vladasyn
Thank you for your replies, will finish reading in the morning. I thought, HeatherHaze, calling someone else's post dumb is against of forum rules. Price tag does makes product professional. In this world you get what you pay for. Been shopping for toilet seats the other night. 2 toilet seats, both black, one is $30 the other is $60- guess what- I expect the one at $60 to be harder and dont slide. Read the reviews- the reviews are better for $60 seat. Are you saying that Camry is not better car than Corolla? Most of things in this life have price range and expectation of luxury v/ entry level. Higher price usually means better materials, more work to produce, higher paying specialists, etc. But this is not even issue I have with the program. It's the kids. There is entry level software that should be free, and then there is full featured software that should have price tag. Having basic software for free and then offer paid features is different from having everything for free. I do not expect serious growth and development of the free software. The fact that thousands of immature will use this software will change the focus of development and make it surface deep. Why would they create professional features if immature will never use it AND they will not make any money selling it. Social networking platform hardly requires pro level features such as comping and MIDI automatization.
We're not talking about toilet seats, cars, guitars, toenail clippers or any other physical product. We're talking about a fully developed piece of
professional software. It has no legitimate resale value, so its cost has absolute no impact on its value. Whether it's offered for free, $500, or $5,000,000, it is the same exact piece of software it was before. It's value is determined solely by its effectiveness in rendering a professional result. If it's used by professionals, it's professional.
A $5 wrench in the hands of a toddler is a toy. In the hands of a trained mechanic, it's an invaluable tool. It's value is determined by the hand that holds it.
It's also ludicrous to imply that "free" software receives no growth and development. It's simply not the case. Do you use any Google apps? Have you ever paid for one? Almost everything Google offers is free. Microsoft gave away millions of Windows 10 upgrades. Do you think the product suffered as a result? I don't. iOS and Android are both free, along with hundreds of quality apps for your mobile devices. Many companies offer free software that is fully developed and, dare I say, "professional."
What Bandlab is doing may seem unconventional, but that doesn't mean it's not right. And it doesn't mean its forever. Will Cakewalk remain free? We don't know. But I do know that offering one of the absolute best DAWs in the industry for free, even for a limited time, is bound to shake things up. I don't see that as a bad thing. I can understand the panicked reactions of some consumers who feel somehow betrayed. They feel their investment has been devalued. But it's simply not true. The value of the software has not changed in the slightest. It's still the same professional tool it was a year ago. The only difference is now it has risen from the dead and is again under development by a capable company that seems to care about its future. Everything we've invested in Cakewalk over the years has led to this moment, including our passion for the product. Whether we're professionals, hobbyists, producers, engineers or "immatures" (whatever that's supposed to mean), Cakewalk by Bandlab remains one of the best DAWs ever made, and only stands to get better.
By the way, you may object to me calling the post "dumb" but I stand by that opinion. That is not against forum rules. Please note I am referring to the
content of the post, not the poster. I take issue with the former but make no judgment on the latter. There is a difference.