sorry, lifetime updates is kinda straw man argument.  And I don't think anybody is foolish for betting on Cakewalk.  Even if the "lifetime" was Cakewalk itself, not SONAR's.
 
From what scraps are out there, it becomes clear that Cakewalk hasn't been making money.  Roland wouldn't have sold it otherwise.  Gibson stepped in and Cake continued to lose money.  And the lifetime updates money was to go into development and re-make SONAR.  And we all knew Fruity Loops went for years with updates.  With more emphasis on vst effects and ios things to help drive the market share onto the backbone of SONAR the DAW.  And, they ran out of money ...  And guess what, Daddy Gibson was out of credit.  Everybody bet, including customers, and we all lost.  There are people that still hate Gibson for killing Opcode and, like I said, I'd never buy a guitar from them.

TheSteven
 
In regards to "surely we're entitled to get identified bugs and problems which arise from Windows updates resolved?"
You are entitled to your opinion but legally that's about it.  No software company guarantees that their software is bug free or that it will remain bug free and no court will make them live up to such a standard - though you are welcome to feed as many lawyers as you desire in the attempt to change that.

With respect, (and you are also entitled to your opinion which I disagree with on the following basis), I never said I expected Sonar to be bug free BUT, if there are known bugs which have been identified by an ID, they're officially classed as faults and if a fault is preventing you from performing the tasks which you bought it for, that becomes a legal issue of consumer rights!
 
In the EU that's classed as goods which are not fit for the purpose to which they're intended for and possibly goods which are not of merchantable quality.  Now this issue is especially important when you consider the contract in to which some of us entered with Cakewalk by buying into the lifetime updates.  If it proves to be something which wasn't sustainable then this could be classed as deception.  In the UK, this is exactly why the government held to account the banks and they've all been successfully prosecuted and have had to pay out to millions of people because they were mis-sold products.
 
I don't see this as any different.  However, I'm a reasonable guy and I can accept if somewhat difficult, that maybe it wasn't profitable to keep the company going so development has stopped.  However I believe that any customers from the point of the lifetime updates are at least owed for bugs which are known to cause major functional issues and Windows updates which could stop the software functioning, a right to have these fixed on the basis of the contract to which they entered.
 
Otherwise, I'd have just paid a one-off fee for an upgrade from X2a to Platinum and not entered into a lifetime agreement because it cost me more!

TheSteven

What happens to my account?At this time, our servers and website will remain active. You will be able to utilize your software without interruption, and will have access to your account and products as normal

So don't panic, but don't take it for granted that it will permanently stay available.
That they aren't turning off the lights may indicate that they're trying to keep their options open or are trying to sell assets. I have no idea, I am not going to speculate further and I am leaving this thread to obsess about other things.
 
Best wishes to all!
 
Peace out
...Steven

Steven, on this I do agree with you because something seems afoot!  I wonder if maybe Gibson is only suspending operations for now to maybe realign the company in the near future and then re-start development on a new line of software but without the ties of not having enough revenue, ie, customers with the lifetime updates?
 
Only time will tell but I do feel that those who bought into the lifetime updates should be released from the requirement of online activation if the current products have really reached their end.

I had asked them to refund my purchase for rolling updates Sep. 2018 - 2019 which I had done in advance.
Purchase order date Oct. 29th, 2017. Let's see what happens. 

RickJP909
See here for the very latest news: http://www.cakewalk.com/Support/Knowledge-Base/2016000087/Gibson-Cakewalk-Announcement-FAQ
 
However, I'd like to know about bug fixes because developing and bugs are different issues.  For those of us who have an active subscription, be it the lifetime updates deal or monthly, surely we're entitled to get identified bugs and problems which arise from Windows updates resolved?

I got a few BIG things out of article!!!
****Monthly subscribers like me will have pmts stopped, yet retain products we have in acct!!!****
This is huge to me personally as a Sonar Pro version owner. I’m very sad and frustrated to see Cakewalk shut down, but do appreciate the gesture of fairness within chaos.
Well, you have to give some credit to Gibson for releasing a statement in the middle of rapid fire complaints and chaos.

Hey all,
 
Let me help try to dispel some of the myths that seem to be making the rounds in this thread. I'm also being a bit candid here, and it probably won't be the stock response you'd expect at this point.
 
First, while we didn't specifically mention install/reinstall in the FAQ, we've mentioned there, and also now on our home page, that our servers and website will remain active, and there will be no changes to how you can access your products. I know the feeling you get when you read "at this time" or "as of now", etc, but that's the best way we can be open and honest with you. We have no control over what happens to us next, but we were told that moving forward, servers will remain up. There's currently no indicator that this will change, what day that could change, etc, so all we can say is what we know. As strange as this may sound, it's sort of business as usual for now. Uninstall, reinstall, and authorize as little or as often as you need. If it makes you more comfortable, get the downloadable installers and put them on a hard drive, another machine, etc. If one day someone decides to shut everything down, we'll have a plan in place for you to authorize without the server.
 
The less fun thing for me to bring up is all the mentions of bug fixes. Unfortunately, this is another "at this time" situation. Gibson has in fact ceased operation and development of Cakewalk products. Bug fixes are definitely part of what the development team works on, and without a development team... well... you know the rest. The few of us here have been working on plans A, B, and C for different scenarios. If we get sold, shut down entirely, or somehow repurposed, we're doing our best to ensure we have a plan in place for our users. Don't forget, we're still SONAR users too, and we still want it to exist as much as anybody else.
 
Though I may get some flack for this, I'll even mention Lifetime Updates. In short, it looks good on paper. If Gibson didn't shut down Cakewalk, it'd still be something we could honor. Of course, the term "Lifetime" should always be met with the question of "what lifetime?". During the promotion, we said "even if we change SONAR Platinum to SONAR ___, you'll still get updates" and believe it or not, we meant it. I personally would have looked with caution, but if the plan was for updates to be enhancements and bug fixes, and then charge for new content, instruments, and major features, the business plan now seems to make more sense. It's unfortunate that it comes off as a "too good to be true" situation, but considering annual updates were $249 on our site for just about all of 2017, I still think the price for the now dreaded LTU wasn't all that bad. I know of a certain industry standard that costs more for a single year anyway, and they definitely weren't handing out new features each month.
 
Now a question for you all: would it be helpful if we continued to update the FAQ when we receive new information, or to address some of your concerns? Otherwise, what do you think the best way for us to relay information would be? I'm open to doing whatever it takes to keep you all in the loop.

Customer Support [Cakewalk]
Hey all,
 
Let me help try to dispel some of the myths that seem to be making the rounds in this thread. I'm also being a bit candid here, and it probably won't be the stock response you'd expect at this point.
 
First, while we didn't specifically mention install/reinstall in the FAQ, we've mentioned there, and also now on our home page, that our servers and website will remain active, and there will be no changes to how you can access your products. I know the feeling you get when you read "at this time" or "as of now", etc, but that's the best way we can be open and honest with you. We have no control over what happens to us next, but we were told that moving forward, servers will remain up. There's currently no indicator that this will change, what day that could change, etc, so all we can say is what we know. As strange as this may sound, it's sort of business as usual for now. Uninstall, reinstall, and authorize as little or as often as you need. If it makes you more comfortable, get the downloadable installers and put them on a hard drive, another machine, etc. If one day someone decides to shut everything down, we'll have a plan in place for you to authorize without the server.
 
The less fun thing for me to bring up is all the mentions of bug fixes. Unfortunately, this is another "at this time" situation. Gibson has in fact ceased operation and development of Cakewalk products. Bug fixes are definitely part of what the development team works on, and without a development team... well... you know the rest. The few of us here have been working on plans A, B, and C for different scenarios. If we get sold, shut down entirely, or somehow repurposed, we're doing our best to ensure we have a plan in place for our users. Don't forget, we're still SONAR users too, and we still want it to exist as much as anybody else.
 
Though I may get some flack for this, I'll even mention Lifetime Updates. In short, it looks good on paper. If Gibson didn't shut down Cakewalk, it'd still be something we could honor. Of course, the term "Lifetime" should always be met with the question of "what lifetime?". During the promotion, we said "even if we change SONAR Platinum to SONAR ___, you'll still get updates" and believe it or not, we meant it. I personally would have looked with caution, but if the plan was for updates to be enhancements and bug fixes, and then charge for new content, instruments, and major features, the business plan now seems to make more sense. It's unfortunate that it comes off as a "too good to be true" situation, but considering annual updates were $249 on our site for just about all of 2017, I still think the price for the now dreaded LTU wasn't all that bad. I know of a certain industry standard that costs more for a single year anyway, and they definitely weren't handing out new features each month.
 
Now a question for you all: would it be helpful if we continued to update the FAQ when we receive new information, or to address some of your concerns? Otherwise, what do you think the best way for us to relay information would be? I'm open to doing whatever it takes to keep you all in the loop.

Didn’t mean to make assumptions about the “for now” comment. You are right, of course that is reality speak as no one can know when it may change. I truly respect and appreciate this post and open share as it shows the “other side of things” well. Hats off to you and my “been thru it before”understanding of what it’s like to be directly involved with such matters of ownership, sellouts, business and staff changes, etc....
I will gladly edit or delete the comment about the servers above if want me to.
Cheers, hang in there, and keep truckin!

Hi there and as the Op who started this thread and as a longtime user (since 2004) I'd like to say thank you so much for answering the questions in this thread and being so open and candid.
 
I'm sure most on here will really appreciate it.  I'd also like to say that I'm so sorry for all you guys at Cakewalk that it has come to this and I'm sorry for the product and those who developed it - what a grave loss this all is.
 
Personally, at this stage I think updating the main FAQ would be the best way to communicate any updates as new information arrives.

RickJP909
Hi there and as the Op who started this thread and as a longtime user (since 2004) I'd like to say thank you so much for answering the questions in this thread and being so open and candid.
 
I'm sure most on here will really appreciate it.  I'd also like to say that I'm so sorry for all you guys at Cakewalk that it has come to this and I'm sorry for the product and those who developed it - what a grave loss this all is.
 
Personally, at this stage I think updating the main FAQ would be the best way to communicate any updates as new information arrives.

Well said! I forgot to mention the above in my recent posts here. Thank you Team and sorry here also.
I agree, the main FAQ would probably be best as there is so much activity and honestly topic swinging going on, it’s hard to manage keeping updated easily on many subjects of concern and announcements (ie the Overloud license one I came across by accident).

Thanks to the customer support person for the recent post. I agree that updating the FAQ when relevant info arises would be the most effective way to communicate that info. And if it could be made a sticky on this forum, that'd be nice too!