pwalpwal

bapu
What's a renewal cost?
 
Oh, I forgot, I'm a lifetime member with free Platinum updates. Happy camper here.

have fun with your beta testing

So far, so good. Every release (I don't install the pre-releases) has been berry berry good to me.

pwalpwal

bapu
What's a renewal cost?
 
Oh, I forgot, I'm a lifetime member with free Platinum updates. Happy camper here.

have fun with your beta testing

I thought they stopped using names for the releases.. What is this "beta" release you're talking about?
Must have been over a year ago. It must have been good, since I don't recall any issues with it 

gprokap

Darangen
 
That said, as long as what Anderton is saying is true and the increased cost is going to support SONAR updates and not simply line the pockets of Gibson executives, I'd ultimately be fine with an increased cost - because I'd actually benefit from that increase.
 

Gibson's has already hit the iceberg and there aren't enough boats.  I wonder who'll own Cakewalk next?

See my previous post about accepting bets on worst-case scenarios. Would be happy to add "someone else will own Cakewalk" to the list 

Zargg

pwalpwal

bapu
What's a renewal cost?
 
Oh, I forgot, I'm a lifetime member with free Platinum updates. Happy camper here.

have fun with your beta testing

I thought they stopped using names for the releases.. What is this "beta" release you're talking about?
Must have been over a year ago. It must have been good, since I don't recall any issues with it 

i'm going to take your comment at face value and point you to section 2 at this link "speed-to-market" http://www.allaboutagile.com/10-good-reasons-to-do-agile-development/
/hth

pwalpwal

bapu
What's a renewal cost?
 
Oh, I forgot, I'm a lifetime member with free Platinum updates. Happy camper here.

have fun with your beta testing

So you rather pay to be a beta tester. 

John

pwalpwal

bapu
What's a renewal cost?
 
Oh, I forgot, I'm a lifetime member with free Platinum updates. Happy camper here.

have fun with your beta testing

So you rather pay to be a beta tester. 

er?

ampfixer
We're wasting our time on this thread. There's a new sheriff in town that's charting the way forward for Cakewalk. Nothing's going to change their minds. 

With respect, the lifetime updates were extended based on community feedback. The eZine is being re-launched due to community feedback, as is the ongoing quest for better notation and easier arranging. Several people have complained that Cakewalk changes its pricing model too often, yet those changes show that minds were in fact changed. I've seen priorities change for updates based on feedback. I could go on but you get the point.
 
I've often said that the price of music software is simply not realistic. This is my opinion, which has zero influence over Cakewalk's pricing, but please note this was my opinion long before Gibson purchased Cakewalk. People complain that Ableton Live 9 Suite costs $800 but frankly, it should be even higher. Fortunately they have a hardware controller to add revenue. Logic was $999 (a realistic price) before Apple dropped it to $199, and essentially told MOTU "go sell hardware" and put a permanent dent in Pro Tools' sales. 
 
If you look at the recent history of keyboards, for several years there was a "race to the bottom" where all that mattered was price. The tradeoff was opaque user interfaces, limited support, cheap construction, and rapid obsolescence. But then the market realized a race to the bottom was doing them no favors, and customers realized that yes...you DO get what you pay for. So companies like Dave Smith Instruments and Roger Linn Design - and Yamaha, Korg, Roland, etc. - started charging more, delivering more, improving quality, and raising the bar for instruments instead of lowering it. Maybe they aren't selling as many instruments, but they are delivering a better product to customers who value that improvement and are willing to pay for it.
 
I've often alluded to resources in the music software world being extremely limited and that margins are extremely thin. I know what companies make, not just Cakewalk, and if you subtract what it costs to stay in business from what they make, there's not much left (if anything). That doesn't allow for moving forward, hiring more support people (there are very few companies where customers don't complain about support), or introducing new products that can take some of the pressure off existing product lines to pay the bills.
 
SONAR's users have a lot of wishes. Cakewalk's developers have a lot of wishes. I don't speak for Cakewalk nor do I set company policy, but its future matters to me and IMHO it's time to go big or go home. I hope Cakewalk chooses to go big, and I think that's much of what these changes are about. 
 
The alternative would be doing what Cakewalk did for many years prior to the acquisition, which set them on a path to irrelevance and ultimately, a descent that would lead to the company's demise - no ifs, ands, or buts about that. When Gibson rescued Cakewalk it had a second chance, and it's clear the company is not only still around, but shaking up the industry and moving forward. You may not like the direction in which they're going forward, and that's fair, but it's better than going backward.
 
Owners of legacy software still have until the end of the month to upgrade for a significant discount. I don't think judgments should be based on speculation about the future. Let's circle back in a year before renewal time rolls around, and judge then whether Cakewalk has delivered value commensurate with price. 
 
Sure, Cakewalk might blow it...that's a risk any company runs, even Apple. But I don't think that's what will happen. 
 

I've trusted Cakewalk for many years and I want this product to be around in many years from now.
I may sound like a homer (fan boy) by saying this but... Give them a chance.
You never know what's going to happen in 10 years from now but From what I've seen in the past 2 years, this product is only getting better And.. the updates are fixing things, adding new features.
This doesn't sound like a company looking to cash in. This doesn't look like a company looking to fail.
It looks like a company doing its best to improve and become a better company/deliver a better product.
 
I'm willing to bet there will STILL BE the holiday offers and special offers.
But pricing changes all the time, including gas, food, music and yes... even software.
It's evolution and with evolution comes choices. Its up us as people to make those choices.
I use Cakewalk products (Well Sonar in particular) because it does what I want it to do and does it well.
I will continue to use any product that does what I want it to do and does it well and I'll pay that price IF I know its worth it..because I want to feel like I've got what I paid for (a good investment).
 
So far Cakewalk has lived up to that part of the deal. It's been a good investment.