Tripecac
Evidently the explanations which have been offered ad nauseum (by Cakewalk and the forum regulars) are neither convincing nor reassuring.

if that were the case this thread would still be going constantly.
Can I also add; I find it just as funny that 10 minutes after this guys comment...
you (who hasn't been here in 2 months) also show up
 
This is really old news. I thought most of us had moved on from the
"Cakewalk must be giving us a good deal because...."

Well if we are still having this "conversation" this time next year I guess all of us who have taken advantage of the lifetime deal will be fully vindicated in their decision, both financially and in their trust in Cakewalk to deliver as promised.

its simple really, if you think you are being swindled in someway, then don't update.
but if you take it for what its worth, lifetime update at a fair and more than reasonable price,
then you buy it. even if you get a measly year out of it...it will still be worth it ? I think so.
 
sometimes as humans we over analyze things, its in our nature.
but when all is said and done, how can this not be a great deal ?
I believe it is. but no one is being forced to take the lifetime update "or else".
just keep paying monthly if you choose.
 
Good luck

Tripecac
Evidently the explanations which have been offered so far (by Cakewalk and the forum regulars) are neither convincing nor reassuring enough to allay some people's concerns about the developmental lifespan of Sonar and therefore the ROI of the lifetime updates.

 
Evidently some people choose to be convinced by their own speculation.
 
There's nothing new about this. Remember all the people who said Cakewalk wouldn't last a year after being acquired by Gibson, that the company would never be able to deliver monthly updates, that after getting the membership money they were just going to keep it and not deliver updates, that staff view would never get fixes, that this was all preparation for a subscription model where the software would die if you didn't pay, etc. etc. They were so sure they were absolutely right.
 
You can believe whatever you want. Here's another theory: Gigantic, flesh-eating pink poodles will invade Boston and devour the development team, therefore leaving all SONAR users high and dry without any further development.

I'm going to start a thread on Jan 1, 2019 and tell all the naysayers they were wrong about lifetime updates.

moving air
So who's to say there isn't another sell-off in the company's future.

 
Gibson would say there isn't another sell-off in the company's future.
 

Yep. Read the whole thread. And the answers from Andrew were helpful. But when the company has had three owners in ten years, and they promise lifetime anything, I get concerned. Yes, it may well be a nothing portion of the Gibson company, but they would still dump it if it wasn't profitable. An altruistic company is still a company.
I will probably still buy the upgrade: I haven't upgraded since X2, so I'm due anyway. I have nothing to lose from trying this. At least I get a year or two of solid upgrade, which makes it worth the $199. If it goes beyond that, it's gravy.
But that doesn't make me any less skeptical of a "too good to be true" situation.

moving air
Yep. Read the whole thread. And the answers from Andrew were helpful. But when the company has had three owners in ten years, and they promise lifetime anything, I get concerned. Yes, it may well be a nothing portion of the Gibson company, but they would still dump it if it wasn't profitable. An altruistic company is still a company.
I will probably still buy the upgrade: I haven't upgraded since X2, so I'm due anyway. I have nothing to lose from trying this. At least I get a year or two of solid upgrade, which makes it worth the $199. If it goes beyond that, it's gravy.
But that doesn't make me any less skeptical of a "too good to be true" situation.

The main things people fail to understand is Cakewalk sells lots of products that DON'T have lifetime updates, Cakewalk is always picking up new users who pay full price for SONAR, and that there are products planned for the future that are different from the SONAR family.

John
This has to be the most cynical notion yet posted on these forums. 
 
In order to have such a view the OP must be able to point to things Cakewalk have done to provoke this conclusion. 
 
Is there a promise that CW has made that one can point to as precedent? On what grounds is this assertion made?   

Totally agree, John. The model is different, period. It is not a yearly change any more, the upgrade is continuous over the entire year and stretching way beyond. The entire premise of the thread is in error. BRuys nailed it. And as Craig said, there are still others buying other products and not doing the "perma-update" on SPlat , if you will.

 
It kinds of reminds one of the old game "Telephone", for some reason. The whole thing is just silly. 
 

bapu
If the naysayers really want to speculate they need to start saying that Gibson is planning to build up CW and sell it off.
 
Oh snap, did I just say that? My bad.

Now, Bapu, you're just being evil (or is it "evil being"?).

 

 
 
 

moving air
Yep. Read the whole thread. And the answers from Andrew were helpful. But when the company has had three owners in ten years, and they promise lifetime anything, I get concerned. Yes, it may well be a nothing portion of the Gibson company, but they would still dump it if it wasn't profitable. An altruistic company is still a company.
I will probably still buy the upgrade: I haven't upgraded since X2, so I'm due anyway. I have nothing to lose from trying this. At least I get a year or two of solid upgrade, which makes it worth the $199. If it goes beyond that, it's gravy.
But that doesn't make me any less skeptical of a "too good to be true" situation.

If I may ask... you mentioned "but when the company has had three owners in ten years",
I don't understand, what bad came out of that ?
Cakewalk has honored their products. everything I've purchased from cakewalk is still in my account. 
I just don't get the skepticism that's all. nothing is going to blow up man .
 
hope it all works out for you.