some people don't get the definition of the term "lifetime".. it's the lifetime of a product *NOT* yours etc.
 
bit like hardware companies only support drivers for a finate time..
 
in camel audio case.. the authorise side was left open, as obv. their servers were no longer.. it gave me more reason to boycott apple anyway.. they may think it's funny I spent £600 on a product that won't ever be updated, within a year of buying it. they should have sold it to NI etc. and done the right thing by it's PC users.
 
superwave vanished for years leaving me with locked plugins.. so I had to use "others" from elsewhere. I'd paid for it = I can use it.. that simple.
 
NI pulled the rug from kore 2 users.
 
if there is anything linked to cakewalk software + servers.. then they could just comment out that code and do a build without that functionality.. or make it just always return a "true" or "valid" flag, with regard to that. they said they ain't "updating" it.. I class that as a compatibility fix.
 
when you get "hit" by a few pro audio companies, then you sorta become wary. I'm sure many of us have had this over the years.
 
 
 

IF they want to be decent, they should simply do away with the need for repeated on-line authorization.
 
Then a user could simply keep an offline machine that is compatible until the technology became so outdated that it wasn't worth using anymore.   I think I could happily use my copy of Platinum Pro on my 8 core I7 with W10 for a good number of years.   That would be a proper "lifetime." 
 
 However, decent behavior and the current management of Gibson are not usually compatible. 

I'm pretty sure they're NOT obligated, at least legally, to do this if they shut it down...

Greetings
This screen has greeted me twice in the last few months- which I solved by rolling back to an earlier version in CCC.
Once CC authorization is gone, then I am afraid that I will lose Sonar, and my entire catalog of recordings will be lost, at least without some heroic effort. Not a good feeling...
I hope that someone at Gibson is listening and will do the right thing for their customers!
 

mcdoma2000
Someone in another post (I can't remember which) gave a way to ensure a way to reauthorize SONAR and some Cakewalk VSTs:
If you take certain steps now, you shouldn't have to worry about the servers being offline to activate the software. Most of the software that was part of SONAR didn't require online activation. According to the Cakewalk knowledge base on the following items required activation:
Music Creator Pro
Rapture Pro/Sessions
SONAR Platinum/Professional/Artist
Z3TA+ 2
CA-2A
Cakewalk provides offline activation. Install the software. Once it is installed, click on the option for offline activation. It will create a file. Upload this to Cakewalk. It will generate an activation file. Download this file and SAVE IT. This is then used to activate the software. If you save these files, you can always come back and activate the software without the need for internet access or Cakewalk servers to be active.

Will that activation code work if I have to buy a new computer in 3 years and am trying to install on it, or is it dependent on some Machine ID?

dennish

Greetings
This screen has greeted me twice in the last few months- which I solved by rolling back to an earlier version in CCC.
Once CC authorization is gone, then I am afraid that I will lose Sonar, and my entire catalog of recordings will be lost, at least without some heroic effort. Not a good feeling...
I hope that someone at Gibson is listening and will do the right thing for their customers!
 

The installation files are saved to your hard drive even if you use Command Center to install, unless you have intentionally deleted them. Mine are all still there also backed up in cloud storage.  I recently used one to roll back to July trying to see when a problem I was having started.  It worked fine doing it that way rather than with Command Center.

mmarton
I'm pretty sure they're NOT obligated, at least legally, to do this if they shut it down...

I'm also sure they are not obligated to do away with the  online authorization.  It would be the decent thing to do, at least when they decide to stop running the authorization servers, but Henry J comes from a business school background that teaches that only suckers behave decently, or give more than is required to avoid breaking the law.   
 
Aside that, the legal situation will be complex, and will depend largely on the terms of the EULA and general contract law.  
 
It's not entirely cut and dried the other way either, however.  They were still selling the product last week.  Consider a consumer who has jut paid retail for Platinum Pro.  Cakewalk haven't gone bankrupt, which would dissolve any continuing customer obligation.  Even if the EULA says "we can shut down anytime,"  a court could find the clause unconscionable, or even that selling the product under those conditions was fraud.  They will probably find themselves obligated to continue authorization for a reasonable period.   The only problem will be who gets to define "reasonable." 

They will probably find themselves obligated to continue authorization for a reasonable period.

 
For all we know they'll authorise and "support" <cough> it for a long time.
All they've said is they're stopping *development* - right?
 
 
 
 

Thanks for your reply.
From what I have been reading here on the forum (and not actually trying it yet), i understand that offline activation still needs to communicate with the Cakewalk servers- no servers, no activation.
I am a bit afraid to give it a try for fear their site could go down in a moment- wait and see!