The Cloud and the Future of Plugins

[Burillo]

The cloud can be damn comfortable. And that's basically the whole thing about it, and why i use it. If you take the Google web apps, for instance, it immediately feels antiquated, if you work the "conservative" way again. I wouldn't count on it for data storage, though. But, to work with it is great.

i dunno, i find it rather the other way around. web apps are bloated, slow and not feature-rich, and i find that i'm more productive when i'm using real applications.

Subscription services do not necessarily involve cloud-based apps. For example, Slate Digital uses traditional VSTs with iLok, both the dongle and the cloud versions.

https://slatedigital.zendesk.com/hc/en- ... ing-Bundle

i was responding to a point about how web apps are better than native ones. nowhere did i say anything about subscriptions.

[whyterabbyt]

The big companies who initiated some of the most high-profile moves to subscription models (Adobe, Autodesk etc) are now moving to shut down reauthorisation and use of older perpetual license versions.
Makes me wonder how much money they think they were 'losing' to holdouts, because there doesnt seem to be any other justification for that.

[rugby99]

a good point here.often wander over to soundtent at outdoor events..usually out in the sticks..an invariably there no phone an data signal..the guys have to be self sufficient in there operations...what use stuff in the cloudhere...! !

[vurt]

a good point here.often wander over to soundtent at outdoor events..usually out in the sticks..an invariably there no phone an data signal..the guys have to be self sufficient in there operations...what use stuff in the cloudhere...! !

5g will solve that.

[Tj Shredder]

Just get and use it when you need it and forget about it after you are done.

The main problem is, that the piece you made cannot be loaded eventually into the tool it was created with. A nightmare for archeologists of coming times (you might be that yourself in 10 years). The same problem arises for certain copy protection schemes, but differently...
To load some of my old 68000 Max patches I need a cracked version of Max running in Basilisk, though I still have the original authorization floppies...
If companies would release old versions of their software free of cp, that would solve the problem. Tracktion is doing it for example...
The open source route is a too laborious option at the moment in most cases, but there are other business models popping up which seem to work for some developers. Airwindows is one example. Create open source software and get paid - it will take time for software prosumers to change their mind set to a more open and free exchange world to actively and willingly support developers. No cloud behind a paywall required, but a cloud service without paywall might still be convenient...
The paywall is the problem, not necessarily the cloud...

[JJ_Jettflow]

Just get and use it when you need it and forget about it after you are done.

The main problem is, that the piece you made cannot be loaded eventually into the tool it was created with.

To load some of my old 68000 Max patches I need a cracked version of Max running in Basilisk, though I still have the original authorization floppies...

Track render perhaps? Do that many people really reach back so far in their music catalog for this to even be a real issue?

[JJ_Jettflow]

a good point here. often wander over to soundtent at outdoor events..usually out in the sticks..an invariably there no phone an data signal..the guys have to be self-sufficient in their operations...what use stuff in the cloud here...! !

You do realize most of the subscriptions (at least the ones I use)only need to be online once a month, just before the monthly payment runs out, right?

[JJ_Jettflow]

n/m

[Tj Shredder]

Just get and use it when you need it and forget about it after you are done.

The main problem is, that the piece you made cannot be loaded eventually into the tool it was created with.

To load some of my old 68000 Max patches I need a cracked version of Max running in Basilisk, though I still have the original authorization floppies...

Track render perhaps? Do that many people really reach back so far in their music catalog for this to even be a real issue?

Its not about the finished piece, hopefully its finished, its about finding out how you did something in the past. It might be valuable information, not only for you if you forgot it, also for others who want to study your music...
And regarding Max, most pieces done in Max are less of a specific workflow, but are very specialized instruments. You cannot get the pieces played live again, if the patch isn't running... Usually you need to recreate these pieces and even if the patch is only running in an emulated ancient computer emulation, you get to the information how to recreate it...

[chk071]

The cloud can be damn comfortable. And that's basically the whole thing about it, and why i use it. If you take the Google web apps, for instance, it immediately feels antiquated, if you work the "conservative" way again. I wouldn't count on it for data storage, though. But, to work with it is great.

i dunno, i find it rather the other way around. web apps are bloated, slow and not feature-rich, and i find that i'm more productive when i'm using real applications.

Subscription services do not necessarily involve cloud-based apps. For example, Slate Digital uses traditional VSTs with iLok, both the dongle and the cloud versions.

https://slatedigital.zendesk.com/hc/en- ... ing-Bundle

i was responding to a point about how web apps are better than native ones. nowhere did i say anything about subscriptions.

I'm not saying that they're better. Just that it's more comfortable. And, the Google apps are for free. Libre Office is too, but, the Google office suite is way more easy to use IMO, while being a bit more limited, but, surely already overkill for most of what a private person would do while at home, and already pretty well featured for some light business work as well. I was really surprised how good those apps are, but, to each his own.

[Burillo]

I'm not saying that they're better. Just that it's more comfortable. And, the Google apps are for free. Libre Office is too, but, the Google office suite is way more easy to use IMO, while being a bit more limited, but, surely already overkill for most of what a private person would do while at home, and already pretty well featured for some light business work as well. I was really surprised how good those apps are, but, to each his own.

that's the thing though - "light business work". would i use Google docs when i want to create a simple document or a spreadsheet and share it with others? sure, and i do it all the time. would i use it for a published white paper, or anything else requiring more advanced features? not a chance.

but even discarding that, just take email. do i use GMail the web app? i do if i have to. more often than not though, i either use a mobile app for light email work, or i use a proper email client (such as Outlook or Thunderbird). it's just so much better and so much more productive to have email immediately available, having an option of easily open multiple emails in multiple different windows, having different automatic formatting options available (such as - always use text with this domain, etc.), and lots of little things like that.

bottom line - i certainly can use web apps if i have to, but i often find them too limited even for stuff that isn't work related, simply because more often than not i find it inconvenient that i have to use a browser for that (as opposed to having a dedicated set of Windows on my taskbar).

YMMV of course, and i recognize that these web apps have a place. i'm just worried of the general trend of moving everything to the web - it's a tyranny of the majority situation, where the majority is being served with (IMO) inferior option, and the superior options simply die out because there's not enough users to sustain them.

[JJ_Jettflow]

Just get and use it when you need it and forget about it after you are done.

The main problem is, that the piece you made cannot be loaded eventually into the tool it was created with.

To load some of my old 68000 Max patches I need a cracked version of Max running in Basilisk, though I still have the original authorization floppies...

Track render perhaps? Do that many people really reach back so far in their music catalog for this to even be a real issue?

Its not about the finished piece, hopefully, it's finished, its about finding out how you did something in the past. It might be valuable information, not only for you if you forgot it, but also for others who want to study your music...
And regarding Max, most pieces done in Max are less of a specific workflow but are very specialized instruments. You cannot get the pieces played live again if the patch isn't running... Usually, you need to recreate these pieces and even if the patch is only running in an emulated ancient computer emulation, you get to the information on how to recreate it...

Honestly, I do not see this as a major argument against cloud-based products or subscriptions.

[Tj Shredder]

Its not an argument against cloud based subscriptions, its an argument for unrestricted software!
Though if a company namely Adobe, Avid and others abuse their market power to force you into such a plan, which is their legal political decision (without any democratic justification), we experience corporate dictatorship. But we are still free, especially as independent artists, to not follow that path... I don't mind subscriptions if you are still given a choice!
In the end its not much different to renting a studio with all that gear and just go home with your master tape...

[tony10000]

We really haven't even touched the online subscription DAWs such as Bandlab, Amped Studio, Soundation, Audio Tool, Soundtrap, etc.

[telecode]

These are private for profit businesses that don't owe you anything or where you can dictate how they are allowed or should sell their products.

You are just free to buy or not but the product under their terms and conditions.

In my experience, the type of application depends on whether the cloud version is good enough for me or not. Email and Google/Gmail I use exclusivly cloud. Don't use fat clients. For Word, I use the full application. The cloud version does not have the advance features i use. The cloud offering is good enough for basic docs and Google docs and MS Online Word are interchangeable.

For a DAW. I think I need the full desktop version. If if were to be a subscription, it would need to be something where it checks in online once every week or month to see if it's valid. I would buy a copy of Cubase for $10 a month and keep getting latest stability and security patches and updates. It's a good deal.