vintagevibe

foldaway
Yes, of course using the source code would be illegal.  However, having knowledge of the principles & ideas behind the  source code is not illegal & can greatly reduce the time required to reverse engineer a file format.  That is the point I was trying to make.

I’m actually not sure if it would be legal or not for a former Cakewalk employee to use information learned on the job to write new software. Reminds me of insider trading but it would really be a question for a lawyer. Why don’t you contact an employee and ask them?

Probably depends on whether they have a non-compete contract and whether Gibson would even want to enforce such a thing under the circumstances.
 
It is a moot point, I believe.  Nobody is going to do this.
 
As a general rule, you cannot take any tangible property and reuse it, including source code.  But knowledge of a process is not enforceable, other than through a non-compete.  If it could be shown that a former employee took documents describing the project file structure and used that in the process of building his own commercial product, that could invite a lawsuit.  I don't see any of this happening.  Gibson isn't going to fund it and I don't believe there is enough of a SONAR base to make any money developing such a product.

The amount of time spent trying to discourage fellow users of the merits of spending a couple of minutes of thier time to support a Studio One feature request, is absolutely beyond me!
 
You are correct in that 'Nobody is going to do this', if no one requests it!
 
Beyond that, all you have offered is a belief that recognises some of the variables at play without offering any insights (/facts/evidence) regarding any of those variables.  So coming to a conclusion reliant on those variables, without being able to define their values, doesnt make any sense.

cparmerlee

mosspa
If the current version of SONAR works for you, all you need to do is to put it on its own computer platform with that platform's current version of Windows, and SONAR will work, just like it does now, for as long as you can keep that platform running.

I wonder if anybody has done much with virtual machines and DAWs/VSTs.  If this works without big latency problems, that can be an excellent way to freeze system images.

The problem with virtual machines is that they do not have direct access to audio and MIDI interface hardware.  So you can kiss real-time audio goodbye.  Otherwise they are fine!

abacab

cparmerlee

mosspa
If the current version of SONAR works for you, all you need to do is to put it on its own computer platform with that platform's current version of Windows, and SONAR will work, just like it does now, for as long as you can keep that platform running.

I wonder if anybody has done much with virtual machines and DAWs/VSTs.  If this works without big latency problems, that can be an excellent way to freeze system images.

The problem with virtual machines is that they do not have direct access to audio and MIDI interface hardware.  So you can kiss real-time audio goodbye.  Otherwise they are fine!

IIRC, Hyper/V allows you to dedicate devices to a particular VM, but I can't remember what restrictions that may impose.

cparmerlee

abacab

cparmerlee

mosspa
If the current version of SONAR works for you, all you need to do is to put it on its own computer platform with that platform's current version of Windows, and SONAR will work, just like it does now, for as long as you can keep that platform running.

I wonder if anybody has done much with virtual machines and DAWs/VSTs.  If this works without big latency problems, that can be an excellent way to freeze system images.

The problem with virtual machines is that they do not have direct access to audio and MIDI interface hardware.  So you can kiss real-time audio goodbye.  Otherwise they are fine!

IIRC, Hyper/V allows you to dedicate devices to a particular VM, but I can't remember what restrictions that may impose.

I have only used Oracle VirtualBox and VMWare, so I do not know the specifics of Hyper-V.  But I would assume that development priorities do not include digital audio production. 
 
However, it would be very cool if they did!  It is amazing how much hardware can be virtualized today, but real-time audio would be a special case.  Windows direct sound seems to be state of the art at this point.
 
System hardware, display, storage, networking, communication ports, etc., seem to be higher on the list for VM support.

cparmerlee

Blades

A modern PC does not have to be off line. If you’re careful and don’t visit dodgy sites you’re going to be ok.

As "the IT guy", I am advising everyone to please not think this way. It is wrong. Period. There is So much more to this and tons of non-dosgybsites websites websites websites get infected with Malware every day. This is simply incorrect and irresponsible advice.

Plus with Windows 10 (other than the Enterprise edition), unplugging is the only way to be sure Microsoft won't bring you down with one of their patches (which can be as bad as a virus.)

The best defense against forced changes, whether they be from either Microsoft, or malware, is the good practice of regular system imaging.  You can easily start with a program like Macrium Reflect Free, and a cheap USB drive.
https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree
 
If you have a recent image, then a full system rollback to the last working version can be accomplished in minutes.
 
Just being smart about the sites that you visit is no longer a guarantee that you will not be attacked online.  There is a new wave of "malvertising" that can exploit ads that you see while visiting major mainstream websites. 
 
Most websites sign up with ad brokers that display ads that are beyond the control of any given website.  If a malicious actor places an ad with the advertising broker, you can receive an unwanted script with a random ad.  This is where exploit scripts can scan your system for vulnerabilities.  Older and unpatched systems are most at risk.

cparmerlee
 
 
As a general rule, you cannot take any tangible property and reuse it, including source code. 

Technically, source code is Intellectual Property.
 
Tangible property would be a guitar, bicycle, etc.

Forgive me for not reading the entire thread or for being as educated as others are in regards to IT, etc,...

This why Sonar needs to now just be released from having to connect to any online authorization. That way I could make this laptop a music only device and disconnect online completely. I did this with my windows 98 computer that runs Cake Pro, Pro Audio, and ton of other software with Layla as my audio interface. I now have well over 180 midi tracks and 24 audio tracks available and this computer boots up fast. I like running my music systems like my dads classic stereo, no need for constant online updates, so no slowdown, no viruses, it just works. In case your confused, it’s called freedom.

cparmerlee
It is a moot point, I believe.  Nobody is going to do this.
 

You are correct.

One positive report....SONAR for me works as usual AFTER Windows downloaded and installed the 1709 update (called the fall creators update)...