Beepster
 
 
Ah yes... I forgot about the "olds mans guitarz".
 
/Squizgar

I think that's Geetars.

...wicked
One thing I'm wondering about the more I think about it is how Cake are going to manage Feature releases vs. bug fix releases...or if they're going to be mushed together. And, I reckon, is that going to mean there's a complicated user pool of folks who opted in/out at various times and have wildly different versions of the software. I'm guessing this has been thought out, but I wonder how it'll play out. 
 
Also, the whole "you own it" at the end of your membership period, what if you need to do a reinstall? How do they keep all the different versioning intact? At least in the prior model you had your core point version and then any updates relevant to it. Now you'll have a whole range of possible updates available.
 

This is a very good point. I see a lot of complication when every member has a unique version installed, a classic case of "who's on first". I also think that Cake is going to have need of an ongoing list of current features and bug fixes. Not the way it's done now. If you let membership lapse then you'll want to know where everything sits in order to know when to buy in again, and determine if you are buying features or fixes. Forum discussions are going to get complicated for sure. I'm eager to see how this is managed. 

lulz... aaand now I think its about time for another Metalocalypse marathon in the Beepster homestead...
 
which by the way is sponsored by Gibson... therefore the new Sonar is simply going to be awesome by proxy.

The Beepster homestead is sponsored by Gibson? Nice.

ramscapri
I presume for prospective upgrade customers like me (say from X3e to Platinum), the X3e stays for ever anyway notwithstanding what happens with the new model. I could presume safely that there wont be any de-licencing of previous purchases ?

Of course not! You bought it, you own it.
 
I will be keeping X3 around as well as X2 and X1, all installed on my computer as well as 5, 7, and 8.5. I don't expect 100% of all SONAR users to upgrade immediately, and will still be covering X3 in my tip of the week although of course, now I have much bigger sandbox to play in.

Earwax
Noel, if you are still around, you need to step in and do the same thing for Sonar Artist, Professional, and Platinum.
 
If you are not still around, maybe I understand why?

He's posted in this very thread. He is not only very much still around, but IIRC Mix Recall is his baby and it's brilliant.
 
As to specific fixes, again IIRC the list is released concurrent with the product.

ampfixer
The Beepster homestead is sponsored by Gibson? Nice.

Actually... well no. I do have something in the works that they may or may not be interested in sponsoring some day but I tend to suffer from delusions so probably not. I certainly wouldn't say no to one of those slick new Epi ES series models though... nor an SG... or V... or Explorer... or... well I just like Gibby's. ;-)

I'm sold - I think it's going to be brilliant
 
I've pre-purchased my copy now (X3 producer to Platinum)  from JRR for $125.16 (with the GROUP 16% off code)

personally i think it's good news for everyone,although i barely get time to turn my DAW PC on these days i will subscribe as the cheapest way for me to stay current, assuming we in the UK don't get ripped off (i will expect US price + 20% VAT at or very near current exchange rates! so currnetly 14.99 USD + 20% and converted via xe.com = £11.86/mon)

DragonBlood
 
You can rationalize being put at a disadvantage any way you want, but bottom line is it's the truth and not benefiting you compared to the old model.

As far as I can tell, the only disadvantage you've cited is if Cakewalk makes an executive decision to fail as a company, which would cause them to keep everyone's money without actually delivering anything. I submit that is an unlikely scenario, but no company needs a membership program in order to do that. I think Commodore computers did an excellent job, and they didn't have a membership program.