Image Line Acquires UVI

[MrJubbly]

Not sure what the issue with PACE/iLOK is. I use the software version and have never had a problem. BTW, you do know that they also own JUCE...probably the most popular plugin development platform.

https://www.pro-tools-expert.com/produc ... ehind-ilok

Yes, I was aware of that fact. And I was/am also very suspicious of exactly what prompted and drove PACE/iLok to acquire JUCE in the first place.

What net benefit are PACE getting in return, for buying the main software framework, that most third party plugin developers currently use to create their audio plugin products?

Could they possibly have viewed the platform to be a way to try to encourage more software developers who use JUCE to Trojan-Horse iLok into more future plugins? If not, then for what reason did that DRM company buy JUCE?

Enquiring minds want to know.

[bmanic]

Totally agree for the most part, except for this lovely little Mac Mini M1 basic model I have been running here for the past 2 years. At the time of purchase, it ran rings around similarly priced PCs, is literally completely quiet and has been extremely reliable (as long as you run all native stuff! That's the caveat!).

Yeah, but the base model M2 Mini is a dog. You should at least buy the 512GB version ($800) because the 256GB storage is SLOWWWW...

But for $100 less than that, you can buy the Windows machine I use:

POWERSPEC B734 Desktop Computer (Micro Center)
AMD Ryzen 7 5700G 3.8GHz Processor
Microsoft Windows 11 Pro
16GB DDR4-2666 RAM
1TB SSD

I upgraded it to 32GB for a bit over $100

Lucky for me I have the M1 basic model. It's been great and is almost twice as fast as the M2 storage.

Also, at the time I purchased it, it was way faster than any windows setup I could have built myself (been building PCs since the early 90s!). So yeah, at the time, it was an absolute no-brainer.

I've seen some basic m1 mac mini systems go 2nd hand for under 400 euros which is an absolutely sick deal!

[MrJubbly]

i used to dis ilok at every opportunity when it was mostly dongle based and they had some software issues etc.. but since they've gotten the ilok authorizer dialed it's been transparent and a non issue. have had no problems w/it for so long now.. i kind of prefer it for authorizing because you can authorize lot's of things w/one button click as opposed to separate processes for each installation.

This is the most common thing I hear from pro-iLok users. Which is that individual authorisation of non-iLok plugins is somehow a chore, or more work than authorising via their iLok DRM.

That honestly baffles me, since I've only ever encountered authorisation issues with iLok. For me, it is zero hardship to, for example, authorise plugins using serial numbers. Which I feel is still one of the most user-friendly methods.

I generally only use my main desktop device, so it's pretty much a one time deal (which maybe takes a second or two per plugin authorisation?) I certainly don't need to authorise my plugins multiple times across several different devices from one day to the next, so this has never been an issue for me.

All it takes is to keep a simple, securely backed-up and password-protected archive file (containing the serial numbers and/or licence/registration files), is no hardship whatsoever. Everything you need to authorise any of your plugins is in the one archive file, which is securely password-protected. Not to mention, several of my plugins are themselves 'bundles' for which I have a one licence/serial authorises them all solution.

Of my other 'non-serial number' plugins which unfortunately, do require to be authorised online, at least they are very quick to activate and generally allow doing so directly from within the plugin (or installer) itself. As opposed to having to install separate standalone iLok DRM software (hundreds of megabytes) just for the sake of authorising software. And I'm not even going to delve into all the negative issues relying on iLok can bring about, most of which are well documented online ad infinitum.

So yeah, I stand by my original comment: "mandatory iLok must DIE!"

[Held]

What negative consequences? Have you been prevented from installing FL Studio at any time on any computer of your choosing?

Its as simple as logging into your account on the FL Studio About Panel and entering the code we send to your email.

On June 9, 2021, between 1:00 and 7:20 Central European Time (CET), a bug affecting our servers broke the activation process of Bitwig Studio and caused the application to go into demo mode. (https://www.bitwig.com/stories/temporar ... ssues-145/)

So not only were people unable to activate Bitwig on new computers, Bitwig was disabled on every computer unfortnate enought to be connected to the internet while pirated versions happily kept working.

There are plenty of other events where copy protection screwed over honest users.

But I'm sure your system is perfect... What's the guaranteed uptime of your host for the activation servers? Even if it were 100% (which it never is), things go wrong and server access is lost.

[lobanov]

Yes, I was aware of that fact. And I was/am also very suspicious of exactly what prompted and drove PACE/iLok to acquire JUCE in the first place.

What net benefit are PACE getting in return, for buying the main software framework, that most third party plugin developers currently use to create their audio plugin products?

Could they possibly have viewed the platform to be a way to try to encourage more software developers who use JUCE to Trojan-Horse iLok into more future plugins? If not, then for what reason did that DRM company buy JUCE?

Enquiring minds want to know.

Almost three years have passed since PACE aquired JUCE. What has changed? Where is "intrusive" iLock in JUCE? Does PACE force developers to use iLock?

Nothing has changed.

[MrJubbly]

Yes, I was aware of that fact. And I was/am also very suspicious of exactly what prompted and drove PACE/iLok to acquire JUCE in the first place.

What net benefit are PACE getting in return, for buying the main software framework, that most third party plugin developers currently use to create their audio plugin products?

Could they possibly have viewed the platform to be a way to try to encourage more software developers who use JUCE to Trojan-Horse iLok into more future plugins? If not, then for what reason did that DRM company buy JUCE?

Enquiring minds want to know.

Almost three years have passed since PACE aquired JUCE. What has changed? Where is "intrusive" iLock in JUCE? Does PACE force developers to use iLock?

Nothing has changed.

Nothing has changed ... yet! (or that you are aware of).

You'll forgive me for remaining suspicious regarding the reasons for that particular acquisition.

And it is noted that you, yourself did not offer any plausible alternative reasons or suppositions thereof.

[martinjuenke]

6E48BAFC-7BC3-4C4A-9FDF-61A076CDDB5D.jpeg

[Octave_Jumper]

And it is noted that you, yourself did not offer any plausible alternative reasons or suppositions thereof.

[lobanov]

You'll forgive me for remaining suspicious regarding the reasons for that particular acquisition.

And it is noted that you did not offer any plausible alternative reasons or suppositions thereof yourself.

Nothing has changed ... yet! (or that you are aware of).

Sorry, I cannot forgive you. It's not possible as you aren't guilty.

I'm almost sure PACE aquired JUCE for reasons of prestige. And advertisment. Or PR. Their reputation isn't brilliant. And they can remind developers of themselves and their protection. "We aren't monsters. And we are always near to you." Smart move.

Money? Who knows... JUCE is likely profitable. But PACE makes incommensurably more money with their protection. As I understnd every licence costs something for developers.

Also they saved JUCE. Who knows what would happen to JUCE after the bankruptcy of ROLI, the previous owner. SOUL, another project of main JUCE developer Julian Storer, after the bankruptcy of ROLI is dead. He makes new one from scratch and he can't (has no rights to) use the original code written when working on ROLI. This wasn't intentional, PACE didn't know about it. And coudn't. But in fact they saved JUCE.

[BoogerSnot]

Is the dreaded contraction stage on the horizon?

How many compressors do you need?

I think there are still quite a few smaller innovative companies. Hopefully they can still succeed.

If consolidation is leading to big mergers (which it is), contraction is going to be more than just compressors.

[husker37]

OK, I'm going to lock this thread. Instead of cool conversations regarding the UVI/Image Line partnership, the conversation (in typical KVR fashion) has denigrated into DRM, why Imagine Line is evil for trying to protect its IP, and now is heading into an ILok debate. If any of you are interested in such discussions, there are hundreds of thread on KVR you can join.