Which developers are a safe bet for longevity.
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- KVRian
- 1450 posts since 9 Feb, 2007 from San Ramon, California
None of them are safe. Every company has potential to fail.
In my opinion, the best bet is to be ready and able to adapt and change direction. As an engineer in my professional life (optical engineer and mathematical modeler with over 30 years of experience), I switch tools as needed. Learning new things is both challenging and fun, again in my opinion. Audio tools are similar. Sure I was disappointed when Apple bought Camel Audio and when LinPlug closed up shop, but there are lots of good tools from many other developers.
In my opinion, the best bet is to be ready and able to adapt and change direction. As an engineer in my professional life (optical engineer and mathematical modeler with over 30 years of experience), I switch tools as needed. Learning new things is both challenging and fun, again in my opinion. Audio tools are similar. Sure I was disappointed when Apple bought Camel Audio and when LinPlug closed up shop, but there are lots of good tools from many other developers.
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Gribs
Gribs
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- KVRAF
- 4054 posts since 8 Jan, 2005 from Hamilton, New Zealand
Only safe bet is freeware
I make music: progressive-acoustic | electronica/game-soundtrack work | progressive alt-metal
Win 10/11 Simplifier | Also, Specialized C++ containers
Win 10/11 Simplifier | Also, Specialized C++ containers
- KVRAF
- 2192 posts since 8 Jan, 2005
I think about that all the time. What if I put my notebook aside and after.. let's say... 5 years turn it back on.
Which plugins will still authorize? My guess is that half of the stuff I have now, will simply refuse to work
talk about sunk cost...
Which plugins will still authorize? My guess is that half of the stuff I have now, will simply refuse to work
talk about sunk cost...
MacMini M2 Pro …… MacOS Tahoe ……… Reason 14
- KVRAF
- 7642 posts since 2 Sep, 2019
Only if you never update you DAW, OS, or computer system.
THIS MUSIC HAS BEEN MIXED TO BE PLAYED LOUD SO TURN IT UP
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- KVRAF
- 16724 posts since 13 Oct, 2009
Really only open source, and even then only if you have the skill to maintain the code. There are better bets though. I suspect that Reaper will continue to work until I'm dead. Probably Logic as well.
- KVRAF
- 5378 posts since 25 Jan, 2014 from The End of The World as We Knowit
MuLab has plans to continue beyond death.ghettosynth wrote: Mon Oct 31, 2022 6:09 amI suspect that Reaper will continue to work until I'm dead. Probably Logic as well.
F E E D
Y O U R
F L O W
Y O U R
F L O W
- KVRist
- 124 posts since 31 Dec, 2021
Yeah... I have about 5-6 years worth of DAW projects from the mid 2000's that are a nightmare to get working because they require an old 32-bit FLStudio to open correctly, an older OS, they also use a lot of old SynthEdit plugins which cause me major issues, they require single core processing or you'll get crashes, and then there's all those soundfonts...
Kept me stubborn about sticking with 32-bit DAW's and old plugins for far too long but I eventually made the jump and now I'm a lot more selective about what actually stays in my projects...
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- KVRist
- 148 posts since 6 Oct, 2022
Anyone still using this?

Does it even authorize and run? Transfer or register?

Does it even authorize and run? Transfer or register?
- KVRAF
- 7018 posts since 19 Apr, 2002 from Utah
The way I have things set up for longevity is the following:
* I use Linux
* I use my favorite 64 bit OpenSource plugins that are included in all of the distro repositories
* I use only software that supports High Resolution screens
* When buying, I avoid anything other than Serial or keyfile copy protection
* One of the most stable ABIs/APIs in Linux is WINE. Most everything that I have from the Windows world that supports high resolution screens is likely to continue working forever in Linux.
Even with all of this, I have hundreds of apps and tools that I've lost the use of over the years, because I use HiDPI monitors and don't want to go back to older resolutions -- which goes to show that even after years of planning for longevity, you can still be bit in the butt by some unseen technological development.
Edit: I guess I should add that for every plugin that I like that I no longer use because of resolution problems, I use DiscoDSP's Bliss sampler to convert my favorite patches to SFZ multisamples that can be essentially used in any sampler (especially SFZ players). I have a very large SFZ collection (approximately 40-50GB). This supplements a lot!
* I use Linux
* I use my favorite 64 bit OpenSource plugins that are included in all of the distro repositories
* I use only software that supports High Resolution screens
* When buying, I avoid anything other than Serial or keyfile copy protection
* One of the most stable ABIs/APIs in Linux is WINE. Most everything that I have from the Windows world that supports high resolution screens is likely to continue working forever in Linux.
Even with all of this, I have hundreds of apps and tools that I've lost the use of over the years, because I use HiDPI monitors and don't want to go back to older resolutions -- which goes to show that even after years of planning for longevity, you can still be bit in the butt by some unseen technological development.
Edit: I guess I should add that for every plugin that I like that I no longer use because of resolution problems, I use DiscoDSP's Bliss sampler to convert my favorite patches to SFZ multisamples that can be essentially used in any sampler (especially SFZ players). I have a very large SFZ collection (approximately 40-50GB). This supplements a lot!
Vendor‑Dependent Copy Protection: Customers lose. Pirates win.
(Also: I'm Accused of lying about Linux—it boots, runs my pro audio workflow, stays stable, updates--though yearly dismissed as “niche”. Yet I'm the deluded one.)
(Also: I'm Accused of lying about Linux—it boots, runs my pro audio workflow, stays stable, updates--though yearly dismissed as “niche”. Yet I'm the deluded one.)
- KVRAF
- 2192 posts since 8 Jan, 2005
OOh I remember wanting one so desperatelyeerie_audio wrote: Mon Oct 31, 2022 3:01 pm Anyone still using this?
Does it even authorize and run? Transfer or register?
MacMini M2 Pro …… MacOS Tahoe ……… Reason 14
- KVRAF
- 5375 posts since 22 Jul, 2006 from Tasmania, Australia
i have a kore2,
i use it for midi ports on windows
i use it for midi ports on windows
I wonder what I want in here
-my site is gone and music a mess
-my site is gone and music a mess
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- KVRian
- 694 posts since 28 Apr, 2004 from location: location
For a comprehensive list of developers that only use serial/keyfile activation, here's a dedicated thread:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=541495
Note, the list is slightly out of date, some companies now require server activation: Imageline, Amplesound
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=541495
Note, the list is slightly out of date, some companies now require server activation: Imageline, Amplesound
eh?
- KVRAF
- 2469 posts since 25 Sep, 2014 from Specific Northwest
Zombie Jo!Michael L wrote: Mon Oct 31, 2022 8:17 amMuLab has plans to continue beyond death.ghettosynth wrote: Mon Oct 31, 2022 6:09 amI suspect that Reaper will continue to work until I'm dead. Probably Logic as well.
I started on Logic 5 with a PowerBook G4 550Mhz. I now have a MacBook Air M1 and it's ~165x faster! So, why is my music not proportionally better? 
