stevec
As for any hazing, as long as it's purple it's all good.   

'scuse me while i kiss the sky

Paul P
...say I kill my wife and then lie that I was at a local bar when it happened.  After a bit of research, the autorities take me in and say they have proof I was at home at the time because Cakewalk analytics recorded that I clicked the Insert Track button shortly before the neighbours called 911.

Assuming you're speaking hypothetically, I can continue the analogy and suggest that those of us with living spouses might be better off if the authorities were able to arrest wife-killing-SONAR-using killers.  On the other hand, if you have plans to commit criminal acts and want SONAR to serve as your defense, I suggest you load SONAR onto a laptop, loan it to a discrete and distant friend, and make sure it's in use somewhere else while the evil deed is being done.  Open and shut case, you were recording the Big Gigantic concert in Detroit when the crime was supposedly committed.

Best turn off the internet completely if you plan to murder your wife. Use a frozen chicken as the murder weapon so you can consume it later. If you need to dispose of the body and need attorney advice I recommend watching several seasons of breaking bad. It has certainly worked for me.

I don't get the point of the discussion:

• Yes, everybody who uses a smartphone is already tracked by various companies at every step he is doing.
• No, I don't think that a company like CW will be stupid and distribute information about me in order to destroy their reputation as well as my willing to pay for their services.

But: There is no resonable explanation, why the hack they have to track my activities. If somebody wants to know something - just ask! But I want to know in detail, what information I provide to a third party. Please share the protocol, then I have the chance to make a thoughtful decision. Otherwise it does not look well:
 
"Would in-app achievements or other rewards make you more interested in participating in something like Cakewalk Analytics?" (from #24)
This sounds like: "Do you want cookies? Come with me..." 
 
 

It's optional. You don't have to participate if you don't want to.

ampfixer
It's optional. You don't have to participate if you don't want to.

1. It should be Opt in, not Opt out.
2. There are several questions about the specific data collected. No detailed answer so far.
3. They have to send me tinfoil, because I need my DAW to do something. I dislike FB, WA etc - which means, I have a lot of time.  If they send me tinfoil, I will stop writing boring comments. It is no rocket science: They already have my address.
4. A couple of years ago, all analytic stuff from Microsoft was optional, too. Now it's nearly impossible to get the computer to shut up...

 
Would be cool if it could send feedback to our email addresses after crashes with known causes happen.
 
 
My inbox would be full of emails saying - 'Hey dopey, Stop watching Jim Jefferies vids on youtube while you record. It's not Sonars fault you do dumb stuff'
 

One area where analytics can really help is in classifying a user.  By keeping track of how often the program is opened, how much searching is done prior to a feature being used, what features are used and how features are used a user profile can be created.  The user profile can adapt the program for easier use, use probability to anticipate actions and offer suggestions, even go so far as to create an "insert track" macro complete with icon.
 
A new user that has no background in live mixing or music production versus a new user that has a background in live mixing versus a new user fluent in using another daw each has completely different needs and expectations.  A program that can track use and adapt to the user would be a game changer.

Anderton

Brando
Speaking for myself only, my post was not as much to disagree with Cake's stated intention as to look at their track record from the vantage point of a user with a list of features that have seen minimal improvement in years- as an example, the dozen or so fixes on the list of work done to Staff View last year were small, incidental, I would almost call them "superficial". It's an easy solution for Cakewalk to demonstrate their willingness to use user input in the form of Feature Requests - implement them.
I expect that this will trigger reponses about all the great things that were rolled out last year - which I am not disputing at all. I would never have renewed my membership if that were the case. So I am going to back out of this thread. Just my opinion. Fwiw.

I think you're probably a typical user - happy about what's been improved, disappointed with what hasn't if it's a feature that matters to you. For example I still keep hoping for a "drum machine mode" for the PRV, but then again if Cakewalk came to me and said "We have time to do patch points or drum machine mode, you can have one" I would have picked patch points.
 
Realistically there will always be a desire on Cakewalk's part to do more features and fixes than the current level of resources allows. Therefore everything will need to be prioritized, and it's a balancing act. There are two main ways analytics can help.
 

• SONAR is always picking up new users. If enough people choose to connect with their account, Cakewalk can see what frustrates those who are being exposed to the program for the first time. Those here who think "Well I don't use feature X because I don't like it so Cakewalk won't do anything" aren't considering the value of data from new users.
• There are some bugs that are deep in the program or intermittent, and it can take a lot of time to reproduce the bug in order to find out what's causing it. If analytics automatically provides a really clear set of steps to reproduce, this could cut down drastically on the time required to fix bugs, therefore freeing up resources to either improve features or fix more bugs.

 
Cakewalk will always prioritized based on what they think will provide the greatest positive impact to the greatest number of users. Analytics provide yet another set of data points to help with those kinds of decisions.

Excellent thoughts well expressed.

At nine pages and growing much discussion but I have not seen the information I want to see.
 
Has Cakewalk posted what analytic points will be tracked?