boolee54
I began my journey with Cakewalk products around 12 years ago ....
My difficulty lies in the path of planned obsolescence down which Cakewalk has led me and probably many others...
I feel that I have been led to a dead end by Cakewalk's marketing strategies and I also believe that I am not alone. Throwing out affordable though soon-to-be-obsolete upgrades has undoubtedly been lucrative. The new "Rolling Upgrade" system is a fun concept, but useless to anyone that is at my stage in the game since my product has been intentionally cast aside. My main question: Does a user of X2 Studio have an upgrade option, in Windows 10, without starting over from a new version, or is your strategy to offer only new products and abandon the affordable upgrade programs from past years?
I suspect that at some point many of us have felt what you are feeling. I am not a huge fan of the disruptive rolling monthly upgrade approach. However, there are other ways to view this situation as you have pointed out; here is the one that keeps me sane. My view of this "reality" is as follows: Owning a computer and software requires an average yearly outlay ranging anywhere from $200 pa to as much as $5000 pa (or even higher for some). This outlay covers off major items like computer hardware, major software purchases, routers and printers as well as minor purchases like ink, software updates and minor software purchases like VST instruments. I try to ascertain what I am willing to spend on these items (e.g. $1000 pa) and then spend accordingly. Some years I undershoot in order to purchase a large item the next year.
This is not too different to owning other gear which require a regular outlay of cash to maintain. Examples include: Guitars; strings, upgraded pickups, Amps; new valves, Drums; sticks, drumheads, better cymbals, etc.
Of course the goal of every sales/marketing arm of the software and hardware companies (Cakewalk, Microsoft, Epson, Dell etc) is to pry as much money out of my pocket so we must be "ever vigilant". Personally I am happy to pay $100 pa on a professional DAW in order for it to be kept updated and improved. I do, however, feel that the present monthly upgrades are disruptive and give Sonar more of a "hobby" software feel than a professional one and have suggested quarterly upgrades with updates as required.
Cheers,
R