podium isn't too shabby either. It's got a free version which has a few little restrictions but none of them seem to be much of a hindrance.

Shhhh don't say that. Some people REALLY like that dongle. They will be very upset and call you names. Early 90s copy protection is the best copy protection as we all know and we are irresponsible because we wish for Steinberg to lose money to piracy.
Gotta save those jobs at Steinberg, it's on us.

Source: got pelted and insulted a couple times when saying exactly the same obvious, logical, crystal clear truth that you're saying too.

Yes this is a little victory dance. Guilty as charged. Could I be a bigger man and take the high road? Yes I could.
Am I going to do it? Nah. Just this one time I'm enjoying this.

The dongle sucked immensely, got in my way of delivering work in a timely manner like any on the move producer can these days and finally it's going for good.
Happy days, looking forward to using Cubase (and Dorico) wherever I am, whenever I want. This is how things work in 2021

I guess to each their own, right? I tend to lean toward oldschool - like my first loves Tuareg and Moonfish, though Buzz and Psycle are also quite awesome, as is OpenMPT because of its sheer portability. I mean, you can often carry just Tuareg, Moonfish, and OpenMPT on an older flash drive along with some samples and you're good to go. Just keep the password for Tuareg/Tu2 handy.

I also look for cheap and free software, so it was quite surprising at first to see these freeware DAWs loaded with features. I mean, I paid $35 for Tuareg, and these new DAWs have much more features than Tuareg/Tu2 had, though they are also quite complicated. Sometimes simplicity is the best.

But my current favourite toy is FL Studio Mobile - way more than worth the $14.99 I paid. I don't even really feel the need to get those paid synths because I can just import some other free ones or make my own. I can make my own drumsets, beats, and everything pretty much. Might get the PC FL Studio someday because well, I've played with that before and it has so much stuff and it's so easy to use!

Really don't feel the need to use Cubase. I mean, I can use VST plugins with pretty much any DAW these days.

[codec_spurt]

The dongle was introduced in Cubase SX.

Not true though? You forgot the horrible parallell port dongle used before SX. I still remember it from sessions back in 97 at a friends studio.

I think he must mean USB dongle. Timeframe checks out. That would have been around the time they became ubiquitous.

Pretty sure I had to use a Printer Port Dongle for my first version of Cubase 1.0 on the Atari. And I certainly had to use one for the very first copy of Cubase that included VST technology (Steinberg invented it, don'tcha know?).

Some twat drove all the way from brighton on his scooter to buy my copy of VST3.75 * - the very first version of Cubase to host VST tech. Thing is, Steinberg updated the software and sent me a shitty little CD that was badly printed. It did look like a knockoff. But it wasn't.

Thing is, it had the f**king DONGLE. But still he accused me of piracy/theft, all to get a fiver knocked off the asking price. In the end I had to tell him to f**k off and NO I wasn't going to sell it to him at any price. He rode his little scooter back to brighton, most miffed, I assume.

This is how I know dongles were used as far back as that at least. Pretty sure my Atari Cubase had a PPP dongle as well. I could check the internet. But it's more fun being wrong and getting corrected!

Anyway, whatever happens, Steinberg will f**k it up and make it worse. You can be sure of that. I'm actually quite fond of them in fact. And I've had pretty good service all in all over the years. I'm sure they know what they are doing. Still not installed the full version of Cubase I bought a couple of years back and got in a little cardboard box with a USB dongle.

I'm sure they have thought about it and will sort it out (after f**king it up of course).


*
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steinberg_Cubase#History

Cubase VST 24 3.7 Windows -- July 1999

This version introduced VST 2.0, which allowed VST plugins to receive MIDI data from Cubase.[19] It also introduced the concept of VST instruments - earlier implementations of VST had been biased towards effects plugins - and included Neon, a free VST instrument. VST24 3.7 was the first sequencer ever to support VST instruments, as Steinberg had invented the "VSTi" specification.


So yeah, I guess the 3.75 was the update, knocked up by backroom boys in the Steinberg laboratory.

"Hans, we're going to need a bigger CD-Burner!"



Happy days!

[EnGee]

I don't think Steinberg will f**k it up! Of course it is possible, but just to think of it means they must be really very stupid to make it worse! The reason is the competition is very high on both Mac and Windows! I already believe it is very tough on both worlds. Any mistake means losing an important share in the market and the "spoiled users" (us) will switch to other DAWs. I'm already in the process to switch to S1, as the more I get deeper, the more I like it (ignoring the bugs of course). It is not like the old days when the only main competitor is e-magic logic on PC and Mac! (Ok, Sonar was popular also on Windows). There are several now (like S1, Live and Bitwig) and they are wonderful DAWs (not counting Logic on Mac and the free Cakewalk on Windows!).

My guess they will do it something like S1. You register your copy online up to maybe 3 or 5 computers and get rid from all that e-licenser staff (well, it is not my guess exactly, but my wish ). In fact, just in this case I would keep Cubase and get rid from the dongle, otherwise I will just sell it.