I love Steam as well, but only since I do gaming on it.
I didn't realise there's a possibility to get Sonar on Steam (unitl this thread)......also glad to hear the Bakers are keeping this in mind.  

n13L5
1) Over the versions, you keep changing the 3rd party tools supplied.  So installing Sonar after you had to wipe windows once again, or just cause you have a new hard drive or computer, which ends up happening way more often than I'd like, becomes a major undertaking, as you have to basically install every previous version of Sonar if you want some of the filters or synths they came with.  If there was an XLN alike online installer, where you can pick what you want to install from a list of all products you own, it would be a lot less of a headache...

 
It's amazing how many hours I'd save if they just put the SONAR version the plugin originally came with in parentheses next to the installer tick box. Like, days and days of time! Someone once made a handy chart that's on this forum somewhere I've used...but it's a total pain.
 

CakeAlexS
It was rather tounge and cheek but had some basis in fact. It allowed a nvidia graphics card to go into the right PCI mode (using Sonar wouldn't trigger the right PCI mode, and consequently stuttering effects were experienced).

No kidding!  Sounds like it would be a fairly easy fix for the Devs then, if they just have to tickle the Nvidia cards' Gspot at the start...

Andrew Rossa [Cakewalk]
We love Steam. Been a great partnership with them so far. We'll keep it in mind :)

Oh, that's awsome!  :D
 
I think my nose just caught the scent of Sonar X4 on Steam, converted to Linux by Valve and also including a guy with a baseball bat sorting your tracks!

Your new DAW machine....
 

CakeAlexS
Your new DAW machine....

 
lol!
 
I think I stick to laptops running Linux, if this comes to pass ^^
 
Or, whenever I settle down, I usually build some monster desktop, I'd rather use than anyone's prefab, be it computer or console...
 
I might be one of the five people still patiently waiting for GTA5 to come out for the PC, cause I refuse to use consoles, where other people dictate what I can run on them ;-)

@n13L5- Love that hat!

Yeah, I gotta say at first I wasn't really sold on the online installer for XLN products ( I own most of them ) because of the requirement to have your DAW online to register.
 
But the more I use the interface and the convenience of having all your products in one place and updated correctly does appeal to me. I hate getting the Studio DAW near the internet but, as time marches on, its just a fact of life now I guess.
 
At least its not as bad as Waves they would rather you not actually 'own' anything. Jeeze!!
 
 

Downsides of Steam:
 
1. You have to be logged into Steam via their client all the time - as in on line.
2. Their server sometimes either refuses connections or goes off line. If that happens the software won't run. Not a situation I'd care to be in with a commercial client waiting to record something or working against a timetable. Not being able to run a game is irritating, not being able to run productivity software in an commercial environment could be a business killer.
3. I like being able to keep a copy of the installation files locally. That way, should Cakewalk cease trading tomorrow, I can still install Sonar and run it for the forseeable future. If I have to rely on software publishers making their software available for me to download every time I need to install, or for the publishers to have an account with an on-line service that verifies that software and gives me permission to run it, then I can not rely on being able to do that.
 
In short, the first version of Sonar that only becomes available via Steam or anything like it will be the first version I will not buy on principle and the version that loses Cakewalk my custom.

tlw
Downsides of Steam:
 
1. You have to be logged into Steam via their client all the time - as in on line

I think Steam offers the option of an alternative login which does not require you to be on-line all the time - have to login in periodically - once a month or whatever to get updates.
A couple of Cake folk talked about it here:
http://forum.cakewalk.com/The-CLOUD-Is-the-forecast-Overcast-m2845011.aspx?high=Steam