Asking for a revision of the "Rolling Release" model

I would suspect they are working on a  new version as we talk.  

gmp
I tend to stay with a version for about 2 or 3 months, so I'm likely to encounter any bugs and odd behavior that may affect my setup. Of course if a monthly update has a feature that intrigues me, I may install it earlier.
 
The monthly updates do offer those who love to try out the new version each month that opportunity and lets others wait until they're ready to update. 
 
Also recently I found that we can have several versions of CbB on our computer. each version only takes up about 156 megs. This is really good for testing and also enables us to use a tried and proven version on serious no nonsense sessions where we want things to go smoothly (I have a post outlining this).

This is exactly why I am asking for an "Insiders" program and a "Pre-release" discussion thread. This way, the users who want the latest features will be able to obtain them and discuss the changes while the rest of community will have an "stable" version avaliable (It's like the Libre Office "stable" and "new" channels). Today, there isn't and official way to roll back the changes caused by a Monthly update and you have to look for a workaround like the one you have described. 

a13xhp
Today, there isn't and official way to roll back the changes caused by a Monthly update... 

It may not be official, but it's easy enough. After you download the program, don't use BL Assistant to install Cakewalk after the file has been downloaded. You'll find the .exe in your downloads folder. You can save it off to a folder of different versions or whatever. When you want to install the program, just double-click on it.
 
To me, the updates are far from meaningless because they've been mostly about getting rid of bugs and increasing stability, as well as accommodating changes in Windows (which is a moving target anyway). That may not be particularly sexy, but it sure makes a difference in my day-to-day work. It's also something that a lot of the community asked for in the past - "don't give us flashy new features, just make it stable."
 
That said, I think there will be new features in the future. But I think the current emphasis is good. I download the update as soon as it's available, but have a backup if I need it. I'm just glad the program still exists ! 

Anderton

a13xhp
Today, there isn't and official way to roll back the changes caused by a Monthly update... 

It may not be official, but it's easy enough. After you download the program, don't use BL Assistant to install Cakewalk after the file has been downloaded. You'll find the .exe in your downloads folder. You can save it off to a folder of different versions or whatever. When you want to install the program, just double-click on it.
 
To me, the updates are far from meaningless because they've been mostly about getting rid of bugs and increasing stability, as well as accommodating changes in Windows (which is a moving target anyway). That may not be particularly sexy, but it sure makes a difference in my day-to-day work. It's also something that a lot of the community asked for in the past - "don't give us flashy new features, just make it stable."
 
That said, I think there will be new features in the future. But I think the current emphasis is good. I download the update as soon as it's available, but have a backup if I need it. I'm just glad the program still exists ! 

I guess the OP's concern is that focusing on regular monthly updates (which give us mainly small features and bug fixes) is preventing the bakers working on bigger features.
 
Whilst working on minor features/bug fixes could slow down the development of bigger features (there's only a small team of devs), it doesn't stop it.  Modern source control software is pretty good at allowing you to work on parallel features at once.
 
IMHO the regular updates are vital to show that CbB is indeed alive and well, as well as all the reasons Craig has given.
 

Some of it's just semantics, largely thanks to Microsoft-led doublespeak. "Insider" used to be "beta tester".
 
(Today, "Fix releases" have become "service packs". Somewhere on the Microsoft campus there is a group dedicated to terminology enforcement, making sure no words slip out that might have a negative connotation. "Bugs"? No, you mean "issues".)
 
Rolling updates allow bug fixes to be addressed sooner. So-called "agile programming" was a response to the limitations of the old marketing-driven major/minor scheduled release model, which forced users to live with known bugs for months or even years. 
 
Those bugs were often actually fixed even before the official release, but those fixes couldn't be included because the revision had already been frozen in preparation for being sent to manufacturing. But in the era of electronically-distributed software, there is no longer any need to freeze code weeks in advance while disks are being duplicated, packaged and shipped. When a bug is discovered and fixed, we can and should make the fix available as soon as it's been tested and verified.
 
Yes, we've all been conditioned to be wary of "new and improved". With software, that implies "old bugs you knew about have been replaced by new ones you don't know about yet". Software development is by nature a moving target.
 
However, believe it or not, code does become more stable over time as the underlying foundational nuts 'n bolts code becomes thoroughly debugged and optimized. It's actually been quite a long time since we've had a showstopper bug in SONAR or Cakewalk. No, "AudioSnap 'follow project tempo' and 'Enable Stretch by percentage' are not mutually exclusive" - not a showstopper.


To address the OP, if you want a heads-up on new changes, ask to sign up for the beta program. You can install the newest test build separately from the last official release. But don't do that if your main concern is stability. Instead, hold off on installing each new release for a week or two. Read the change logs and decide if any of the fixes or new features are crucial to you. If not, wait another cycle.

I find it concerning that the mindset is to throw unnecessary computer maintenance back onto the user. I own no other programs (DAW or otherwise) that my first reaction to an update is, "Oh crap, better back this up." I am very confused as to why this is okay as the status quo for CbB. That "Gibson paradigm" should have been kicked to the curb as soon as Gibson abandoned SONAR. Monthly updates fueled a failed membership plan - learn from it and move on to better.

It is a very hard sell (and future) to force folks to understand IT (backtrack installs, hack registries, etc.) well beyond any other program in order to use it (properly).

It is ironic when people will lump sum a situation into one bucket, then dismiss it. "Free" implies that BandLab is carrying it (potentially only until 2019), meaning more funding or traction via "not-free" is established. Bottom line is the "future" via reputation and proof-of-use (both of which are suffering political damage at this time) is the real stake here. Dismissing acknowledged issues because something is "free," puts projects created going forward (the future) in serious jeopardy. Seeing people tailspin on work flows, and comments in other various threads (the deployed memory leak shocked me a bit), makes it difficult to even give away something that's free (personally, I am 0-3 on this). When a new user (again, the future) has a cool idea but is faced with the hurdles and glitches these forums identify in order to track/mix it, things go down hill fast.
 
"Free" is not a value proposition, core competency, or anything of the sort. As a loss leader, it can be, but requires attracting customers.

chuckebaby
 
There is a fine line between complaining and constructive criticism.
I'd like to believe we all want a better product and we all want to see Cakewalk succeed and prosper.
So while I agree with you about not complaining because its free, it is nice to hear the voice of users giving their opinions on a way to better the product.

It appears, well for now that Bandlab is not getting any monetary returns on this software and for this reason I like to believe things are strongly priority based when it comes to what features are released.

Personally, I tend to stay away from so called free things because there is a certain lack of accountability and in most cases you are at the mercy of the person giving you stuff.

Yes, you can complain or make simple request but the key is, you are and will always be at the mercy of Bandlab. 

Which is why the whole free thing stinks!

Audioicon

chuckebaby
 
There is a fine line between complaining and constructive criticism.
I'd like to believe we all want a better product and we all want to see Cakewalk succeed and prosper.
So while I agree with you about not complaining because its free, it is nice to hear the voice of users giving their opinions on a way to better the product.

It appears, well for now that Bandlab is not getting any monetary returns on this software and for this reason I like to believe things are strongly priority based when it comes to what features are released.

Personally, I tend to stay away from so called free things because there is a certain lack of accountability and in most cases you are at the mercy of the person giving you stuff.

Yes, you can complain or make simple request but the key is, you are and will always be at the mercy of Bandlab. 

Which is why the whole free thing stinks!

I can agree with most of that.
I do however think (personally anyway) something is going to change in the future.
weather it be a highly upgraded model of Sonar or something totally different like a newly built DAW from scratch, who knows.
 
I just don't see this free DAW thing going on forever. Im happy while it lasts though.
And even though its free, I think its still one of the best tools out there for what im using it for.

Unfortunately the reality is that intellectual property has been devalued. Apple of course contributed greatly to this (just ask MOTU), but to be fair, so did the previous Cakewalk management to some degree.
 
So, we have free Windows 10, free Mac OS, free FL Studio, free Grammarly, free Audacity, free LibreOffice, free GIMP, free GarageBand, nearly free Reaper, free apps, etc. Those companies that need to make money do so by selling add-ons. That model that is not likely to go away, so I hope we start seeing Cakewalk sell add-ons soon.