Plus vat 238 USD. Bargain for lifetime updates. Thanks bakers :). Oh and totally excited Mac version is finally going to be real.

LaszloZoltan
It's sad to see that when Cakewalk said they'd have great news and folks waiting in anticipation, when the news is released there are so many negative comments- I mean like, what would make you folks happy ? A free Tesla in every users driveway ? ( but then folks will be complaining about the color, or licensing fees). How about free dental with paid orthodontics/implants- not just for yourself, but your immediate family ? ( but then folks will be complaining about step-kids from annulled marriages...)
It could just as easily have gone the other way folks

I don't think anyone's upset about what was announced. It's the way it was announced that many feel was misleading. 

These are some big announcements. As many know, I am a huge supporter of Cakewalk and SONAR. I am really happy to hear all of this, but I have two main concerns.
 
1. With lifetime updates, I am worried that Cakewalk's revenue will go down and jeopardize the future strength of the company. Can Cakewalk keep top-of-the-line programmers and staff if the revenue dries up? Will someone please explain this in detail and settle my fears? Tell me how this will keep Cakewalk strong with the best staff. I see this as lessening the revenue. Please show me that I am wrong. I want to be wrong.
 
2. Will OSX support diminish Windows development/enhancements, etc.? I know this has been touched on a little earlier, but I am looking for a solid, detailed explanation on how this will NOT interfere with the excellent Windows development/enhancements/support we have been spoiled with.
 
I love this company and their flagship SONAR DAW and I want my fears to be quelled. I want to see that the strength of SONAR and Cakewalk are not threatened or diminished in any way. Can someone help with this? Again, I truly want to be wrong about these fears.
 
Thank you,
-Charles

I didn't get an email either. Does that matter? My upgrade price is £174 😢 . Upgraded everytime since X1 and subscribed monthly since that started.

PilotGav

LaszloZoltan
It's sad to see that when Cakewalk said they'd have great news and folks waiting in anticipation, when the news is released there are so many negative comments- I mean like, what would make you folks happy ? A free Tesla in every users driveway ? ( but then folks will be complaining about the color, or licensing fees). How about free dental with paid orthodontics/implants- not just for yourself, but your immediate family ? ( but then folks will be complaining about step-kids from annulled marriages...)
It could just as easily have gone the other way folks

I don't think anyone's upset about what was announced. It's the way it was announced that many feel was misleading. 

+1

 
My take on it. 
A. Lifetime subscription - Great deal since I would like the option to pick what extra tools I might want to purchase but getting core enhancements for essentially free forever is ideal for me.
B. MAC - We have 5 computers in our house, one in both offices, one in my lab for controlling test equipment, one in my workshop for controlling a vibration shaker and since I'm retired, great for mixing paint  , and of course one in my music room. A few years back, I talked my wife into getting a MAC since I was sick of hearing all the problems with VISTA and wanted to try MAC OS. Big mistake! I hardly ever have trouble with the Win PC's but at least once a week I hear my wife yelling "Walt, my computer won't.... Have gone through 2 hard drives and if you need to clean the inside of the computer, I have to take off the glass screen. With my computers it's just 2 screws to open it up to clean out the dust.
C. Extras - I already have an X-touch so I don't need another surface controller, but the new operational features seem cool.
 
I hope supporting MAC OS really helps Cakewalk grow, but  I thought the Marketing hype was a bit much for the general forum population that use PCs.
 
Walt

@LZ;  What would make me happy is to have Cake honor its advertising.  Between the email that I received today stating that I can buy SONAR Platinum (with Lifetime Updates) from authorized dealers like Sweetwater, Musician's Friend, Guitar Center, JRR Shop, and more...and the linked web site FAQ information saying that any purchase of SONAR Platinum including new versions, academic and upgrades will get free lifetime updates...almost led me to pull the trigger on an X3 to Platinum upgrade from JRR for $149:
 
Then I caught this thread saying that JRR's offer was not valid because of the SKU(?).  So, the offer clearly does not apply to "Any purchase of SONAR Platinum" version as advertised on the web site...but I had to surf the forum to discover that they would not have honored my purchase, had I gone ahead.  I don't want a Tesla...just a straight-forward offer that is clearly stated and fair. 
 
....and don't get me started about the thinly veiled threats in the forum thread above, "You've been warned." and "We won't be dealing with any customer service issues due to this issue."  That is no way to deal with Customers that are trying to follow your own guidance on making a dealer purchase.
 
G

Andrew Rossa [Cakewalk]

markoburrows
Hi Guys,
 
Maybe its because I am British, but with all the "High Fivein'" and  stuff I have become sooooo confused in a very short time.
 
In the comments above this post you have quoted the upgrade price to the Lifetime offer for  a gentleman with existing software as $99. I purchased Platinum in March and was expecting to renew sometime around then and there used to be a renewal price on your shop page. Now that is gone and my option to take on the offer is to "upgrade" to software I have already? 
 
And the cost to do so is £174. That's two hundred and fifty dollars.
 
So if I want to take your offer up I need to expend $250
 
How does that compare with the $99 ?
 
Any chance you could put all of the cost options up so we can assess the value of your offer and how much the lifetime renewal actually is?
 
Many thanks
 
Marko
Entertaining the few since 1962

The upgrade price from SONAR Platinum is $199. However if you renewed earlier this year (meaning this was technically the second time you purchased SONAR Platinum in the last 18 months), and paid say $99 during that promo, we are only charging you $99 (basically the difference). Since you didn't renew, you would just pay the full upgrade price. It's essentially the same price.

Andrew , so what about loyal customers that paid monthly why are we penalised? i am offered the lifetime updates for £175 ($252) even though i have spent £202 ($291) on platinum! i get the same offer as someone using X3! wtf? 

It's all good!

bnwitt
 
Well except the "collect more money from the existing users"

 
Don't overlook the part where in return for collecting the money, existing users get updates for life. No wonder so many people find this appealing.
 

everything else is future vaporware and promises.

 
The proof of concept Mac version is running now (and has actually been running for a while). Cakewalk has made it clear that what will be released is an alpha version designed to gauge interest. It's not like Cakewalk is advertising it and taking orders. And when the Alpha does come out, it will be free. 
 
As to promises, the developers are already working on the promised updates. And regarding crystal balls...recall that in January 2015, when the membership program was introduced, there were quite a few people whose crystal ball told them Cakewalk would just take the upfront membership money and not deliver anything. Then there were those who said despite Cakewalk's promise of monthly updates, they'd never be able to pull it off. And of course, that within a year after being purchased by Gibson, Cakewalk would be out of business.
 
Hopefully these people got free updates for life with the crystal ball, and are at least at crystal ball 3.6, which supposedly has major bug fixes that reduce the number of inaccurate predictions.