They don't require a dongle, and the iLok service that runs on the PC/Mac uses almost nothing for resources (6-7MB/RAM and pretty much no CPU).MJACau wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2023 4:43 pm No your not the only one.
Talk of iLok has always been a sore thumb topic here, I can understand those that like using there dongles for projects.
I like the system Izotope and Sonible now use, you can use either iLok or website machine based activation.
It keeps everybody happy.
I do miss using UVI's Shade, but I have other EQ tool options.
The only time I have an issue with iLok is when the software only comes with 1 activation (East West, Exponential Audio, etc.). The scenarios where this is problematic are obvious. With at least 2 activations, though, I don't have issue with it.
I just plugged dongles into my Monitor, which has 4 powered USB Ports, so they never took up room on my PC (and I would never use those ports for general purpose, due to how annoying they are to access), so even with Machine licenses available, I tended to prefer dongles on my desktop.
Dongles only annoyed on my laptop, because they are huge and stick out too much. If they were the size of those minimalist thumb drives from SanDisk or Samsung, though, I probably wouldn't even mind them there (well... on a PC Laptop with 4-5 USB A/C ports; it would be more annoying on a MacBook - especially those with only 2 USB-C ports).
Also, if you ever are in a situation where you need a license reset (PC upgrade orphaned activations, etc.) I have found companies like iZotope and UVI to be extremely fast in addressing those issues. Usually fixed within a business day.
Most popular products in the lower market segments have moved to machine authorization.
Those that still require dongles tend to be in market segments where people use them anyways.
iZotope has limited number of software authorizations, so if you have multiple computers and tend to refresh/rebuild/reinstall them regularly; you can run out and need to contact them to reset the license. This has happened to me on numerous occasions. I am not sure what the threshold for installations/activations that triggers this is.
Sonible has only 2 software activations, and transferring them to iLok uses them up. You can only use an iLok dongle, as well.
EDIT: You know you talk about music production too much when you keep typing "Maschine" instead of "Machine."