ampfixer
My feelings were just like yours Kenny. Not any more. I think we're getting played. I think they'll open Cakewalk under a new name with zero debt and legacy costs. I could be completely wrong but given that they refuse to say anything and are now actively controlling critical comments, that's what I'm left with. 

IMO that would be a VERY poor business strategy.  If they were going to do that then they would surely "lead us on" as if there were going to be "something good coming" so that we don't jump ship and spend our disposable income on something OTHER than their grand plan.
 
sorry, John, but that just doesn't make sense to me.
 
it seems really clear IMO - cakewalk is a VERY small portion of Gibson and they've not been able to make a profit since Gibson bought them AND Gibson is in BIG financial trouble.  they're simply not concerned about the "small amount" of people who own sonar.  they killed off an unprofitable part of their business.  they've told us that it's dead.  there's nothing more.  I'd bet a lot of money on that and I'm not a betting man.

What we don't know is everything. As stated in my sig, I'm an eedjit. 
 
Based on the announcement all we know is that the cash has been shut off and there will be no further development. But the company has not been closed and there are still people working there. There is still a Cakewalk. I would like to hear from whomever is still in charge. Even if it's to say that they have no idea what's going on. Cakewalk is not Gibson, they were financed by Gibson.
 
I can't go to my creditors and tell them that because my employer of 25 years sacked me they should no longer expect me to pay my bills, or that any responsibility I had has now ended. People can't do that, why should companies get away with it?  I'm not crazy, mean or in need of a tinfoil hat although some may argue. Somebody is putting unflattering posts into the coffee house. Why?

ampfixer
 
 Somebody is putting unflattering posts into the coffee house. Why?

Nothing new, you are just seeing it from the other side now.
 
At least it wasn't deleted.

I'm just stating my opinion.  it literally means nothing except what I believe and in the grand scheme of things my opinion means nothing. you can believe what you want and you can hope they will answer you but I am much more of a "realist" to expect anything more than what they've already given us.
 
if you've never experienced this before you're lucky.  but companies in the US can go belly up owing their clients everything but in US bankruptcy laws you're not likely to get anything out of it. 
 
in your analogy, you could do the same thing that Gibson is likely to do:  go bankrupt.  that will "tell" your creditors that you can't pay your bills because of your lack of income.  so, in that sense, yes, you can tell your creditors you can't pay just because your employer of 25 years let you go.
 
also, yes, in this sense cakewalk IS Gibson.  Gibson owns them completely.  Gibson has chosen to shut them down and there's really nothing anyone can do about it.  big corporations buy and sell or buy and shut down companies all the time.  I am certain of that I've seen it first hand.
 
as far as cakewalk still being "open" and having employees who refuse to answer your questions - they are GIBSON employees.  any employees left are on Gibson's payroll.  you can bet your bottom dollar that their paycheck is from Gibson, not "cakewalk."  so any employees left still have to answer to Gibson's management and if Gibson's management says there's nothing left for them to say to the public then that's what they're going to do.  they won't risk their paycheck just to answer a bunch of angry sonar owners who mean nothing to Gibson's financial bottom line.
 
sorry, John.  again, this is just my opinion and my opinion means nothing.  but unfortunately so does yours and everyone else's on this forum.  Gibson simply does not care about us.

I have a friend in the UK who ran up close to $50,000 on credit cards (mainly booze and fancy dinners) and then lost his job and couldn't pay it off. I forget the exact details but he contacted some company that specializes in negotiating with credit card companies, declared himself bankrupt, and ended up having to pay back less than $6000. 

Beagle is absolutely correct. Business is business. Gibson shut down Cakewalk because they couldn't afford to pay the employees. There are no more Cakewalk employees.
The bottom line is that Cakewalk could not financially sustain itself so it was shutdown.
Gibson is in so much debt right now that they don't have time to think or care about Cakewalk. It is nothing to them.
They are too busy trying to fix their sick company. 
If the Phillips consumer thing doesn't work then that will be the final blow and the end of the current "Gibson".
After that, who knows? Maybe a Chinese company will buy them.

mikedocy
Beagle is absolutely correct. Business is business. Gibson shut down Cakewalk because they couldn't afford to pay the employees. There are no more Cakewalk employees.
The bottom line is that Cakewalk could not financially sustain itself so it was shutdown.
Gibson is in so much debt right now that they don't have time to think or care about Cakewalk. It is nothing to them.
They are too busy trying to fix their sick company. 
If the Phillips consumer thing doesn't work then that will be the final blow and the end of the current "Gibson".
After that, who knows? Maybe a Chinese company will buy them.

That would the Wong thing to do!!!

In a past life I was a director of a company that went into liquidation. It's no fun, I can tell you.

sharke
I have a friend in the UK who ran up close to $50,000 on credit cards (mainly booze and fancy dinners) and then lost his job and couldn't pay it off. I forget the exact details but he contacted some company that specializes in negotiating with credit card companies, declared himself bankrupt, and ended up having to pay back less than $6000. 

An IVA (Individual Voluntary Agreement) is an absolute last resort, and should only be considered as such.  It may well reduce the debt burden, but will saddle you with very specific spending rules, credit limitations etc, and labels that have a tendency to stick around for a long time.  And if you ever plan to work in Finance or some other professions it can be a millstone.
 
Personally I think Gibson have done exactly the right thing (except for maybe buying CW in the first place).  Low volume sales, competitive market place, and nothing particularly special about the application - as I'm discovering every day in the new DAW.  Annoying for those of us invested in the platform sure, but Gibson aren't a charity.

This vid is obviously staged but hilarious anyway... Can imagine the good samaritan as CW customers, then make up who the other three are...