Dongle or no dongle, that's the question!

[Ingonator]

So far, I have not found a piece of software so impressive that I am willing to put up with a dongle. But that's just me...

+1 on that.

The first dongle i got and still use was included within the boxed version of the Korg Legacy Collection Digital Edition and a second one in the boxed version of Arturia Prophet V so i did not have to buy an extra dongle anyway.
Today there seem to be almost no or only few synths that are shipped with a dongle included.


Ingo

[george]

I actually prefer them. No joke.

At first I didn't like the idea, but then I realized it's plugged into the back of my computer all day out of sight. Even after I had an iLok die on me, I still don't mind them.

That's a good thing based on your perspective, but you have to realize how many mobile and laptop musicians are out there, and using any kind of dongle or USB thing is the biggest hassle.

I say, support devs offering simple copy protections, or none at all.

[nilhartman]

I voted "yes".
I don't love dongle nor hate dongles. If I really want to use a software which is dongle protected, then I don't really mind. I don't want to restrain myself from using some amazing tools because of their protection schemes.
The funny thing is that there's only one license on my ilok2. But the UBK-1 totally worths the sacrifice of a USB port.

PS : my main DAW is a desktop computer, but my live rig is laptop based. Even though I'll never have enough built-in USB ports on my laptop, traveling to a gig with an additional USB hub and dongle is already much more convenient and easy than than using a hardware compressor or whatever hardware counterpart to any dongle protected software I might use...

[dalor]

It's not in your power to change the dev's choice to use a dongle so what's the point?

Really? You don't think the dev's choices might be influenced by public opinion?

Sometimes they do. Somtimes they don't.

The question should be "What will my downsides be for choosing dongled products?".

Or it might better be stated, do you like the software more than you dislike the dongle? So far, I have not found a piece of software so impressive that I am willing to put up with a dongle. But that's just me...

Just you. Obviously you don't have Cubase, SoundToys, Lexicon, Melodyne, SlateDigital or iZotope plugins (to name a view). Find me a replacement for Melodyne (ironically, you won't have it, therefore you don't use it and wouldn't be able to name an equivalent dongle-free replacement).

To be clear, I'm not (at all) PRO dongles and If I can I clearly avoid it. I just stopped wasting my time trying to find replacements or alternatives when there isn't. I said it couple of times and again, If it comes to dongles or C/R, I prefer dongles. Serial or Keyfile is of course preferred.

[fisherKing]

melodyne (which is one of my essential apps) has an alternative to the ilok, and i use that. so melodyne is it's own 'dongle-free' version of melodyne!

[dalor]

melodyne (which is one of my essential apps) has an alternative to the ilok, and i use that. so melodyne is it's own 'dongle-free' version of melodyne!

Forgot that, it's some kind of C/R system, in which I prefer iLok though.

[robogone]

melodyne (which is one of my essential apps) has an alternative to the ilok, and i use that. so melodyne is it's own 'dongle-free' version of melodyne!

Now that's a good approach. If a company understands that the dongle is not a benefit to everyone and offers an alternative it keeps everyone happy.

[Arglebargle]

yeah both options Melodyne offers suck, but at least you get to choose which sucks least for you.

[dalor]

yeah both options Melodyne offers suck, but at least you get to choose which sucks least for you.

+1!

[Teksonik]

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=4937901

[zerocrossing]

It's not in your power to change the dev's choice to use a dongle so what's the point?

Really? You don't think the dev's choices might be influenced by public opinion?

Sometimes they do. Somtimes they don't.

The question should be "What will my downsides be for choosing dongled products?".

Or it might better be stated, do you like the software more than you dislike the dongle? So far, I have not found a piece of software so impressive that I am willing to put up with a dongle. But that's just me...

Just you. Obviously you don't have Cubase, SoundToys, Lexicon, Melodyne, SlateDigital or iZotope plugins (to name a view). Find me a replacement for Melodyne (ironically, you won't have it, therefore you don't use it and wouldn't be able to name an equivalent dongle-free replacement).

To be clear, I'm not (at all) PRO dongles and If I can I clearly avoid it. I just stopped wasting my time trying to find replacements or alternatives when there isn't. I said it couple of times and again, If it comes to dongles or C/R, I prefer dongles. Serial or Keyfile is of course preferred.

I totally agree with this, but I'll add that every time I have to deal with the dongle I always think the same thing. I think that the people who buy the software and the dongle are the ones that deal with the headache of it. The PITA of installing, authorizing, trouble-shooting, etc. Most developers will push your dongle problem onto the protection software company and they seem to be as easy to deal with as a brick. Ever try to contact iLok? Oh wait! There is a way: Pay them for their "Zero Down Time" feature. So now you're paying for the developer's piece of mind, and a little extra for yours. You know who has a business model like that? Organized crime.

So here's the problem. We could bitch as much as we want and until everyone (or almost everyone) boycotts the dongle, it's here to stay. As consumers we could make the dongle extinct in a year or less, I imagine. We'd have to become organized and there's the problem. Musicians are notoriously bad at that.

[ghettosynth]

I recently had to deal with Ableton because I had run out of "authorizations." There wasn't any problem, however, it stresses me. Neither Cubase nor Reason stress me, reaper (and Reason 5), even less so.

It's completely irrational, I know. What's the chance I'm going to need to authorize it again and they're going to say no before the next version comes out, pretty low really. But, it doesn't stop me thinking about whether I want to be dependent on them.

In a perfect world, they'd use eLicencer (props also).

I'm watching bitwig closely. From a distance, they're making the right choices. I'm not crazy about max, I just like how it's integrated into live. If I can accomplish the same goals with bitwig, e.g. using their modular environment to create interfaces for other plugins and the occasional odd midi effect, and they make a good protection choice, then I'd consider dropping live+max.

The point is, I'm not on the "let's boycott dongles" train. On the contrary, I actively seek them over C/R protection schemes and want to encourage developers of high end software to use them instead of C/R.

[highkoo]

So now you're paying for the developer's piece of mind, and a little extra for yours. You know who has a business model like that? Organized crime.

Woohooah, heeeyyy. Tekkiteezy buddy.
A little peace of mind goes a long way.
I mean, it would sure be a shame if something bad were to happen to your project at a real crucial time.., knowhatimsayin?

[breakmixer]

Don't mind eLicenser Dongles, have been using them since SX3, multiple licenses on one usb for me isn't a problem...easy when your pc goes down to reinstall to a new pc - plug and play!

Have a couple of iLok thingies from UVI, hate that dongle though(authorising) - PITA, not as good(easy) as the eLicenser/Steinberg one.

I however prefer a simple serial or keyfile system like Sonic Projects, D16 and Camel Audio etc etc...

what I do hate is Challenge/Response, my music PC is offline and what a PITA it is to go back and forth with a USB drive between 2 pc's, here I'm naming IK Multimedia and Native Instruments as a PITA company for installs...

[robogone]

It's odd how people are discussing the pros and cons of various types of dongle, but I haven't heard anyone state the reason I have for disliking them - I don't like them because I don't see why I should have a hardware dependency thrust on me that could quite easily be replaced with the alternatives on the market. I want to be able to connection *only* the hardware that I want to install to my machine and not have someone tell me I can only install their software if I also install their useless (to me) hardware.