how in the world did religion get into this?

I really don`t see an issue, those who don`t have SPLAT originally will be missing out on a lot of stuff anyway. From what I`ve seen from BandLab so far us lifetimers wont be disappointed. Don`t forget its still early days, a lot of work and migrating still to be done. For now I`m just glad Cakewalk is in safe hands, I really love what BandLab is doing :-) 

how in the world did religion get into this?

You do realize this is the internet , if you give it long enough, maybe we will see race get into it..
 
Anyhoo, nothing is free. Just Wait. This is to get more users into the program and then there will be some sort of paid membership or something...
 
To the OP, you and myself (from version 1 to Platinum) and thousands others all paid and used what we paid for. We all paid for this program, to be ware it is right now. 

Quoting from literature to illustrate a point is not bringing religion into anything.

I guarantee I could have paraphrased the story without attribution and few, if any, would have known where it came from. Hell, "Matthew" probably stole it himself.

Well I think it's brilliant and am happy to see that the CW legacy isn't being flushed down the toilet after all. And if the money I put into it over the years - lots of it, I've bought a license for every version since Sonar 6, including the lifetime option, and very nearly every add-on as well - somehow leads in some strange roundabout way to someone else who otherwise couldn't afford proper tools but is super creative and talented and makes something great with it, hey, so much the better. Bravo Bandlab! Looking forward to where this leads next... 

FWIW;
I have a couple of friends that couldn't "afford" Sonar. Now we have this great opportunity to finally collaborate on the same platform. I think this can only be a good thing. In a small indirect way our persistent investment as this DAW community over the years before October of last year up to yesterday through Bandlab's reinvestment have helped us to contribute to the creativity of Cakewalk users from yesterday forward. Money well spent in my opinion.    

I am reading this thread with with increasing astonishment. In stead of being happy that Sonar/Cakewalk lives on, people are moaning and complaining and "gnashing their teeth". I mean - Really?
 
I am an user of Sonar from the time I got it with my (already defunct) EMU 404 PCI card. Isoon "upgraded" to Home Studio 6 XL and finally 8 Pro. After that I went with all updates and upgrades (with exception of X2/3). I payed for all those updates and upgrades, until I "jumped ship" to Cubase last year.
 
I think it's wonderful that Sonar Plat is free now. I think this will attract a larger group of users than Sonar ever had in his history. That will certainly benefit all current users, because it will put Sonar "on the map" again. Chances are big that new plug-ins (and programs) from other developers therefore will be compatible with Sonar. That would certainly be not the case if Sonar was drifting in oblivion.
 
And top of that... It's a sound move. Just give away an good DAW, and charge for (upcoming and existing) expansions. Those people get Sonar Platinum for free, and I suspect the next move is to sell Z3TA2+, Rapture, Dimension Pro and other plugins (that most of us already have in our account), to earn money that way. It would not surprise me if Platinum Pro will stay free, and gets regular updates, while new plug-ins and maybe soft-synths will be developed.
 
And no - I am not "salty" in any way that Sonar Platinum is free now. Why should I?

bitman
Some will holler even when hit with a golden hammer.

Are you saying if you laid your hand on the table and someone smashed it with a golden hammer, you wouldn't holler?

I don't see a problem.  
 
Anyone who is angry that TDFKAS is now free can send Bandlab a check before downloading if it makes them happy.  Better yet pick a good charity and send them the money.  
 
Unless what you're upset about is that others are getting something for free that you paid for.  In that case would you have waited until now to get the program if you knew it was going to be free?  Or was it worth it to you to pay for it back when you bought it?  You made a fair trade of money for use of the product at the time you bought it.  
 
I don't know how you could be happier if they were charging for it, assuming their business model supports continued development.
 
What we will need is a seperate forum area for all the newbies with the Soundblaster questions and "I just wanna make beatz help me" stuff.

They're offering the same software we currently have. 
Why install it? 
Just wait until they make major fixes and improvements.
Most likely they will charge us for future updates anyways. If not, then...well...it'll still be free....