Just a general question about the forum: Does Cakewalk have any plans to upgrade the Commercial Version 4? I noticed that IE and Chrome are the best two browsers to use, but the latest versions of Firefox (any system, including Linux), Safari, and Mac-based Chrome don't seem to support the proper formatting. I prefer to use FireFox, but don't want to have to go back to Version 5 to get the formatting abilities, or to have to use Windows all the time to use chrome. I realize browser developers could maybe have compensated, but they are less likely to fix such issues. Thanks!

I prefer to use FireFox, but don't want to have to go back to Version 5 to get the formatting abilities

 
You said it all just there,  There is nothing wrong with the forum, it works perfectly in IE and used to work perfectly in FireFox untill they changed FireFox...
 
It is the job of a web browser to acurately display the contents of web sites. If it doesn't then it's not the fault of the web site.

I guess what I mean is that, while I agree that it's the job of the browser to correctly display and work with the code of the site, in this case, I find that there's more browsers that are no longer compensating for the idiosyncrasies of this forum any longer. In so many words, it's their way of signaling, "Update your websites. We're through supporting old code. Do you want a faster browser, one that supports old code, or one that you have to buy?" See RFC1925 (7a): "Good, Fast, Cheap: Pick any two (you can't have all three)."

Well - to be honest.. This forum is the ONLY forum that has problems with my version (17.0) of Firefox. And I visit a lot of forums! And no - I cannot (and will not) use an older version from a few years back, simply because that would break my automatic software maintenance. I like to keep software in balance with the rest of my system, so everything just runs smoothly. It is also a bit strange to forced to use a rusty old browser (or another browser) just because only ONE forum I visit refuses to update their software. All other forums I visit do have updated their software. I also do not have IE, because most browsing I do from my Linux machine that has no Microsoft stuff at all - for obvious reasons. Please understand I do not rant about it or demand anything. I simply visit this forum less frequently, just because Firefox is my default (and preferred) browser, and I have to start up another browser to be able to give a well-formatted reply.

Problem is I think Chrome tracks you, I would have never installed it if it was not for this forum. This IS the ONLY web site you need it for. Someone said if they update the forum it would loose all the old information?? 

AAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!

I just tried to write my reply in firefox and lost all I'd written. DOH!

Anyway, it went something like this.......

I contacted ASPPlayground.NET last year about this and they said cakewalk were offered the upgrade at the time but have not installed it. I don't remember what cakewalks reason for not doing so was, or even if they gave one but I don't think the blame should be entirely down to the browser. It would be nice if browsers were backward compatible though.

Steve

NOTE: This post was from Opera, the only browser I found would work on a MAC for this forum.

There's an inherent software balance that developers MUST adhere to, only because it's just stark reality:

To make something run fast, it has to be stripped of anything useless that slows it down. Of course, that's just simple physics at work. For example, a race car that's pulling a cargo trailer full of repair parts, crew, and tools will not compete very well in a race, even though it will be fixable wherever it breaks down. Mozilla has to decide at what point have most of the old websites have been retired, and now the demand is HTML5 and such.

To compete with the demands, but remain fast for us impatient users, they simply have to strip away old, deprecated code from the browser. I agree, that I lurk on many boards, and this is one of the very few where I have formatting trouble. Chrome is fast, but as we can see, Chrome on a Mac doesn't handle the formatting - So, this leaves Mac users without a good browser, save, maybe Opera that will handle the Cakewalk board correctly. 

The Cakewalk forum doesn't work with IE 9 flawlessly either. While the formattig and line break work (unlike in Firefox - duhhh), sometimes after I post something, it either
freezes Internet Explorer
or
takes too long to post (like 30 seconds or more)
or
I am presented with an error message (like "Server Error" or something) ALTHOUGH the post is uploaded.
 
What truly is beyond my comprehension, is that the Search function does not work. In any browser. You have to use Google and use site:cakewalk.com to filter the results. I find that EMBARRASSING for a company that produces software, let alone for one where it also reads "by Roland".

The only browser I've used it with where it works exactly as intended is Firefox 3.6.

Even the IE Tab with the latest Firefox shows some odd problems after I used it a while and I just switched back to FF 3.6.

@PopStarWannabe: You're right, the search function here has always been useless.

@Twaddle: Randy Bowser, a forum member who I haven't seen here in a long time, contacted ASPPlayground also a couple of years ago. The forum software can't be updated because it was customized by Cakewalk. If I remember correctly, they were offered a free upgrade but couldn't install it because of the customizations they have done to the current software.

It does sort of surprise me as well about the fact that Roland attaches their name to this, not that this is anything against either company. Roland is pretty impressive with its forward-thinking (at least, historically). Roland's investment in Cakewalk tells me that we should expect some better improvements in product lines in the near future. 

With that said, yes, if Roland is invested in Cakewalk, then the forum version upgrade should have been a no-brainer. I can't speak for Roland or Cakewalk, but someone may have made a conscious decision not to upgrade the forum software. 

Now is a good time to revisit this. It's Q1 of 2013, when most new budgets are in play. Two things I want to see from Cakewalk as a result: 1) Spend more time and money to better test and squash bugs before the software (Sonar) hits the shelves, and 2) Upgrade the forum. I personally don't need "new" features. I want the bug-squashing to actually catch up to the innovation for once.