Cubase 12 released

[kritikon]

I'm happy with the dongle, always was.

I'm surprised that there are people who are "happy" with a blocked USB port on their computer for a copy protection dongle (imagine you have several of them, eLicenser, iLok, Codemeter...), but, hey...

It's not blocked - it's used. It's used for my dongle. I only have 1 dongle, never even heard of Codemeter. I have 4 ports on my laptop and I only really use 2 of them - 1 for dongle, 1 for soundcard, leaving me 2 spares if I wanted a mixer etc, so it's just not an issue. I can understand it might be for some, but definitely not everyone uses shitloads of USB gear. I do use shitloads of midi gear, but midi comes via the soundcard and I use a midi patchbay (which I'd use no matter how many USB ports I had). And on a desktop you have more USB ports, so again - not really a problem. And I believe there are such things as USB hubs (I vaguely remember hearing that dongles don't like USB hubs though.)

[kritikon]

Seriously, USB dongles are really nuts. I don't know any other industry which relies on physical copy protections.

Anyway, I'm not sure why we even still discuss this. Steinberg will be dongle free soon (at least the new products), and there's nothing that will change that.

You ever driven a car? Try driving one without either a key or the newer proximity chips. They are dongles. Have you ever had a house/flat without a key? They are dongles. Try the incredibly huge number of companies that require passkeys/ID cards etc to even get into their premises. They are dongles. Jeez, I work in a hospital and I simply can't function without a hospital ID card dongle because I wouldn't be able to get into wards/drug rooms/equipment rooms/staff rooms/cafeteria/toilets. How can you buy anything without an EFTPOS card/debit card/credit card? Guess what, yeah, they're dongles. Dongles are everywhere, always have been. TBH even passports are dongles - you need one to travel. For some reason musicians have taken a visceral hatred to a computer dongle, and that's not the norm.

Yes, Steinberg will be dongle-free if you want. They have said they will also continue using the dongle. I'll continue using it, thanks. If the new security relies on internet that makes it dodgy for me - I don't have reliable internet. Ours goes down regularly. Generally it's not down for long, but I'll be sorely pissed off if having no internet stops me making music when I want to. When internet goes down and I can't watch telly I can go downstairs and make funny noises on my toys. A dongle never ever stopped me.

[LoveEnigma18]

I wonder what system NI and Arturia are using. It is hassle free and works great.

Also, it will be interesting to see how Steinberg will handle license transfers and if they will charge a fee for that, which seems pretty likely to me.

[chk071]

Seriously, USB dongles are really nuts. I don't know any other industry which relies on physical copy protections.

Anyway, I'm not sure why we even still discuss this. Steinberg will be dongle free soon (at least the new products), and there's nothing that will change that.

You ever driven a car? Try driving one without either a key or the newer proximity chips. They are dongles. Have you ever had a house/flat without a key? They are dongles. Try the incredibly huge number of companies that require passkeys/ID cards etc to even get into their premises. They are dongles. Jeez, I work in a hospital and I simply can't function without a hospital ID card dongle because I wouldn't be able to get into wards/drug rooms/equipment rooms/staff rooms/cafeteria/toilets. How can you buy anything without an EFTPOS card/debit card/credit card? Guess what, yeah, they're dongles. Dongles are everywhere, always have been. TBH even passports are dongles - you need one to travel. For some reason musicians have taken a visceral hatred to a computer dongle, and that's not the norm.

That's the point. In the virtual world of computers, it's not necessary to have a physical key to your computer, your accounts, or your software. It can all be done virtually, without the need of any physical device which unlocks those things. Actually, I would even argue that it's kind of ancient to have such a device to unlock your software. That's why we more and more see the withdrawal of such mechanisms.

I understand why the industry did it, especially with exclusively small to mid tier businesses. But, I'm grateful that more and more of them find alternative ways of dealing with piracy. Ways which don't make it necessary to block my computer's physical inputs with stuff which is not needed to make music.

[chk071]

I wonder what system NI and Arturia are using. It is hassle free and works great.

I'm pretty sure the Steinberg system will be very similar to those.

[dellboy]

But, I'm grateful that more and more of them find alternative ways of dealing with piracy.

They have ?

I am not going to go googling but I strongly suspect that all of Arturia - Native Instruments - Presonus etc are availabe as a "free download" (ahem) somewhere. I would love to know that I am wrong, and I genuinely hope that such new ways do exist, and that new virtual ways that are as effective as a physical dongle actually work.

[chk071]

Read what I wrote. I'm grateful that more and more of the companies find alternative ways to dongles.

[FapFilter]

I don't know about how things are today, but isn't Cubase cracked anymore?
At least back in the end of the '90s - early to mid noughties literally everyone i knew was using a non legit version of Cubase.

[pixel85]

I don't know about how things are today, but isn't Cubase cracked anymore?
At least back in the end of the '90s - early to mid noughties literally everyone i knew was using a non legit version of Cubase.

There's Cubaseva small portion of other audio software that is not cracked. Definitely Best Service Engine is not cracked I know because once I was pissed that their software is forgetting licenses often even with some tiny change of hardware and you're limited to 3 activations and then you must email them to reset counter. F** annoying.
It seems that everything else is pirated so all those protections are totally useless. But I guess that some sick CEOs are happy to punish their customers with some crappy limitations that sometimes you can't even use software on 2 different profiles on the same OS/PC. Because naturally nobody use 1 computer for eg. work and personal use. Nobody
NI and some others have good protection systems that don't punish users. Everyone else can f*** off with ridiculous restrictions.

[FapFilter]

Yes, that's my big complaint with this stuff too, that those who actually pay for their stuff are getting punished and the cracks users in addition to getting the software for free (illegally of course), also are getting the hassle free version on top of that.

[chk071]

Yes, that's my big complaint with this stuff too, that those who actually pay for their stuff are getting punished

If it's done properly, you won't even notice the copy protection.

Besides, do you also feel punished by door locks, car locks, speed limits, or signs which tell you that you're entering private property? I don't get the thinking, TBH.

[T-CM11]

If it's done properly, you won't even notice the copy protection.

Besides, do you also feel punished by door locks, car locks, speed limits, or signs which tell you that you're entering private property? I don't get the thinking, TBH.

When something goes wrong, you'll notice it.

What's with the stupid analogies? Did someone put their door lock on your door? You didn't complain I hope?

[FapFilter]

Copy protections that always check upon startup often also affect loading times in a negative way.
And as someone else has mentioned here, these physical locks are not required in software.

Of course everyone has different sensitivities to these things.
I'm perfectly fine with key files. NI's and FXpansion's systems are the only more restrictive protections i still have on my DAW. They are (begrungingly) still tolerable but you can bet if the developers of FXpansion are keeping their word and release unlocked versions if/when the FXpansion brand goes completely extinct, i will switch to these unlocked versions.

If it actually helped the developers, i could understand these moves, but since probably 99% of everything is getting cracked anyway i see moves like dongles, C/R, etc. purely as something as a piss move on their actual customers as the stuff is getting cracked anyway.
While those who use cracks are actually getting the smoother experience.

[chk071]

If it's done properly, you won't even notice the copy protection.

Besides, do you also feel punished by door locks, car locks, speed limits, or signs which tell you that you're entering private property? I don't get the thinking, TBH.

When something goes wrong, you'll notice it.

What's with the stupid analogies? Did someone put their door lock on your door? You didn't complain I hope?

It's not your door. You only purchased the license to use the door. Or, to get the analogy right, you only rented the house to live in it. You don't own it. And, the house owner/insurance company/whatever surely want's to make sure that everything is secured properly.

Anyway, as you say, let's stop with the stupid analogies. I would hope though that we could also stop with the stupid assumptions that it's the honest people which get hassled. I never had anyone complain being hassled when he couldn't enter my house without a key. Damn, now we're doing analogies again. I guess it just has to be, because, obviously, otherwise people just won't understand it.

[FapFilter]

I personally think when doors automatically unlock when it recognizes the authorized person(s), keys will be seen as hassles too.

Same as when remote controls came to the market, people suddenly thought that having to stand up to adjust volume or change channels on their TV or stereo was actually quite the hassle