Agree. Maybe they allow to use the software dongle-less for a short period of time (days) until it needs to readout the dongle again.

Or as it works with ilok where you can write the authorization to a computer and/or a dongle (but that's not so likely because a software solution is not as hard to crack)

 

I don't know, but from my point of view Steinberg is fair software company (everything except upgrades, they are bit pricey) they will not do complicated way .

My guess is that they find out when you use software and earn from with you will buy it eventually.
Or like have said zillion times now, I know a lot of people who makes good amount of money with Cubase and they can afford legit software, but they are not willing to pay , with no reason , just because. And they are still using either Cubase 5 or Cubase 10.5.

It is all about personality.
So if someone is not willing to give a dime for software, they will never buy it,
no matter what, so Steinberg like a company have not a real lost in that way.
(and I am talking about third party countries like mine is, where you don't have to give any of proof that you have used legit software to create a HIT SONG, while in other countries like in EU or even US, for commercial purposes you have to have a legit stuff)

That being said, when a lot users use cracked software, there is a bigger probability from them to buy a legit stuff, it is all about satisfaction to have something that you earn and own at the end of day.
I think that is all about

For example I was about to buy legit Avenger, just to support them , because is good synth and I like it most, but they changed protection, so for me that is no go now.
Even Steinberg dongle is more acceptable than wibu codemeter stuff..

BTW, as far as i know Steinberg software is always good investment, because you can sell it anytime almost like retail thing (ofc, that depends of software version at the time) .


Once I heard a story maybe is fake, but one friend of a friend of mine was in Paris, outdoors and had opened session in Ableton on laptop, and there was kind of some police man or someone else who checked if his software was legit...
Maybe that is untrue, but in those countries, you have to spend fraction of your monthly earnings to get legit software, while in third party countries, you have to pay up to 5 monthly salaries... Which is to be honest, a lot of money , especially if you are hobbyist.

And Steinberg knows that, because every time you install eLicenser licenses from V.R from b20 and up, when every single license is generated, eLCC is calling home and sending info about eLicenser and licenses being installed, and every single Soft eLicenser is registered and bounded to that mashine!

 

Last edited: Mar 7, 2021

I hope they ditch the dongle and let us use (ie) Cubase on up to three computers, like normal, sane devs. Such a waste of plastic, electricity and also wasted cycles checking usb / decrypt! Ugh. And then if (ie) your hub isn't supplying enough power and it takes forever to find out what's wrong! Grrrr. Hope they also implement that Braingines (sp) tech, too.

The (current) Steinbug subscription model is ~$13.33 pcm. They provide roughly one beta test and one "major" update. Per year.

XD Yeah, just like Dana White is sitting outside ur house in a van waiting.. waiting.. like Batman! =)

 

Not sure if this is for real or not. But my thinking is if it is, maybe Steinberg woke up as to the people that dumped there software and moved to others because of that stupid dongle.

 

Last edited: Mar 7, 2021

What makes me laugh on this is for years, the forum was always “ditch the dongle!!!” And the amount of people saying they want to keep it, feel sorry for Steiny on this one.

 

I guess we're lucky that Steinbug's servers are so reliable and consistent. I mean, even doing a highly complex, intensive check of almost a few bytes of data; their super-reliable, super-superior super-servers can easily withstand this immense, cataclysmic strain and never go down!

Anyway, I kinda like the idea but I'd prefer it as an option. Especially if the Braingines thing ever takes off. Or it was easier to "VEP" (local) Cubendo instances together automatically, along with this optional server-render idea? No doubt the bugs will be fixed by the time Cubase 57 is released and we're all dead, but still...

 

online of offline doesnt matter at all.

it wasnt a problem 20 years ago and i dont see why it would be a problem in the future.

 

No

 

Well not quite.
I have recently read their twitter post regarding this subject and one thing they have certainly said if I remember good, that subscription is model is not a option at all, but I guess they will make maybe some cloud licencing system like ilok has or even Adobe but maybe you will have to be online to use their software, but most likely the cloud licensing system ilok like.
They have also said that they will still have perpetual licences, but in addition they will have something else, and that is a big mystery. Maybe they will implement rent-to-own, and that would be wonderful from them.
I dunno, you can see by yourself on their twitter page with official statements...

 

I do "like" the way one can handle activations with iLok more than eith Steinbergs scheme.
Either you use the USB stick or you write the activation locally on the harddisk. And you usually have >= 2 activations.
At the weekend I was on the road and had - once again - forgotten my USB eLicenser.
That woudn't have been a problem with iLok.

Of course everything above on the premise that I think all these activation orgies are a torment to paying customers only.

 

i dont know why certain big companies now dont do the dongless activation on to your physical computer and you have to stay connected to the "cloud" cough cough avid. I always liked the way propellerhead did it. dongleless would be fine if the yjust let you activate it the old way, onto your hard drive. imo, theres no point of dongleless if you have to be online 24/7. why would i have perpetual license on ilok cloud and have to stay online? kinda dumb. hope steinberg does not go the same way

 

It’s an odd decision given their protection is one of the few that has remained undefeated for such a long time, but there have to be bigger decisions, as it does make trialling their Pro software more difficult / requiring a dongle and there are so many alternatives and all DAWs pretty much do the same thing, particularly if you are new to it.

 

they would be complete morons to abandon a proven hardware based authentication method, as much as we all would like. The vocal minority of their users who complain about dongles are a very small minority. How many of those users will pay once it is cracked? It's cheaper and safer to let that vocal minority just keep bitching about it; and if they go to another DAW, then so be it.

they would be morons.

 

Well the SeLicenser is fully cracked, and majority of their products is on SeL so anyway they need to change the protection to stop abussing that and use that software which is not cheap all in complete. 2nd thing would be that their sales are dropped because of this COVID shit because it is not maybe right time to get Cubase for that amount of money to give it at once. Situation is still unpredictable, so they are minding their business, and again to stop abussing SeL software.
Dongle is ideal solution for sure, but in other hand and in this times we'll not, because as far I know ilok for example, you have you licenses on the cloud so you can activate license on one machine or deactivate it to use it on other. That gives you a much bigger possibilities...
Since they have been said that they will give something more to make it more affordable, maybe they will introduce rent to own, which will be a lot easier to deal with that amount of money to get legit software, and I believe much more people will be down for that.
Or they will be giving more activation with one license, and that is the similar deal.
So they are doing that for themselves not for the customers, that is for sure...

 

I am sad that a company I support with my hard earned cash is trolling something as trivial as a dongle

 

it's one of their most $ earning products to them. Nexus is the pinnacle example. By being as good at protection as they are, they have made themselves a ripe target. They could make the physical dongle free when you buy Cubase, and still make more money than putting it out with non hardware auth method and it getting hacked.

Logic gets pirated but Apple already got your money.

 

I would agree with this fully, provided that Steinberg hasn't found that the USB license significantly discourages people from buying Cubase, etc.
You know, perhaps they found they would sell a million more copies of Cubase Pro and Wavelab with a more flexible auth model. Given this, a few thousand "pirated" copies won't make them being morons.
It may be a sheer quid pro quo decision. If it would ever come (what I don't see as well)

 

Last edited: Apr 20, 2021

I have never met anyone who would reject it based on what you have described.
People who wanted it got it regardless of the dongle.
And then there are those who complain about it yet wont even buy a 60$ DAW they love so much.