KVR Audio

no_barcode · Post by **no_barcode** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 12:44 am

I almost killed my Cubase SX dongle today. My tower slid back an inch or two while I was cleaning, causing the dongle to slide under a bar on the back of my desk, bending the connector quite nicely and creating a very tiny hairline crack in the dongle's plastic casing. It sill works, I'm just really irritated now.

Which got me thinking. This whole dongle situation blows ass. I'd rather just have a serial number or even that challenge/response crap.

That aside, has anyone ever had to get their Cubase SX dongle replaced? What does that entail and how long does it take?

Oh, and is it possible to get them to send you a spare? (I guess maybe that would defeat the purpose of a dongle...?)

Alive In Chernobyl · Post by **Alive In Chernobyl** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 2:59 am

I broke dongle for cubase one time. They tell me to buy new cubase!! They offer to do nothing to help me. I was very angry. I use software that has no protection now. Both my software's have no protection!

Lawnmower Of The Damned · Sun Jun 20, 2004 3:02 am

The whole dongle thing is just stupid. Hackers laugh at all this stupid copy protection crap and break through it in less than a day, then it's all over the net within 24 hours of the program's release. Dongles just make it more aggitating for the people who are actually buying the programs. Meanwhile, how much money do you think Steinberg had to pay in order to get those dongles made? For nothing more than to make some 12 year old hacker giggle with glee as he cracks it and sends it to his buddies. Bottom line: Copy protection is more of a hassle for legitamate owners then it is for the filesharers.

dougsyo · Post by **dougsyo** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 3:35 am

I intensely dislike "intrusive" copy protection (dongles, challenge-response, and random CD checks).

Over the years I have avoided dongles. I have one VSTI (B-4) that uses random CD check, and a few music programs that use C/R (Acid Pro 4, Sound Forge Studio 6 - both bought two years ago, and NI Kompakt - the only recent purchase and only after long consideration of the pro's, con's, costs and alternatives).

As long as there are viable alternatives, I won't buy programs that are "intrusively" protected. That's why I like Sonar, FLStudio, Energy XT, and VSTI from RGC, Dash, Linplug, ConcreteFX, Big Tick, & others - and is among the reasons why I didn't consider Absynth, Tracktion, Hypersonic, SampleTank 2, Mach 5, and Cubase.

Doug

no_barcode · Post by **no_barcode** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 3:53 pm

Alive In Chernobyl wrote:I broke dongle for cubase one time. They tell me to buy new cubase!! They offer to do nothing to help me. I was very angry...

Well I would think they would replace it - certainly if I were able to send in the broken one. Wouldn't that make sense?

dougsyo wrote:I intensely dislike "intrusive" copy protection (dongles, challenge-response, and random CD checks)...

I'm starting to feel the same way. You mention weighing pros, cons, cost, and alternatives - that's what gets me; there's not much choice out there. Everyone who makes anything useful is using some kind of nasty copy protection.

thornemaelstrom wrote:Dongles just make it more aggitating for the people who are actually buying the programs.

Exactly. All these protection methods only interfere with those of us who actually pay for the stuff. The people who don't want to buy software, still find ways to install and use it.

dougsyo · Post by **dougsyo** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 5:44 pm

no_barcode wrote:
dougsyo wrote:I intensely dislike "intrusive" copy protection (dongles, challenge-response, and random CD checks)...
I'm starting to feel the same way. You mention weighing pros, cons, cost, and alternatives - that's what gets me; there's not much choice out there. Everyone who makes anything useful is using some kind of nasty copy protection.

Sonar is (IMHO) the only "full-featured" sequencer that doesn't have nasty copy protection - just a serial number. Some of the other sequencers are very serviceabe, depending on your tastes. EnergyXT uses a keyfile. PowerTracks Pro Audio doesn't appear to use any copy protection (I have it and BIAB).

For virtual studios, Project5 uses serial number, and FLStudio uses keyfile that gets loaded to registry.

Doug

Improv · Post by **Improv** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 6:11 pm

no_barcode wrote:I almost killed my Cubase SX dongle today. My tower slid back an inch or two while I was cleaning, causing the dongle to slide under a bar on the back of my desk, bending the connector quite nicely and creating a very tiny hairline crack in the dongle's plastic casing. It sill works, I'm just really irritated now.

You might want to try using a USB extension cable. I have my SX2 dongle connected to a 4' cable and the dongle is taped to the top of the tower. Works fine.

c_huelsbeck · Post by **c_huelsbeck** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 6:22 pm

It should be no problem to get the dongle replaced if it is broken... I feel that's actually an obligation by a company that puts a dongle onto their software. Of course they may be entitled to charge you a fee for the replacement, but there must be a way to replace a broken one. I remember reading that Steinberg USA has replaced broken dongles in the past, but of course I don't know how the situation is if you live in Timbuktu.

no_barcode · Post by **no_barcode** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 10:40 pm

db wrote:You might want to try using a USB extension cable. I have my SX2 dongle connected to a 4' cable and the dongle is taped to the top of the tower. Works fine.

That's totally a good idea. Thanks for the tip!

Improv · Post by **Improv** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 10:54 pm

no_barcode wrote:
db wrote:You might want to try using a USB extension cable. I have my SX2 dongle connected to a 4' cable and the dongle is taped to the top of the tower. Works fine.
That's totally a good idea. Thanks for the tip!

I was getting nervous every time I looked at the dongle in the usb slot on the front of the computer.
Then I looked at the usb cable on my Radium 61 keyboard, and thought 'Ah Ha!'

Lawnmower Of The Damned · Sun Jun 20, 2004 11:03 pm

Here's a real life parallel for you:

I work in a video game store. A video game came out about a month and a half ago that had great graphics and action, and got very respectable ratings. We have barely sold any copies. Why? Because the company decided to use an incredibly intrusive copy protection scheme. This copy protection causes the game to not work at all and seems to be triggered by almost anything. Now, all of the people who paid $50 for the game and had the game flip out on them went out and told everyone that the game just doesn't work. So let's recap:

Game company spends thousands of dollars for copy protection.
Copy protection causes more trouble for paying customers than hackers.
No one buys game, downloads hacked version instead because it works better than the retail version.

So these guys basically paid some company to make it so no one would buy their game. Brilliant!

DevonB · Post by **DevonB** » Sun Jun 20, 2004 11:51 pm

thornemaelstrom wrote:Here's a real life parallel for you:

I work in a video game store. A video game came out about a month and a half ago that had great graphics and action, and got very respectable ratings. We have barely sold any copies. Why? Because the company decided to use an incredibly intrusive copy protection scheme.

Which game, so I'll avoid buying it too?

There's eomthing to be said about using consoles.

Devon

no_barcode · Post by **no_barcode** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 6:13 pm

In case anybody is wondering:

I spoke with Steinberg USA this morning and they informed me that a damaged dongle can be replaced if you send in the damaged one (after calling and getting an RMA#) and pay a $35 replacement fee.

Not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

DevonB · Post by **DevonB** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 6:25 pm

no_barcode wrote:In case anybody is wondering:

I spoke with Steinberg USA this morning and they informed me that a damaged dongle can be replaced if you send in the damaged one (after calling and getting an RMA#) and pay a $35 replacement fee.

Not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

Sounds pretty reasonable. If you think about it, it's just a device. If you broke your laptop, you'd have to pay for that too. Ya, the device is an annoyance device, and really doesn't "do" anything, but it still has a value.

Good to hear though.

Devon

no_barcode · Post by **no_barcode** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 10:18 pm

DevonB wrote:Sounds pretty reasonable. If you think about it, it's just a device. If you broke your laptop, you'd have to pay for that too. Ya, the device is an annoyance device, and really doesn't "do" anything, but it still has a value. Good to hear though.

Devon

I agree - I am the one who broke it. I would expect to have to pay for it. I thought it would cost more and I thought for sure when I gave them my name they'd be like "who are you and what version of software do you have?" but they had all my information - I didn't have to tell him anything but my name and my problem. I had a very positive experience with Steinacle's support today.

Almost Killed my Cubase SX Dongle