The fear of Sonar breaking due to a future Windows update may be irrational.  It might work for another 10 years (or to the point where the current computer/DAW paradigm is completely obsolete).  Let's also assume that Cakewalk somehow provides access to a version that can be installed using a serial number scheme (I think it's a reasonable assumption that Gibson will at least work this detail out).
 
I'm wondering how you all think Sonar Platinum, in its current state, stacks up against the other DAWs out there for MIDI and audio?
 
I know everyone's reaction is sadness and despair at the thought of no development in the future, but that is pretty much how it used to be when you bought software.  The "constant update" thing is a new paradigm and let's not forget, regressions are always possible with each update as well as advances.  Other DAW companies and plugin companies will likely suffer a similar fate soon with so much stuff so cheap on the market.
 
Basically I'm just wondering if I should keep Sonar Platinum and just not worry about it, or retire it to the grave now and go with another DAW.  

rlared
I'm wondering how you all think Sonar Platinum, in its current state, stacks up against the other DAWs out there for MIDI and audio?

I think overall it's the best product out there.
 
But eventually it'll stop working, might be 10+ years but eventually you won't be able to open projects.  Does this matter that much? 
 
If you're a hobbyist not so much.   If you're a pro you probably weren't using SONAR as your only DAW.

You can absolutely make broadcast quality, master record quality, movie soundtrack quality audio in current (and much older) versions of Sonar. And it's future proof up to crazy sample rates and running times. I'm in no rush to change to anything else. My only concern is the authorisation issue.
 
This is one of the problems, I suppose, for the DAW market. Most of these products have been essentially "complete" for a long time now. You can always enhance things and improve workflows and so on. But there's nothing I can really think of that I'll need to be able to do, professionally, in the next five or so years, that Sonar doesn't already do.

It's not irrational. It has broken my setup before. No one could help me here, and there was no tech support. So I had to completely re-install everything.

As long as there are no compatability issues, current state sonar will likely stack up well against other DAWs. Honestly, most DAWs reached point where in the box recording, mixing and mastering were reality years ago.

The problem is there's missing functionality that needs to be put back.  There's longstanding bugs that need to be fixed.  There's plenty of issues with the program.  What this means is that NONE of this is going to get any better.  The state Sonar's in, is where it's gonna stay forever. 

Not to mention that you have no idea how long Gibson will do us the courtesy of keeping the servers running.  It maybe a week, a month, or whatever but there will be a time when re-installing the program will be impossible because you won't be able to authorize it. 

If you're a casual user or a hobbyist, then you might be able to chug along with no issues for some time because you're not always banging up against the endless bugs that now will never be fixed (and let's not kid ourselves, Cakewalk never had any intention of fixing them).  But even if you're a hobbyist, there will be a point when you can't re-authorize it and that's when it comes crashing down.  

.. but there will be a time when re-installing the program will be impossible because you won't be able to authorize it.

Question; On 8.5 here. I have (saved) the text files originally used to install and run Sonar.
I thought they were my assigned keys' and could be reused on a reinstall.
Thank you

Best alternative? Well, I've owned studio one 3pro for a couple years now and I think it sucks... there is NO comparison. However, I've just bought a couple copies of Cubase  for me and a fellow Sonar user as this is the platform of choice for many heavy hitters over at VI Control and after watching the Groove3 Cubase  bundle, which I'd picked up on sale awhile back, I'm kinda stoked...very pleasing to the eye, super midi tools and a fresh start with a company that ain't  going away.
 
Been with Sonar from day one but given the way this has come down, I'm ready for a fresh start. My fondest hope would be for Magix  to acquire cakewalk and fold it into it's Vegas family as this would be a powerful combo... but I'm moving ahead with a new platform for now...

Vastman
Best alternative? Well, I've owned studio one 3pro for a couple years now and I think it sucks... there is NO comparison. However, I've just bought a couple copies of Cubase  for me and a fellow Sonar user as this is the platform of choice for many heavy hitters over at VI Control and after watching the Groove3 Cubase  bundle, which I'd picked up on sale awhile back, I'm kinda stoked...very pleasing to the eye, super midi tools and a fresh start with a company that ain't  going away.
 
Been with Sonar from day one but given the way this has come down, I'm ready for a fresh start. My fondest hope would be for Magix  to acquire cakewalk and fold it into it's Vegas family as this would be a powerful combo... but I'm moving ahead with a new platform for now...

Yeah I have used Studio One 3 Pro.  I think it's pretty good actually but something about it just doesn't engage me.  I also like Reaper.  But something about Sonar draws me back. . . maybe it's the interface?
 
I've tried Cubase Elements a few times and I absolutely hated it lol.  I just can't figure out the interface of Cubase.  I hate the way it looks, the menus all over the place, and that a USB license is required for the higher versions.  But I know a lot of people love it.

You should probably give Cubase 9 a try.  They fixed alot of the interface issues in earlier versions.
 
The big thing I will miss is that I think Bitwig studio is the only other Windows DAW besides Sonar that has a native full screen mode in Windows.