So I just had the scare of a lifetime. I was working on a small song and decided to throw some Slate Digital Revival on the vocals to see what they would sound like so I pop open my Virtual Mix Rack and this pops up:
 

 
Okay, whatever. Time is running out on something I've never really even used yet because Gobbler is complete rubbish and wouldn't install. But then it happens... nothing. Nothing is moving on the progress bar, Sonar is now frozen and those words "Do not unplug any iLoks while this operation is in progress" are just staring me right in the face.
 
Sonar crashes. Okay, go to start menu and open ilok. Guess what? That's not working either. Cue mini panic attack as I reboot since Sonar and iLok processes are still running and won't force close. Comes back up, thankfully licenses are still there and nothing happened but it goes to show how making something we already see as an issue and overcomplicating it is a very bad idea. Especially for a company like Slate whose plugins, while great when they work, sometimes feel like they are optimized with a potato. >_<

It's this sort of stuff that puts me off any kind of hardware lock...

synkrotron
It's this sort of stuff that puts me off any kind of hardware lock...

As it should. The more I think about it the more I hate it. I understand the necessity of them but I completely despise the business tactics these companies use with charging not only the companies for licensing but also the customers for Zero Down Time insurance which is something that could/should be a free service.
 
Luckily many companies are opting to use their software based licensing over the dongle but that doesn't mean a computer can't crash as well. In fact, you're more likely to have a HDD fail than you are a dongle.

I had that happen too but it just did it's thing and I kept working.  Sorry you had the crash, ol pal.  So far...I've been checking...my Slate licenses are staying up to date in the iLok manager.  Fingers crossed.  I've already decided that when my "free time" is up I'll just purchase what I like and go off the subscription thingy.  Unless Steven makes me "an offer I can't refuse":-)
 

I have never gotten an iLok to work reliably on my system. I've uninstalled all of my Slate plugins. I give up. Not worth the hassle.

Especially for a company like Slate whose plugins, while great when they work, sometimes feel like they are optimized with a potato. >_<
 
  LMAO - I have Slate plug ins and know EXACTLY where you're coming from!!!!!!!
Nigel
 

yorolpal
I had that happen too but it just did it's thing and I kept working.  Sorry you had the crash, ol pal.  So far...I've been checking...my Slate licenses are staying up to date in the iLok manager.  Fingers crossed.  I've already decided that when my "free time" is up I'll just purchase what I like and go off the subscription thingy.  Unless Steven makes me "an offer I can't refuse":-)

My biggest gripe with the Slate thing is that they are using Gobbler which is known for having zero Windows support and it shows with their products. I couldn't even get their client to work in Sonar at all so I didn't get to try out any of the stuff I don't already own. Slate has enough plugin deals throughout the year though so I'm not worried too much about it. It now boils down to whether or not I think they are worth buying. If I upgrade to a UAD Apollo, I'd have to really compare the Slate stuff to the UAD plugs.

I have had zero problems with Slate products over the years. That's why I won't be doing the subscription model even though the proverbial carrot is dangling out there in the form a few free months.
 
Rocky

yorolpal
I had that happen too but it just did it's thing and I kept working.  

Same here.
 
Every so often (maybe thrice in all the years I've had an iLok2) I do have to reboot because either the iLok2 got "lost" or I needed to install an update to the iLok software for some new VST in installed the license for.
 
All in all I have maybe lost 10 minutes total time due to an iLok2 issue and I leave my DAW on 24/7. I just power off the monitors, video and RME interface when not in use.

 It's still hard to beat that "I trust you" authorization which hasn't brought Cakewalk down.
 
 This is my favorite quote from the founder of Spectrasonics that I love to paste every change I get.
 
 The closest thing to that is iLok. But the problem with a system like that is that it gives the most important control of your product to another company...and you have to go along with their way of doing things, even if that's NOT the way you want to do business. Not only that, but if something happens to that company or that system, then it affects everybody...hundreds of products and hundreds of thousands of users! The concept of paying for a system like that, when we can do a better job of it in-house is extremely distasteful to me.

It's weird....we lose some sales to Pro Tools users because we don't use iLok and they prefer to have a dongle. But if we did, there are many thousands more of our users that would hate going to a dongle system. (and offering both dongle and dongless methods just complicates things, providing less reliability, more tech support and less security as well).

I just would never trust another company (especially PACE) with such a valuable and key part of my business and how I interact with my customers.
 
It's obvious the developer's priority is the end user instead of protecting the product.  Young or new developers seem to get that wrong.
Did anyone ever notice how annoying it was to authorized a Yellow Tools product when they were around?  You would try 3 different browsers to get your code.  They are gone.
 IK dropped the dongle. Izotope dropped the dongle for non PT users.
 Reason gave users the alternative to use a dongle.
 
 I'm not anti dongle like I use to be. I have iLok, eLicenser, Reason Ignition.  It can get ridiculous when there are proprietary dongles like Reason and the now defunct Yellow Tools.
 
  I'd prefer the iLok or eLicenser or what the Peavey Revalver. A USB hub is necessary to run dongles.
 
  I think the only reason some developers require iLok is because it's the only way you can sell to work in Pro Tools.
 
  It's interesting the difference to run Slate's plugin and SSD.