Why subscription based plugins are a bad idea

It's this sort of stuff that puts me off any kind of hardware lock...

I had that happen too but it just did it's thing and I kept working.  Sorry you had the crash, ol pal.  So far...I've been checking...my Slate licenses are staying up to date in the iLok manager.  Fingers crossed.  I've already decided that when my "free time" is up I'll just purchase what I like and go off the subscription thingy.  Unless Steven makes me "an offer I can't refuse":-)
 

Especially for a company like Slate whose plugins, while great when they work, sometimes feel like they are optimized with a potato. >_<
 
  LMAO - I have Slate plug ins and know EXACTLY where you're coming from!!!!!!!
Nigel
 

I have had zero problems with Slate products over the years. That's why I won't be doing the subscription model even though the proverbial carrot is dangling out there in the form a few free months.
 
Rocky

 It's still hard to beat that "I trust you" authorization which hasn't brought Cakewalk down.
 
 This is my favorite quote from the founder of Spectrasonics that I love to paste every change I get.
 
 The closest thing to that is iLok. But the problem with a system like that is that it gives the most important control of your product to another company...and you have to go along with their way of doing things, even if that's NOT the way you want to do business. Not only that, but if something happens to that company or that system, then it affects everybody...hundreds of products and hundreds of thousands of users! The concept of paying for a system like that, when we can do a better job of it in-house is extremely distasteful to me.

It's weird....we lose some sales to Pro Tools users because we don't use iLok and they prefer to have a dongle. But if we did, there are many thousands more of our users that would hate going to a dongle system. (and offering both dongle and dongless methods just complicates things, providing less reliability, more tech support and less security as well).

I just would never trust another company (especially PACE) with such a valuable and key part of my business and how I interact with my customers.
 
It's obvious the developer's priority is the end user instead of protecting the product.  Young or new developers seem to get that wrong.
Did anyone ever notice how annoying it was to authorized a Yellow Tools product when they were around?  You would try 3 different browsers to get your code.  They are gone.
 IK dropped the dongle. Izotope dropped the dongle for non PT users.
 Reason gave users the alternative to use a dongle.
 
 I'm not anti dongle like I use to be. I have iLok, eLicenser, Reason Ignition.  It can get ridiculous when there are proprietary dongles like Reason and the now defunct Yellow Tools.
 
  I'd prefer the iLok or eLicenser or what the Peavey Revalver. A USB hub is necessary to run dongles.
 
  I think the only reason some developers require iLok is because it's the only way you can sell to work in Pro Tools.
 
  It's interesting the difference to run Slate's plugin and SSD.
 
 

Honestly I do not understand the whole i lock thing ….
are you allowed to have more than one ? or are you just locked into only having one w all your software licenses …
What happens when or if  you loose it? …. are you are S.O.L ? …
I ask because I'm one of these guys that won't even leave my house to drive my car with out having 2 sets of car keys with me at all times 
sorry about the thread jack …just asking 
 
Kenny 
 

cclarry
 
Also, most who use the CRK method don't charge for transfers...with iLok it's $25 to iLok
PLUS whatever the Plugin Maker may want....

^^^^^
This

The thing about iLok is you can plug it into any computer w/ the programs on it and you are authorized.  If you freelance you can bring it and the programs on another stick (tho you need to check w/ any place about loading onto their system).  That is the one thing I can recommend about it.  If you work at home, obviously it is just another source of problems.  I haven't had much of a problem with iLok, but others have.
 
I much prefer Cake's system, but I ain't throwing my time and money into my own software.
 
@

it seems the funky forum software gave me a duplicate post …
Kenny

AT
The thing about iLok is you can plug it into any computer w/ the programs on it and you are authorized.

Unless it's a Slate product which seemingly likes to deactivate itself randomly like it did for me again today even though the bloody ilok was plugged in. Seriously, potato coding.

I did. Restarted Sonar so it would cycle. It's just an odd glitch I get from Slate stuff sometimes.

TerraSin

AT
The thing about iLok is you can plug it into any computer w/ the programs on it and you are authorized.

Unless it's a Slate product which seemingly likes to deactivate itself randomly like it did for me again today even though the bloody ilok was plugged in. Seriously, potato coding.

Are you using the subscription plugins?  They have to be "refreshed" every month by going into the
iLok Manager and you'll see a Green double arrow next to the name of the plugin pack.  Right click 
and hit "refresh" and it will renew your subscription for another month....

In that case you may have to reinstall the plugin.  Sometimes, in updating,
the software goes wonky....I've had this happen with Softube Plugins going
non-functional and I just reinstalled and all was well...

Are you running the most recent iLok Manager?  That will have an effect also...

I did have issues with iLok under the current Preview Build of Win 10...

It was non functional...I had to roll back the the previous build of Win 10...

don't know if that's related...but just a thought