SX dongle woes

[ResonantOrder]

Really. So what exactly is the con of having a serial number?

umm. no protection?

And why should I be concerned about protection? You can say that it's all about the development of the app, but it seems to me that most companies are directly responsible (Cubase) for their loss of sales. Not piracy.

Sonar, which just has the serial, continues to outsell Cubase here in the US. I have no idea about the rest of the world.

To me, Dongle=your a criminal.

People bitch all the time about activation, but it's easy to find a keygen to circumvent the activation process if NI went down. Finding a dongle, on the other hand, would be near impossible. The protection is so pervasive in Cubase, that I doubt they've even developed a method of letting people off the hook if they went under. And Cubase is a company that continues to switch hands and lose money on a massive scale.

I just don't trust the suits to look out for me and the future of my studio. After being burned by Emagic, I don't trust any of them.

[trioptic]

knowing now, how obviously easy it is to emulate a dongle, and crack the protection.. is there really someone here that still thinks the dongle is a good idea?

[Pluu]

Yes it is still a good idea. I can work now with 3 computers. 1 at home, my studio and a laptop when I'm on the ´road.

The emulated something but did not crack the software. When they cracked the sw you could use legit VST's and probertly the verry nice coming update

[TeeLangSun]

I don't mind the dongle at all. Never had any problems with it.

Activation is another story. Nothing but grief and constant problems.

I will upgrade constantly, cpu, motherborad, hard drives... everything.

There have been times where I have had to request activation codes 3 times in one month. FFS I paid for it. Why should I need to justify why I need a new activation code for in the first place.

To me this concept is seriously flawed. It would be just like purchasing a car from a dealership but everytime you move or everytime you put a different type of fuel / oil in the car, change a lightbulb, (gawd I could go on and on), anyways the end result is you need to call the dealership and ask permission to resume operation / driving of the vehicle again.

A dongle to me is inobtrusive. Just plug it in and go.

I agree with you about all of that, but the dongle is far from as simple as you're making it out to be here. I've removed all the C/R software from my machine and written it all off as simply a loss. I'd love to do the same with Cubase SX and Hypersonic, but they're currently the center of what I do and I can't for the life of me find anything as well rounded as Cubase SX and has the features I want. So for now, I'm stuck dealing with the dongle. Trust me, the dongle method can also run into trouble and in the short time that I've had SX3 and Hypersonic, I've had a number of problems because of the dongle.

[Muff Wiggler]

To me, Dongle=your a criminal.

i'm trying to be fair and open-minded here, but that's about the most illogical statement ever.

"dongle crack=your a criminal" maybe, is that what you meant to say?

[CC4]

MySTiK - why are you denying yourself Reaktor? it totally kicks ass! as far as i know, NI doesn't use dongles anymore. (if you want to use Reaktor 3 ensembles in 5, then you do need a dongle).

all you have to do is just register with a serial number online (same with Abysnth). the serial number is pasted in the main big manual, you type it in, they send you a code and you plop that code in. you do have to reregister for a new code if your system specs change dramatically or you put the software on a new computer. not that big of a hassle though really. takes less than a few minutes.

i will say that i just received my new dongles, so now i can finally go back to using cubase. it however took almost an hour to download the new licenses from syncrosoft - three licenses in total. one for the sx bundled licenses, and then i had two licenses for 30 day demo steinberg stuff i still haven't used. it would have been faster to find nuts in a turd...

[james0tucson]

To me, Dongle=your a criminal.

i'm trying to be fair and open-minded here, but that's about the most illogical statement ever.

"dongle crack=your a criminal" maybe, is that what you meant to say?

I think the idea here, is the company doing the dongle thing, assumes YOU are a criminal, and you're basically agreeing with them when you give them your business.

Would you shop at a grocer that insisted you leave the keys to your car at the front desk while you shop? (Just for your protection, of course?) That's the spirit in which the dongle is presented. It establishes a bad faith relationship from the start. It says very plainly that this company assumes that I am going to commit fraud or theft against them before we have even entered into a business relationship.

For me, because of a fundamental incompatability with my own ethos, it entirely precludes any opportunity the vendor might have had to acquire my business.

Basically, I've gone to the other grocer, the one down the street which might have a better selection anyway, but it doesn't matter -- they don't assume I'd be happy to hand them my car keys while I shop "for my protection." The hell with that. Why on Earth would I want to give my business to someone who shows this opinion of me?

[Muff Wiggler]

actually, i consider that totally bullshit, personally.

it's more like - my expensive car has a lock on the door, and an alarm. NOT because i'm a criminal, it's there to protect my investment in a nice, expensive car, from the people that would steal it. my keyfob has a fancy chip inside it, and i can't start the car without the chip. if i lose or break the special keyfob, it means a huge pain in the ass, plus $400, for a new one.

anyway the whole piracy debate is waay long in the tooth for me at this point, the arguments are old and boring, and anyone who doesn't get it at this point is simply making excuses for their own lack of morality

in my opinion anyway

[james0tucson]

The protection is so pervasive in Cubase, that I doubt they've even developed a method of letting people off the hook if they went under.

I imagine if you read the license, you will find that they have no intention of "letting you off the hook" if they go under. If they go, so does your licesnse to use the software, as far as they are concerned.

As you observed, your whole relationship with the company begins with them assuming you are a crminal. I don't get any further than that; but some people seem willing to bend their integrity in order to obtain some value they derive from the use of the software. That's their choice, but one I am *fundamentally* unable to make. It may be an Irish thing, it may be an Indian thing, but it's definitely something in my blood. Call me a liar, I'm not going to waste a breath trying to convince you of anything; call me a thief, I'm not going to buy what you're selling. It's fundamentally at odds with something basic in my ethos.

As an artist, it goes even further. They'd like me to use a tool to develop my art, but to do so, I run the risk of a certain amount of control being asserted against *my* creative works by some other party, all because *THEY* think *THEIR* copyrights are more important than *MINE*. Again, I disagree fundamentally, wholeheartedly, and intractably with their position, and would find it absolutely impossible to enter into this relationship with them unless the balance of power was somewhat reversed. What I mean by that, is, the company would have to be giving me consideration in order to use their product. Certainly, I'm not going to be paying THEM for it, AND surrendering some fundamental tenets of my own ethos, my professional integrity, AND paying for the privilege. They cannot possibly be offering anything of sufficient value that would make me bend on these principles!

The government gets to treat me this way, because if I wanted to stand my ground with them, I'd run the risk of being hauled away by men with guns. The software company in question doesn't have that authority, nor do they have my business.

[Muff Wiggler]

dude, that's more bullshit. if they 'go under' (fat chance), my Cubase SX will still install and run just fine, as many times as i want it to, as long as i have my dongle.

you are starting to look a little funny spreading all this anti-cubase bullshit and FUD around. You wouldn't happen to be 'superprotoolsuser' would you?

[trioptic]

i look at it more like i purchased software for the ease, portability and because I can keep everyone in one place.

Now, unless you can find your activation cd/dvds (reason + other programs do this), 4-5 dongles (lets say you have a few programs) AND you have an ethernet card (since so fuckin many rely on MAC address it seems).. you are shit out of luck, and waiting for replacements from the company.

Honestly, I really don't care as much anymore as I have been relying more and more on my external equipment, and the new ProTools HD rig we got.

i can only imagine if there were more dongles to keep track of for the HD system

[original flipper]

HI

When I purchased Halion a year or so ago and opened the case and saw a dongle inside I almost fell off my chair - never installed it and sold it (at the usual loss) within weeks.

I have SXV3 on my daw and tbh I have had several instances of the dongle not being 'seen' - on 1 ocasion I could not use it for a whole day - which is bad news.

I think the Logic dongle was bearable because it did not (as I remember) require any registering - it simply sat in the usb port - even that gave me a couple of non starters!

BUT - you learn through experience, I would probably not buy any software again that required a dongle, I don't even like the NI method, in an ideal(ish) world we would simply have a code number - I think that many programs are so large that they are not exactly quick downloads - which probably puts off the casual warez user - but the companies decide their policy and live with it.

Of note is the fact that NI decided dongles were not worthwhile, but who knows what's around the corner!

Flipper.

[braj]

I own Live, and they use copy protection. I don't mind it really, and I can run the software legally on two machines. They trust me not to give one of my codes away or use both at once. I like that they trust me. So I have a backup.

Now, if Cubase gave you two dongles just in case one was lost or broken, then I may consider a dongle, but as it stands you may be SOL for two weeks if you have a problem with your dongle. That's just totally unacceptable.

[Tony Ostinato]

Is there a CAR i can buy that doesnt need a KEY, i might lose the key.

then again if i did lose my car key it wouldnt take me 10 months to hotwire it.

they do give you extra car keys, then again you cant COPY a car...

[original flipper]

HI

But can't you remove the door locks and still use the car - assuming your next door neighbours kid ain't doing a drive by in it?

Flipper.