Some software makers are discontinuing their boxed releases in favor of an all-Cloud experience where you pay an annual subscription fee to access their programs from the Cloud.
 
What happens when your internet is down?
 
What happens if their server crashes?
 
What happens when you're on a deadline and the system won't let you log in to finish your work?
 
Do you think it's wise to rely totally on a remote access system like the Cloud?
 
Do you think Sonar is headed this way?

soens
Some software makers are discontinuing their boxed releases in favor of an all-Cloud experience where you pay an annual subscription fee to access their programs from the Cloud.
 
What happens when your internet is down?
 
What happens if their server crashes?
 
What happens when you're on a deadline and the system won't let you log in to finish your work?
 
Do you think it's wise to rely totally on a remote access system like the Cloud?
 
Do you think Sonar is headed this way?

For all the reasons you list, I'd like to think CW wouldn't be so stupid.
 
I see only disadvantages in web-based software.
 
There's something to be said for on-line file storage, however often I make copies of my music projects would count for nothing if my house burnt down, for example, but I would draw the line at any personal info - just have to take my chances with that.

Sonar is not amenable to the "CLOUD" if you mean program execution on distant servers. The inevitable latency involved would be excessive for real time audio.
 
Some of the "cloud" distributions you see lately (annual subscriptions) are not cloud based at all. They execute on your hardware, but not before getting an authorization to do so from a distant server. There is a huge difference between a local program that will not run without checking your license status and one that runs on someone else's hardware. The downsides of such a system are somewhat less serious than a truly distant execution, but you may still be in trouble it the vendor will not (or cannot) authorize this run of your software because of connection problems. And of course there is no up side. You will not be able to run your software on someone else's supercomptuer by paying an affordable per millisecond rental. 

I'm perfectly content in the cloud...for things that are of not that much import. Net down? I can shop at Amazon later...
 
For important things that require intensive IO, thanks, but I prefer my dedicated, local drive, workstation.
 
OTH:I notice that Cakewalk Music Creator can be 'cloud' based through the Steam site (whatever that is...). I would also posit the position that at one time DAW technology was not robust enough for folks to abandon their ADAT recorders en masse. Just saying is all...
 
Regards,

I think you have a wrong view on what cloud based software really is. Or can be. It's not that you have to run the software from the cloud! And it's not that everything is always saved in the cloud! I am a graphic designer and the BIGGEST player in the market, Adobe, (which is some ten thousand times bigger then Cakewalk) has switched to cloud based software ONLY. No more boxes. None at all. Everything from the cloud. And what does this mean?
 
1. You only need internet to download and install the software and to register it. 
2. In the case of Adobe the software will try to validate online once a month. If you have a year subscription that would be once every three months.
3. Your software will always be up to date, the newest version, the newest features, so no more need to wait for the next version that will be released in a year or two... hopefully. When there is something new, you get it!
 
The only drawback of course is that in the case of Adobe you have to get a subscription, so you will be paying for the software every month... every year... every decade. You CAN of course stop paying, but then you also have to stop using the software. Now if you were used to getting the latest version everytime anyway, this won't be a very big deal. But if you are used to only buying one version every two or three version, the cloud based solution will cost you a lot more money.
 
Anyway, you COULD say that CW is already using the cloud: if I want to buy X2 (which I don't own yet) I can get it from their site and I am done. The only difference is that since there is no subscription, the software doesn't need to be validated every month or so. But other then that their isn't a huge difference. With cloud based software you will still be able to use the software offline, save everything on your own desktop, etc. You won't be needing to stream audio over the internet or anything.
 
P.S. Steam is a site and a program that lets you buy mainly games online, download them and install them locally on your computer. With a login to Steam you can access everything you buy on any computer. Everything is installed locally but with Steam you DO need an internet connection all the time because you have to login to Steam before you can use the programs you have installed. It's another kind of cloud thing, you could say. This system is NOT what you would want for things like Sonar or Adobe software or anything else that can have a deadline. Games don't have a deadline... 

EDIT
Yet another double post........

hellogoodbye
I think you have a wrong view on what cloud based software really is. Or can be. It's not that you have to run the software from the cloud! And it's not that everything is always saved in the cloud! I am a graphic designer and the BIGGEST player in the market, Adobe, (which is some ten thousand times bigger then Cakewalk) has switched to cloud based software ONLY. No more boxes. None at all. Everything from the cloud. And what does this mean?
 
1. You only need internet to download and install the software and to register it. 
2. In the case of Adobe the software will try to validate online once a month. If you have a year subscription that would be once every three months.
3. Your software will always be up to date, the newest version, the newest features, so no more need to wait for the next version that will be released in a year or two... hopefully. When there is something new, you get it!
 
The only drawback of course is that in the case of Adobe you have to get a subscription, so you will be paying for the software every month... every year... every decade. You CAN of course stop paying, but then you also have to stop using the software. Now if you were used to getting the latest version everytime anyway, this won't be a very big deal. But if you are used to only buying one version every two or three version, the cloud based solution will cost you a lot more money.
 
Anyway, you COULD say that CW is already using the cloud: if I want to buy X2 (which I don't own yet) I can get it from their site and I am done. The only difference is that since there is no subscription, the software doesn't need to be validated every month or so. But other then that their isn't a huge difference. With cloud based software you will still be able to use the software offline, save everything on your own desktop, etc. You won't be needing to stream audio over the internet or anything.
 
P.S. Steam is a site and a program that lets you buy mainly games online, download them and install them locally on your computer. With a login to Steam you can access everything you buy on any computer. Everything is installed locally but with Steam you DO need an internet connection all the time because you have to login to Steam before you can use the programs you have installed. It's another kind of cloud thing, you could say. This system is NOT what you would want for things like Sonar or Adobe software or anything else that can have a deadline. Games don't have a deadline... 

I don't really have so much a problem with downloading "my copy" of the software, which I can then keep on some kind of back up media and use for re-installations etc. I would still prefer, for some reason, to just go to a store and buy a disc (without the frankly ridicluous massive box that companies used to put them in to try and make you fee like you just got something for your £300). Probably because I genuinely fear the day when there are no more stores, no more banks etc and your whole life is at the mercy of the www and customer service that consists of FAQ's that never contain the actual question you want to ask or "we'll get back to you on that" which often translates as "No, we won't".
 
I think that the OP wasn't really referring to this type of thing, more the MS Office type model where you use "their" software via a www connection and cannot use it otherwise. This is what I meant when I said I see only disadvantages.  As far as DAW stuff goes, my DAW pc is not and never will be connected to the internet, some say it's not a problem to do so, but I see it as no coincidence that it's my online pcs that are always the ones that have problems. I have already encountered some DAW related software that can't be used without a www connection. Their loss, because I won't be buying it.
 
Continuing to use MS Office as an example, what you refer to as  the advantage of always having the latest version, updates, etc, I call forcing me to continually buy the "new" version, when truth be told MS Works that came "free" with XP is more than adequate for the needs of the average home user. This is the real reason why they don't want you to just buy a disc and be done with it. ( Yes, I know you still can at the moment, but the signs are that this is on the way out.)
 
BTW, Nice to see you back round these parts Jeroen. You need to be little more patient with the submit button, lol ! ;)

FWIW- how about the fact that many, including mine, music creating computers are off line. Would using a cloud based DAW mean that one would have to have all of that background running anti-crap on it? That would mess up timing for sure!
 
In my mind cloud based software is good only for programs that are not clock based and for backup storage. No cloud based DAW for me!
 

There are many good reasons for basing (meaning they execute in a cloud based server) applications in the cloud. I'm a senior software developer/designer for a multi-national multi-discipline engineering firm and the cloud provides an excellent platform for applications that need to be accessible from anywhere our staff my be who need access to project related information.
 
But as MarioD points out any clock based application faces some serious challenges that to me at this point are not campatible with cloud based execution. However I can see that there could be a time when those challenges could be overcome with advances in technology. I recall a time when a bought a personal computer for myself and my co-workers laughed because I got a 1Gig Hard Drive...the pinnacle of technolgy at that time.
 
The subscribe/download/upate model is not really cloud based computing in my opinion.
 
Regards,

FWIW, we use Creative Cloud here and it has worked out pretty well. Believe this has been corrected but you do not need to be online to use the program. You do need to connect once a month to renew your subscription but beyond that it works like any other software offline. There are def pros and cons depending on if you like to own your software or you are ok with renting. Craig Anderton just wrote an article on Harmony Central about this issue.
 
http://www.harmonycentral...ssue-225/ba-p/35542813