Anyone liking the bakery yet?

I'll just chime in to say I don't like it either.  The concept seems good enough, but the current forums (maybe through years of use) seem much easier to navigate. Is there a way to just browse without putting in a question or subject?

scook
Yes there are three areas, Questions, Ideas and Discussions, with direct links on the SONAR help menu.

Didn't notice this before (and as my DAW is off line, it isn't any use to me anyway). Now I sorta get the idea for the Bakery versus the forums. The Bakery becomes the default 'help desk' for the user, without having to 'leave' SONAR.
 
Given this, the 'Questions' part makes sense, and to some degree the 'Ideas' section as well (post it before you forget it). But not sure about the discussion area. If I am in SONAR and click on the help menu, I am probably not looking to have a lengthy discussion. I come to the forums to engage in reading/responding to discussions when I am not on SONAR. At least that is me.
 
I would also agree that I haven't warmed up to the Bakery either (although I will now go back and look at it a bit differently). One thing I really don't like is that when I first bring it up I have to scroll down before I get the tabs to the various sections (although I now understand why 'Ask a Question' is the first thing I see - seeing that folks are anticipated to access it from the Help menu). I also don't like that the rank is the default. I have to constantly change it to 'Latest' in order to see what is new.
 
That's my 2-cents, and worth not a penny more!

ampfixer
It's been 3 weeks and I still don't use it. There's something about the whole thing that puts me off. The current forums are easy to navigate and find out what's going on in your thread of interest.
One thing I notice is that system specs don't show up there. A request for system specs is often made when people post a question. It helps form an answer and avoids asking questions about the system you are running. No go in the bakery. 
And what's the difference between a question and a discussion? They are 2 different things in the bakery, but here, questions usually turn into discussions.
All I want for Christmas is for the bakery to be infested with weevils. Sorry bakers, I gave it a shot but I'm not looking at it again until it becomes the only option. Humbug!

I agree.

Won't use it as my Studio computer doesn't get connected to the internet.  

I checked it out once, didn't care for it. Now I can't even find it. Not sure how to even get to it again.

At this stage the Bakery is lukewarm for me too.

I think that's a good point, Maybe they are struggling with what direction to take. Sonar is almost stretched to breaking point with what it can do. And that's for sure that each one of us has a certain direction we would prefer it to go in.  
Like me, I get annoyed with "loops".  But I believe that the most popular feature with new users.
Look at the list of Drum Loops.. do you see any typical music genders ?? Like Country or the Blues??  no, it's all Hip Hop etc. I have a feeling they are just sorting out how to expand sales and that's a tough one in today's  market.. It used to be the market for Music was 24 to 40 years old. Not sure what it would be now.
 
Most of the younger people I work with expect music and movies to be %100 free. And I bet there's still a huge amount of software piracy going on. -- I just googled "Sonar-Torrents" and see a long list on Pirate bay including the August release of Platinum. How would that be possible? Anyway tough market when young people don't have jobs or $500 to blow on an app they can find free or for next to nothing. 
I think the release of Home Studio @ under $50 will be a big hit. But it's marketing is aimed at Looping and making electronic music. 

The only thing permanent is change.
 
I started using Cakewalk almost 20 years ago, when I picked up a copy of Professional 6, back in the Cakewalk Pro Audio days.  Running Windows 95 on a PC. 
 
Back then the community was mostly MIDI users, with the option to record some audio.  But chances are your PC wasn't really up to much digital audio, and real-time monitoring and effects were almost impossible.  Record dry and add off-line effects after.  I remember most pro audio newsgroups on the net were still discussing analog tape and the new ADAT format.
 
But Cakewalk eventually sucked in enough of the pro audio crowd to keep rolling.  PC technology took off, and it wasn't just tape machines or Macs anymore.  Lot's of those guys in the Cakewalk forums these days.
 
Then they marketed to guitar players.  There's a lot more of them around here now than pure MIDI users. There's more guitar players on the planet than anything else, I presume.  Guitar Rig and TH3.  Lot's of those guys in the Cakewalk forums these days.  Not a problem!  Some of my best friends are guitar players
 
But in the middle of all this, they didn't forget about the MIDI guys.  Lots of cool virtual instruments are bundled now.  Hardly ever need to break out the external hardware anymore.  Plus I really like how you can now record a virtual instrument directly to an audio track, completely in the box!
 
The younger crowd now appears to be into electronic dance music and making beats.  So the marketing goes there.  Loops, anyone?  Improvements to Matrix view.  New Lens just for making beats.  Lot's of those guys in the Cakewalk forums these days.
 
I think that the way forward will be to successfully appeal to all groups of users.  From posts that I have seen recently, the most neglected groups at this time apparently are traditional songwriters, composers, and arrangers.  They either just make do with Cakewalk, or use another product that does what they need.
 
The bakery can focus attention on the most wanted new features.  Then the bakers obviously will have to balance their resources with what they can market, and how to keep bringing in new users.

I must have missed something. How do you access the Bakers forum? 

Thank you, The Grim.