I think they'd be more expensive to make than DVDs though, no?!

soens
I think they'd be more expensive to make than DVDs though, no?!

Perhaps not by much though. Consider we aren't talking cheapo spindle DVDs (they are usually released on really high quality DVDs) plus screen printing, sleeves and the box has to be bigger to hold them. Flash drives are getting pretty cheap. I picked up a bunch of Kingston drives last summer for something ridiculous like 6 bucks for 8GB and 12 bucks for 16GB and that was retail. Those are meant for read/write and I could have gotten cheaper ones but went with the brand name (Kingston makes decent stuff). For read only there is less wear and tear and they could get them in bulk. No major screenprinting except maybe the Cake/Sonar logo which could even be done with a sticker to save more. All the docs could go on it too so even less printing. Put one or two in a blister pack with a quickstart guide and s/n numbers printed on the inside of the pack and you could end up with some serious manufacturing savings.
 
It wouldn't be as pretty sitting on a bookshelf or whatever and I keep ALL my music related reg info in my box for easy access/safe keeping but from an overhead standpoint even if the flash drives are a little more expensive the differenc would be made up elsewhere.
 
Oh and don't forget shipping costs. You could probably cram 4 times as many blister packs in a carton.

dwardzala
Why stop a just the pint glass - we could have a whole bar set.  Rocks glasses, shot glasses, pint glasses. . .
 
Of course use of such stuff would ultimately impede any progress I would make on producing music.

Free Platinum dongle with every ridiculously overpriced Les Paul!

Well, I called SW and they switched the order up for me (from empty box to download version) and had the email & redemption code 15 minutes later.
 
+1 as usual to SW!

soens
I think they'd be more expensive to make than DVDs though, no?!

At this point it's not about expense. It's about delivering the latest version to customers. With our new model, this would be hard to do if we had to manufacture DVDs every month and then replace them with boxes that already shipped. Logistically it doesn't make sense. We want to deliver the latest version and download cards seem to be the way to go. Other companies are doing this as well. 

I really don't have a problem with no DVDs (I rarely touch my boxed sets) though I like having them. But a clarification from Cake and/or vendors would have been nice since the term Boxed Version is now taking on a new meaning. i.e. printed material versus hard media.  Could simply been described as it is with the included option of having the Code emailed. No?

fwrend
I really don't have a problem with no DVDs (I rarely touch my boxed sets) though I like having them. But a clarification from Cake and/or vendors would have been nice since the term Boxed Version is now taking on a new meaning. i.e. printed material versus hard media.  Could simply been described as it is with the included option of having the Code emailed. No?

Yes, we are working on that. But some people like to have the official box and you also get a user guide and quick start guide. The price is the same.

PLUS SHIPPING

Andrew Rossa [Cakewalk]
 
Yes, we are working on that. But some people like to have the official box and you also get a user guide and quick start guide. The price is the same.

 
Regarding the overall media thing. I absolutely insist on having the bulk of the content on a physical media of some kind, and then later patch updates can be applied with ease. Please say if Cakewalk will consider a USB dongle or if you will take the idea to Cakewalk. Cheers.
Please always keep in mind, many people around the world still do not have an internet connection conducive to a download of such large amounts of data, so physical media is not only practical, but some people like me simply insist on having it nearby on he shelf. I would be happy to pay a little extra to have all the initial contents on a USB stick.

Andrew Rossa [Cakewalk]
 
Yes, we are working on that. But some people like to have the official box and you also get a user guide and quick start guide. The price is the same.

 
Regarding the physical media. I myself absolutely insist on having the bulk of the content on physical media of some kind, and then later, patch-updates can be applied as necessary. Please say if Cakewalk will consider a USB dongle, or if you will take the idea to Cakewalk. That way it solves all potential issues. Those without CDRW drives are catered for, those with internet issues are catered for. And load-times from a USB 3.0 dongle would be at least 3 times faster than a DVD too.
Please always keep in mind Cakewalk, many people around the world still do not have an internet connection conducive to a download of such large amounts of data, so physical media is not only practical, but some people like me simply insist on having it nearby on the shelf. I would be happy to pay a little extra to have all the initial contents on a Cakewalk branded USB stick.