Sycraft
TerraSin
I'm guessing Slate had something to do with this. Maybe bitter that iLok2 got cracked. To me this is a scam. They should be able to do a firmware update on the device itself to add new protection. This whole "buy a new iLok to use new plugins" is horse sh*t. I'm not using Slate stuff as much anymore anyway so maybe I'll just sell it.
Can't do firmware updates on secure elements because if they can be updated, that's a way to defeat their security. Also if they claim it is the same as the 2nd gen iLok combatiblity wise, that means it is the same firmware, same method of operation. Probably just a new, smaller, chip.
Really what companies need to do is just stop being so silly with copy protection. It WILL get cracked because trying to give someone both the encrypted payload and they decryption key, but keep them away from the key, just can't be made to work. It isn't how encryption works.
Amen to that. There are other less draconian ways of copy protection, but iLok has a corner on the market and the plug-in developers are in bed with them in this scam.
I am totally against software piracy, but I'm also against treating your paid customers as all criminals to access something they legally bought.
The really unfortunate thing is I don't see this changing because the people who do this for a living, relying on ProTools, Slate, or other plugins requiring iLok, have just bought into the lie of "the cost of doing business". Never mind the pain that a paid customer would have to go through if they are trying to deliver a mix to a client, and their iLok breaks or is lost.
It's a horrible system, and it will require a revolt from very high end customers to change the deal.