30 year licenses ???

[multree]

is this a thing now?

Bildschirmfoto 2024-11-14 um 21.14.50.png

am I reading this right. you can either get a 30 year license a subscription or a demo license...????

never seen that before. All other licenses have been perpetual before...

do I think someone will still use this software in 30 years... I doubt it. then again. stranger things have happened. The digital BOSS RV-2 is older than 30 years.... and still in use today (to name just one example). Analog guitar gear is often older than that.

[Bunny_boy]

But unless there is a change in interface technology a piece of hardware will work until it totally dies.

The ability for software to work is predicted on OS revisions, hardware compatibility, changes to comparability, etc
A piece of software that was written for an old OS to run on an old CPU with an out of date file type - will that be updated over 30 years?

[multree]

as I said, I doubt it will ever be of consequence but it did catch my eye and I thought it was odd....

[audiojunkie]

What developer did that EULA come from?

[kritikon]

First time I've seen it. TBH I'll be dead in 30 yrs time so no skin off my nose. But I hope it doesn't become a thing because the small end of the wedge is a real thing. If everyone goes for 30yr licenses, that will surely reduce over the years...

[audiojunkie]

First time I've seen it. TBH I'll be dead in 30 yrs time so no skin off my nose. But I hope it doesn't become a thing because the small end of the wedge is a real thing. If everyone goes for 30yr licenses, that will surely reduce over the years...

Agreed. Perpetual licenses are the only way I would do it. I haven't yet needed a 30 year license (yet), but I guarantee that once it becomes a thing it will be reduced to 20 years, then 10, then 5.....and so on.... No way!

[sjm]

A piece of software that was written for an old OS to run on an old CPU with an out of date file type - will that be updated over 30 years?

Software doesn't necessarily require regular updates to run decades from its release. It's ~30 years since Windows 95, and lots of stuff that ran on that still runs on modern Windows in some form or other. The oldest thing I have hanging around that is music-related is SynCModular, and that works fine on Windows 10. The splash screen says copyright 1999-2000, so ~25 years old now.

Things are trickier for DOS programs - especially games - and they often require something like DOSBox. But almost everything from around 2000-ish onwards (when everything moved from DOS to Windows) still works fine.

It's not like any of those programs have been updated for decades. That's not necessary for them to run. What matters is backwards compatibility of the OS. If you're on Mac, you're obviously SoL, but Windows is very good at maintaining backwards compatibility. And emulators and virtual machines also exist.

What's more likely to kill software is the need for online activation - which obviously applies in the case of IK. There's currently an EU petition ("Stop Destroying Videogames") that is seeking to address the issues with games being rendered unplayable when the servers are taken offline. Personally, I would like to see the law changed so that developers are forced to have a build ready that bypasses the need for any sort of phone home/online activation. Then, if the business fails/the company decides that maintaining the servers is no longer financially viable, that build gets put online and legitimate users are not instantly locked out of the software they have purchased. But that's possibly going a bit off-topic.

[audiojunkie]

A piece of software that was written for an old OS to run on an old CPU with an out of date file type - will that be updated over 30 years?

Software doesn't necessarily require regular updates to run decades from its release. It's ~30 years since Windows 95, and lots of stuff that ran on that still runs on modern Windows in some form or other. The oldest thing I have hanging around that is music-related is SynCModular, and that works fine on Windows 10. The splash screen says copyright 1999-2000, so ~25 years old now.

Things are trickier for DOS programs - especially games - and they often require something like DOSBox. But almost everything from around 2000-ish onwards (when everything moved from DOS to Windows) still works fine.

It's not like any of those programs have been updated for decades. That's not necessary for them to run. What matters is backwards compatibility of the OS. If you're on Mac, you're obviously SoL, but Windows is very good at maintaining backwards compatibility. And emulators and virtual machines also exist.

What's more likely to kill software is the need for online activation - which obviously applies in the case of IK. There's currently an EU petition ("Stop Destroying Videogames") that is seeking to address the issues with games being rendered unplayable when the servers are taken offline. Personally, I would like to see the law changed so that developers are forced to have a build ready that bypasses the need for any sort of phone home/online activation. Then, if the business fails/the company decides that maintaining the servers is no longer financially viable, that build gets put online and legitimate users are not instantly locked out of the software they have purchased. But that's possibly going a bit off-topic.

Yep! And Linux with WINE will be able to run them forever, as long as there is no ILOK or Challenge/Response. This idea of limiting licensing this way is dumb! I'd still like to know who it is that wrote that 30 year limitation into their EULA....

[Saffran]

Yep! And Linux with WINE will be able to run them forever, as long as there is no ILOK or Challenge/Response. This idea of limiting licensing this way is dumb! I'd still like to know who it is that wrote that 30 year limitation into their EULA....

The section that starts: Use of the product...
Second line mentions IK Multimedia servers.

[Kypresso]

What developer did that EULA come from?

Well in the text it twice mentions ik multimedia servers, so i guess its my favorite idiot company doing idiot things again.

[audiojunkie]

Thanks guys! I totally missed that....

[Greenstorm33]

What is this even for? Seems like something that you’d need to see pre-purchase rather than when you’re presented with the EULA in the software, at least in the EU or anywhere else with functioning consumer protection laws.

[jamcat]

OK, so it's from IK. But which product?

[kritikon]

I would imagine their latest one...soon to be followed by all other new IK products. I doubt they can just change the license for already purchased products. I also missed the bit about the subscription option - if it doesn't connect to internet within 3 days the plugin goes tits up until such time as you connect. Yet another reason to not buy IK. If I had any remaining urges to upgrade my cheapo Ozone to the pro version, they are now dead. It's not like there aren't various other options for limiters.

[multree]

OK, so it's from IK. But which product?

It‘s from the latest TONEX manual which (it looks like) can only be downloaded from within the product manager.

It‘s gemischte Gefühle for me because I use T-RackS and ARC on a daily basis and REALLY like them. Was just considering to get TONEX because I was impressed by the free version, but didn‘t because I read this 30 years stuff.

Might be tempted by SAS to get it anyway, but usually (if possible) I prefer products from devs that offer perpetual licenses AND a standart serial number.