Mystic38
because the current system is 100% in favour of new features at the total expense of robustness.. case in point.. Each and every single release has added new bugs along with the new features... This makes sense?..like how?..

Every single release has also added bug fixes and optimizations, and several of those optimizations have been significant. I don't think it's logical to see the glass as only half-full or only half-empty. Any system of creating, maintaining, and debugging software will have pros and cons, including the current one and the previous ones. There is no perfect model of software development.
 
Ultimately, the decision is about which approach has more pros than cons for a particular usage scenario. That is a decision each user of the software will need to make for themselves. However, context is also important. It seems many people have forgotten about the birthing issues and slow pace of updates with X1, the lack of significant updates altogether with X2, and the months of fixes that followed X3. Compared to that, I believe the current system has more pros than cons. As to whether to download monthly, quarterly, or yearly, that decision is left up to the user, not dictated by Cakewalk.
 
I have not encountered any showstopper bugs in the monthly releases. If there were bugs in a feature, either I didn't care (e.g., Control Bar buttons sticking to the right of the bar for a month), I didn't use it until it was fixed shortly thereafter (e.g., upsampling didn't work properly when rendering a project with tempo changes), or I just ignored it (e.g., Start Screen, until it got list view and the slowness was fixed, after which I started using it). Since SONAR went to the monthly update model, I've produced tons of music, narration, soundtracks, sample libraries, and loop libraries, and part of that is due to added elements that have increased my productivity (as well as the various fixes and optimizations have led to more stable operation).
 
Of course I don't expect everyone to agree. We all use SONAR differently. All I can describe it what I've experienced. But I do think that considering only new features is not representative of the fixes, enhancements, and optimizations that have also been part of the monthly updates.
 
 

I believe the current model is perfect for my needs. Most of the time, I download and apply updates same day. Sometimes a few weeks later. The bakers have made it easy to take it or leave it, and even put it back. Knock wood, never had to go back. I can understand when something affects a work flow or quality of service - I was a software quality release manager. It is difficult on the entire companies resources when a prominent defect makes it out to the wild. I for one truly appreciate the transformation required, and the potential benefits for the company and customers as that company adopts a quick release cycle.

Take care all...

LL