Roland Cloud

[WatchTheGuitar]

While the Roland Cloud doesn’t offer much in the way of reverb some people really overcompensate on the wah wah front

[trackbout]

It's not double speak to call it a lifetime key. A key is used to unlock something, and I don't own too many keys, physical or soft, that get used once and never need to be used again. It's a lifetime key because it continues to function, as a key, for life.

True enough. I guess many of us don't really want a key to unlock a door that lets us into a room where we get to use a product we paid for. We want to take the product home. Because it's frustrating when you show up to put your key in the door and there is a sign that says "Not open today", or the key just doesn't work for some reason, or maybe the house burns down one day, along with your product that you were never allowed o take home, but only owned the key for where it's kept.

I agree that if a developer is going to require a periodic internet connection to use their products, they have chosen to become an online authentication service provider, and they should be held to a standard SLA of "5 nines", or 99.999% uptime guaranteed, just like any other online service provider. If they can't do that they should outsource their authentication system to a more competent service provider. I also agree that the intervals of re-authentication should be infrequent, once or twice a month seems reasonable.

There's nothing dishonest about the term "lifetime key" though, and I do think everyone would be well served to get used to the requirement for periodic internet connections, at the very least for things with "cloud" in their names. We've all seen the world move that way generally and I wouldn't hold my breath for the trend to reverse any time soon.

[Chrisk-K]

It's not double speak to call it a lifetime key. A key is used to unlock something, and I don't own too many keys, physical or soft, that get used once and never need to be used again. It's a lifetime key because it continues to function, as a key, for life.

True enough. I guess many of us don't really want a key to unlock a door that lets us into a room where we get to use a product we paid for. We want to take the product home. Because it's frustrating when you show up to put your key in the door and there is a sign that says "Not open today", or the key just doesn't work for some reason, or maybe the house burns down one day, along with your product that you were never allowed o take home, but only owned the key for where it's kept.

No product ever worked 100% of time, and no product will ever work 100% of time. If you want a product that works 100%, you will never find one.

[BBFG#]

It's a thirty day key.
Until Roland decides it is no longer in their best interest to keep it up.
Still have plugins from their "other site" which is no longer supported. Also "lifetime".

But I got my answer. Even if they spun it in the usual way to not really answer it.
Hopefully others will get a clue and keep at them to make lifetime more than the life of this particular scheme of residual income.

[TribeOfHǫfuð]

There's nothing dishonest about the term "lifetime key"

Only because the term is too vague and futile. It translates to "lifetime rent of product as long as you got an internet connection, and we are in business." In others words, the "key" willl never be yours. Dishonest? Maybe not, but under informed, pretty much; people constantly ask how this works.

[fmr]

It's not double speak to call it a lifetime key. A key is used to unlock something, and I don't own too many keys, physical or soft, that get used once and never need to be used again. It's a lifetime key because it continues to function, as a key, for life.

True enough. I guess many of us don't really want a key to unlock a door that lets us into a room where we get to use a product we paid for. We want to take the product home. Because it's frustrating when you show up to put your key in the door and there is a sign that says "Not open today", or the key just doesn't work for some reason, or maybe the house burns down one day, along with your product that you were never allowed o take home, but only owned the key for where it's kept.

No product ever worked 100% of time, and no product will ever work 100% of time. If you want a product that works 100%, you will never find one.

Well... It's true only to an extent. I can give you the example of Camel Audio (just an example, I'm sure there are more). I own Alchemy, and I still use it now (in 2021) in Windows 10, despite the fact thqt Camel Audio was sold to Apple a few years ago. If there was something like the Roland system, I would have been locked out back then.

Anyways, I'll be waiting for the "exciting news". If it happens they will be more of the same that we have got lately, this will be my last year of subscription.

[JamminFool]

Anyways, I'll be waiting for the "exciting news". If it happens they will be more of the same that we have got lately, this will be my last year of subscription.

same here.

[Echoes in the Attic]

If the exciting news means permanent authorization and not cloud server dependency, I'd probably buy more Roland VSTs.

[JamminFool]

If the exciting news means permanent authorization and not cloud server dependency, I'd probably buy more Roland VSTs.

again, same here.

[Echoes in the Attic]

It's not double speak to call it a lifetime key. A key is used to unlock something, and I don't own too many keys, physical or soft, that get used once and never need to be used again. It's a lifetime key because it continues to function, as a key, for life.

True enough. I guess many of us don't really want a key to unlock a door that lets us into a room where we get to use a product we paid for. We want to take the product home. Because it's frustrating when you show up to put your key in the door and there is a sign that says "Not open today", or the key just doesn't work for some reason, or maybe the house burns down one day, along with your product that you were never allowed o take home, but only owned the key for where it's kept.

No product ever worked 100% of time, and no product will ever work 100% of time. If you want a product that works 100%, you will never find one.

I don't think that's really true, aside from a few bugs that might cause a crash sometimes. But that's fairly rare for plugins I use. And of course there is eventual incompatibility when an operating system or DAW changes it's requirements. But that's a very long time frame and there are always wrappers and even just keeping a system at an older OS.

What we are really talking about hear is an authorization system that allows offline 100% up time. And most authorization system allow that and only require a new authorization when you change computers. Only other exception I've come across is ilok which crapped out on me once and I couldn't load the software anymore and plugins deauthorized. I swore that off too.

[epiphaneia]

To answer your question, the Lifetime Key is a single purchase license option, but it does require authentication, and will continue to require authentication. I understand that this does not work for some setups, and that's ok. This may not be the right product for you.

A one-off C/R would be great, but I don´t see that on the horizon though I´d be glad to be proven wrong. Personally, I don´t even mind soo much taking my studio mac online occasionally, if only the Roland plugins and their auth then worked without the bloody freeze-prone bloated license manager.

Just build the 30-day-check into the plugins, and make soundpacks downloadable from the plugins they´re for. Or build a manager that works, has a decent responsive GUI and doesn´t get stuck when one turns off the internet connection; it just doesn´t notice when I connect to the internet again, I have to kill the process and open the Roland Manager again. Yes, latest version etc etc.

Also, when I want to load a logic project with wifi turned off and the project includes a Roland plugin that, just then, possibly wants to be authorized, logic freezes and needs to be shot down.

Arturia can write a good license manager. NI can do it. Kilohearts can do it. Korg -within certain limits- can do it. UVI can do it. Roland should be able to.

[BBFG#]

It's not double speak to call it a lifetime key. A key is used to unlock something, and I don't own too many keys, physical or soft, that get used once and never need to be used again. It's a lifetime key because it continues to function, as a key, for life.

True enough. I guess many of us don't really want a key to unlock a door that lets us into a room where we get to use a product we paid for. We want to take the product home. Because it's frustrating when you show up to put your key in the door and there is a sign that says "Not open today", or the key just doesn't work for some reason, or maybe the house burns down one day, along with your product that you were never allowed o take home, but only owned the key for where it's kept.

No product ever worked 100% of time, and no product will ever work 100% of time. If you want a product that works 100%, you will never find one.

I don't think that's really true, aside from a few bugs that might cause a crash sometimes. But that's fairly rare for plugins I use. And of course there is eventual incompatibility when an operating system or DAW changes it's requirements. But that's a very long time frame and there are always wrappers and even just keeping a system at an older OS.

What we are really talking about hear is an authorization system that allows offline 100% up time. And most authorization system allow that and only require a new authorization when you change computers. Only other exception I've come across is ilok which crapped out on me once and I couldn't load the software anymore and plugins deauthorized. I swore that off too.

This. Exactly.
I have the manager and the basic Zenology downloaded and installed. If I have any interest in a single product, I'll take the "Test Drive". Often deciding it no longer holds up against other things in the market. Any purchase in the future (of which is maybe 2 plugins out of the line up), is more nostalgic than necessity and completely dismissed by their current scheme. So currently, perhaps none of their products are for us.
Which means they're paying for bandwidth that will never result in an offset of income. Unless they're selling our data as other internet sites do.
And all my given information to them is catfish...

[Brian.McClelland]

and will continue to require authentication.

Then it's not a lifetime key, it's as lifetime authentication program.
That is a description of double speak.

But I am surprised you actually attempted to answer this time.

And no, iLok is not a great idea.

Hey, BBF#G! While there are limits to the information that I can disclose publicly until the release of many products or feature rollouts, I try to provide as much info and context as I can about our operations. Sometimes, we get many requests for new features or instruments, which are in the works, but are also not to be discussed publicly until release.

I understand what you're saying about the use of the phrase 'lifetime" here. While instruments were previously available from the Content Store without a license check, we do have to check licenses for a number of reasons, which will continue to require an occasional connection. Again, that may work for your workflow, it may not, and that's ok.

It's not double speak to call it a lifetime key. A key is used to unlock something, and I don't own too many keys, physical or soft, that get used once and never need to be used again. It's a lifetime key because it continues to function, as a key, for life.

True enough. I guess many of us don't really want a key to unlock a door that lets us into a room where we get to use a product we paid for. We want to take the product home. Because it's frustrating when you show up to put your key in the door and there is a sign that says "Not open today", or the key just doesn't work for some reason, or maybe the house burns down one day, along with your product that you were never allowed o take home, but only owned the key for where it's kept.

Hey, EchosintheAttic! I understand what you're saying here. What I can do is assist with support issues and get issues that need attention to our dev team. If you notice that you're having errors or that your account isn't connecting, just let me know. Feel free to send me a message and I will coordinate to get you some assistance. We're working all the time to build a solid platform, so that the sign never says "Not Open Today." We want you guys to have fun and make music, so just let me know if this ever happens, and I'll take care of you. Thanks!

[TribeOfHǫfuð]

If the exciting news means permanent authorization and not cloud server dependency, I'd probably buy more Roland VSTs.

again, same here.

Count me in.

[D-Fusion]