Why are hardware dongles so bad?

I have no qualms with Elicensers, and I have both a Steinberg, and an
iLok 2.  Sometimes they were flaky with past OS's, but they've been rock
solid for several years now, and I agree, it sure makes it easier to get
back up and running

I have spent hours and many emails with iLok's laughable support system lately trying to get their licensing software for iLok installed on my new computer--to no avail.
 
I have decided to remove the iLok, and will never buy a product requiring it again.  I'm out a thousand bucks or so on software I bought years back but...principles.  :-)

From a practical standpoint, I only use laptops.  I have a 17 in 'home' laptop and a 13 in live/gigs laptop.  The gigs laptop has 2 usb ports. One for my keyboard controller,  and one for the sound card.  If I wanted to use a dongle, I would have to get some sort of hub.  And on top of making sure I have all my cables and such,  I'd need to be concerned with keeping track of a dongle.  Seems like a lot of hoops and bs to jump through for something that is of no use to me.  There is an annoyance factor for me.  Also, I paid for all my software,  so why should I need to jump though ridiculous hoops because some other a hole didn't?  Thankfully,  everything I use can be authorized to the computer itself.  No need for dongles. Except for Waves.   

JonD
Bottom line, dongles are a calculated risk for users that work great for some and cause grief for others.
 
I've had both iLok and e-licenser for years with no problems... But I've been on the various audio forums long enough to know that when a dongle fails, it can be a nightmare for the user.
 
It's one thing if a VST stops working because its dongle failed -- You can just work around that.  But what if your Cubase dongle fails?  Then you're dead in the water, until you get it resolved. 
 
To be fair, Steinberg offers a type of insurance to minimize downtime, so if using Cubase is important to you, then you should also invest in their safety net.  If not, any failure is on you (For choosing an e-licensered DAW).

iLok has the same thing called "Zero Down Time", in case your iLok goes bad.

What if your whole computer goes down and you loose ALL your authorizations?

As you might infer from my original post, that has been more of an issue for me.

YMMV.

If you are using a single computer that sits in the studio or at home and never moves then, yeah, dongles aren't the end of the world. However, some of us use laptops and some of us take those out to places and some us use both a desktop and laptop. Really not hard to imagine why dongles are a pain in that case.
 
We are talking an order of magnitude greater chance of being forgotten, lost, or stolen compared to a laptop not to mention the ridiculousness of having a USB hub dangling off your laptop if you need the extra ports just for the dongles (not unlikely if you only have two ports and are using an audio interface and MIDI controller). 
 
Imagine someone uses Cubase, Slate and Waves -- not an unheard of combination given the popularity of these. That's three separate dongles (assuming they keep the Waves license on a USB key to make them easy to move). Waves thankfully lets you use your own key so you can use a nice little low profile key but the Steinberg and iLok keys stick out like a sore thumb. Basic physics tells us that a leverage arm like that gives a nice mechanical advantage to the potential of a bump to break something or knock it out. Again, if you never leave the studio or your home, no biggie but some of us want to use this stuff on dark stages for gigs, on trains to get some editing done, etc.. 
 
Regarding the possibility of a computer failure versus the USB key, SSD failures are REALLY rare these days but let's assume it happens. Off the top of my head here are the licensing schemes for some of my favorite dongle free software:
- SONAR: No published limit on activations (just the EULA limitation of two installs at a time). Reinstall and move on with life.
- Studio One: 5 activations allowed at a time. You'd have to use up all five of these before worrying about downtime. 
- Eventide: 2 iLok activations with option of using either PC or iLok USB key. Best of both worlds since you get to pick whether you want to use the dongle or not. I keep my two activations on my desktop and laptop so if I did lose one system, I'd still have the other so zero downtime and I'd just have to deal with manually moving the license back and forth while dealing with support if I wanted to use it on both systems during that time.
- XLN: 2 activations with ability to easily remove an existing activation via the web site. No downtime, no need to contact support.
- Celemony: Allows you to easily remove an existing activation via the web site. No downtime, no need to contact support.
 
With the dongles, you also get the added privilege of spending your own money to support the vendor's licensing system. I'm not familiar with Steinberg's but with iLok ZDT you need to purchase two iLok keys (because temporary backup licenses that require the key are useless without the key) so that is $80 one time followed by $30 a year for the replacement coverage. Note that the replacement coverage only gets you 14-day temporary licenses while you argue with the different software companies unless you enable loss/theft protection and remember to run the iLok license manager every 90 days to phone home. I have to wonder how many people pay the $30/year thinking they are covered without realizing they need the backup key and the 90 day check-ins.
 
Maybe they don't bother you but dongles are a no-go for me. Cubase is just completely out of the question for me while they have the current system. Simple as that. Maybe if they used iLok or generic USB keys, I could rationalize it since I'd be using a single devices for different things but I'm really not interested in throwing in (and paying for) a third USB dongle that gets me nothing but negative value as an end user. 
 

In an ideal world developers would not need dongles to protect their intellectual property from thieves. Sadly we aren't there yet, so most developers implement some form of copy protection. Hardware was popular, then it wasn't, then it was, then it wasn't... truth is I've yet to find a truly non-intrusive copy protection scheme.

Ironically, hardware dongles do have a benefit or two that software can't match. The one that I like is the ability to install my software on multiple computers at multiple locations and use the software wherever I am. That can be really handy.

I still wish people would stop stealing so developers could spend all their time and energy on their products, and I didn't have to deal with multiple copy protection schemes, but wishing seldom works.

First off let me say great thread topic. Regardless of whether you've got a dog in the race or not, the responses are an entertaining peek into the human psyche and our ability to rationalize or make excuses for almost anything. Well done all.

Ok now on to it. Until this thread I never really thought about which side of this question I fall on. Now that I'm thinking about it I guess the best way I can sum it up is with a bit of joke that serves as an analogy.

I had a girlfriend once who used to bug the crap out of me about putting on a suit and tie to go out to dinner. I hate suits and ties. That disagreement was one of several issues that ultimately broke us up. So that gives some perspective on me. Then a friend asked me if I'd be willing to put on suit and tie to go on a hot date (i.e. involving sex) with Angelia Jolie. I said I'd put on a scuba mask, clown shoes and a tutu if that's what she wanted.

And so it is with dongles. People can say whatever they want about how they'll never use one. But if the software is attractive enough, most will suddenly decide its no bother at all.

And I think that is what makes some of the comments in this thread all the more entertaining for me.
 

I have several dongles and lots of USB ports/hubs. I have never had any problems. Now that dongles are USB it's a damn site easier than it was on an Atari ST where you only had one port to plug a dongle in and would have to physically swap dongles if you had more than one. 
 
I wouldn't be happy if all my software required a dongle. But I think if all software companies used just one universal dongle that worked reliably that would be so much better than the current requirement to have different dongles.
 
The thing I do like about dongles is that it makes the software portable - you just need to install that software on another machine and insert your dongle to use it. Then after the session, you take your dongle away with you and know that your license isn't going to get compromised or stolen.

I am currently hassling with an Ilok that says it's not mine. I've got the package & receipt but I can't use it or the software I just bought. It was a hassle setting up & it took a day for the software to show up in the list & now that I try to transfer the Authorization I get the message that someone else own's the Ilok that is sitting in my USB port. Initially I refused to buy any software that required this. I guess my instinct was right.

From what I can see not all software works with the Cloud or with the Computer Authorization. Be careful who you buy from. Unfortunately for me Antares looks like it is one such vendor. We will see maybe at some point Ilok will help me - just not yet.

Studio One can be authorised on line and off line as well. So Sonar is not the only DAW that works like this. Also Studio can stay off line indefinitely and continue to work forever.  From what has been said around here, Sonar actually needs to be on line from time to time to confirm that you are running the full version. I am not sure if this is correct or not but if it is so, then that sucks as well. 

After some hassles & no resolution yet - I swear I will never again buy a product that requires a dongle.