I get the sentiment of the other post by Larry.. and if you use other products by other companies that do have a different dev cycle and do try to put bugs to sleep a year+ later (and not charge).. then you think a bit different. saying something is fixed as a new paid version does come across as a bit negative, as certain things have been marketed in the past.
 
hands up anyone who hasn't got 2+ versions of dim pro / rapture etc  ;-)  .. the plugins are secondary, and I'd rather they worried about the DAW instead.
 
 

Don't I recall that Cake did a major revision for a previous version at the release of a new version once before?  I swear I remember this happening, but I'm looking back to see if I can find it.
 
Based on Andrew's response in another thread it made me think perhaps we might see something similar here with a final X2b or something, for those having issues I sincerely hope this is the case. 
 
I haven't had the same issues that some are seeing, but I certainly feel for those who have as I've been there with software many times before!

stevec

cclarry
Here's what Cake is looking at...

They reduce the Dev Cycle to 1 year...

They get PAID to fix the problems that they 
created in the first place..it's MATH and MONEY...

Why fix stuff for free that you can get PAID to fix?
 
AND they get your upgrade money once a year instead
of every 2 or 3 years...

What do you get?  Well you get a bunch of new 3rd party
stuff that you probably already have anyways...
and all the bugs that were in your current version should
be fixed, but you also get a whole slew of new ones...
and they get more money...sounds like a typical corporate
decision to me...

What's unfair about that?

Ah, so you're not upgrading then?
 

I'm seriously taking a "wait and see" attitude this time...
My reasoning is:

A) X2a is working ok...not great, but OK
B) I just paid $100 for an upgrade a year ago, now they want another $150 bucks for stuff that I already have
    aside from the bug fixes and enhanced features (I don't need any more 3rd Party plugins - I have most of them)
    that should have been part of an X2b...
C) The issues with X2a should have been addressed in a timely and relative manner...instead we got NOTHING
    and silence....that's NOT good business
D) Moving to 1 year Dev Cycle is great for the company, bad for the Customer.
    Why?  Because the company get's new revenue every year, AND doesn't have to issue
    as many bug fixes because the new version is only a few months away.  For the customer
    they get to fork out more money for bug fixes that should have been issued for FREE but
    the company is NOW charging for...

From a Corporate perspective it's GENIUS...
From the customers perspective it should  be RUBBISH...

I will wait and see what happens...I'll let the bugs fly away...
see how Cake handles it, evaluate a TRIAL version, and then
make a decision...I was always the "Gotta have it" guy...
not any more...I'm finding greater comfort in software that's
reliable...and gets lots of attention by devs...

THIS I do know, this is a DEFINING moment in Cakewalk History...
It will save them or kill them...that has yet to be seen...I hoping it's the 
former and not the latter...but stranger things have happened...

Welcome to CAKESCAM...

I have never upgraded on day one, or even week one.  Ever.   So I also have the "wait and see" approach, and for some of the same reasons.
 
But you have to admit... ending a post with "Welcome to CAKESCAM" is just a bit over the top and kind of putting yourself out there for rebuttal. 
 

cclarry
 
I'm seriously taking a "wait and see" attitude this time...
My reasoning is:

A) X2a is working ok...not great, but OK
B) I just paid $100 for an upgrade a year ago, now they want another $150 bucks for stuff that I already have
  aside from the bug fixes and enhanced features (I don't need any more 3rd Party plugins - I have most of them)
  that should have been part of an X2b...
C) The issues with X2a should have been addressed in a timely and relative manner...instead we got NOTHING
    and silence....that's NOT good business
D) Moving to 1 year Dev Cycle is great for the company, bad for the Customer.
  Why?  Because the company get's new revenue every year, AND doesn't have to issue
  as many bug fixes because the new version is only a few months away.  For the customer
    they get to fork out more money for bug fixes that should have been issued for FREE but
    the company is NOW charging for...

From a Corporate perspective it's GENIUS...
From the customers perspective it should  be RUBBISH...

I will wait and see what happens...I'll let the bugs fly away...
see how Cake handles it, evaluate a TRIAL version, and then
make a decision...I was always the "Gotta have it" guy...
not any more...I'm finding greater comfort in software that's
reliable...and gets lots of attention by devs...

THIS I do know, this is a DEFINING moment in Cakewalk History...
It will save them or kill them...that has yet to be seen...I hoping it's the 
former and not the latter...but stranger things have happened...

Welcome to CAKESCAM...

I shall be holding out also.
If it is true that it's going to be a 1year turn around for new versions, then if this past version is anything to go by, we'll be seeing few if any updates. Money talks n **** runs the marathon, as they say.

At least with hardware, if something ain't working, you can get your money back. If a product is sold and doesn't do as is advertised, it's a trading standards issue.

I love Sonar....but the little niggles that haven't been sorted and the relative blackout on communications of the past year makes me wonder.


I own a couple of Gibson guitars, lovely, but I hope Cakewalk doesn't end up pushing their prices up. As much as Gibson are great, they're prices leave a little to be desired....as does their attitude towards customers, from what i've heard.

Cakewalk always had a one year development cycle, that changed with X1, now its back again.
 
A business has to maintain a revenue stream, for the consumer its a two edge sword but if the company goes bust while putting out free updates nobody wins.

CoteRotie
I think I can recall one time when they issued a fix for a previous version after a new version was announced.  Maybe X2a users will get an update at some point.  

Bwaaaahahahahahahah!!!!!
Aingoanhapun.
 

Glyn Barnes
Cakewalk always had a one year development cycle, that changed with X1, now its back again.
 
A business has to maintain a revenue stream, for the consumer its a two edge sword but if the company goes bust while putting out free updates nobody wins.

That is true to a certain extent...if you consider 8.5 a "Tick" upgrade, which it wasn't...
but they also didn't hesitate to "release" repairs or communicate about it as they have
currently...That put 2 years between 8 and X1, and maybe that's why they jumped
the 9....

No one knows better then I that a company has to maintain it's revenue stream...
THAT is why they develop OTHER products as well...so that the "S P I C E" continues to 
flow...

From what I see, this upgrade is AGAIN a plethora of new 3rd party plugins...
more royalties to pay out for Sonar that are passed on to the customer...
and bug fixes and things that SHOULD have been included in X2....and, as
I stated...I don't need any more 3rd party plugins...I have too many already..
so "Most" current users of Producer really aren't gaining anything...other then
what they should have already had in the first place...

Biggest thing here is VST 3 support...that's a big tick off the list...so, I'm
grateful for that...even though I, personally, don't even need it, I know MANY
who do...

If it were a $50 upgrade...I'd be at the gate...but not this time...not at $150...
 
I'll bide my time and save some cash....and aggravation...and let them get it
worked out....then upgrade...only makes sense to do so...I'll just wait for the
HALF-OFF sale...

Glyn Barnes
Cakewalk always had a one year development cycle, that changed with X1, now its back again.
 
A business has to maintain a revenue stream, for the consumer its a two edge sword but if the company goes bust while putting out free updates nobody wins.

True enough. A busted company will not offer much support for a defective product. That is probably a good argument for a higher price on the initial release, but not a very good one for not providing repairs to customers who bought the current version.
 
What you call "free updates" have for the most part been bug fixes, or workarounds for incompatibilities for systems that actual users own that meet the system requirements, not new features. And yes, there are limits to how well a company can test software pre-release, but if the customer base are going to be beta testers who is really providing a free service for whom.
 
I am not saying there is anything unique about Cakewalk in this pattern of early release, lowball pricing and over promising of performance and compatibility, but I understand the frustration of customers caught in this trap. Since most of the software producers work this way, there is little competitive benefit to budgeting for better testing and support, and potentially fatal competitive disadvantage to taking your time and releasing fixes propmptly. If your competitor is releasing version 1897387.0 of their product this month and you are not, you may easily lose market. Still companies who make these decisions in order to compete with each other, can and should expect some blowback from customers.
 

For some reason I want to still believe in a $99 download. But I'll probably pay the $149 eventually (or wait for the sale if in two months CW does see the expected revenue).