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As a very experienced application developer, it is not unusual for some bugs to rear their ugly heads upon release of a new version of software. The issue becomes more of how many bugs and how serious are they? If a company releases new software that renders the product non-functional or severly hampers its overall operation, that would be considered a Severity 1 or 2 problem. I have NOT seen CW do this (yet). It is IMPOSSIBLE to regression test EVERYTHING in the world of software development no matter how many people are on the testing side Also many tests tend to be automated and they try to cover MOST of the primary and many of the less then primary operations. I am sure CW has many many use cases that are designed to ensure stability in 95% of the system but some problems will still get through and scenarios that maybe weren't obvious and go untested could sometimes be affected. This bug would likely not even be considered even a Sev 2 as there appears to be a workaround but still might be a high priority Sev 3 (functionality effect but work around exists) if it is likely to effect enough people. It is most likely if the issue is able to be replicated, they will fix it quickly because CW definitely in my opinion really tries to make sure their users are taken care of. There isn't a software company in the world that doesn't have similar issues with every new release. What separates the good from the bad companies is how well the react to those issues. For me, I always wait a week or two before loading the latest new version because I have noticed CW almost always providing a patch update a week or two after their release launches which I think is a very much in line with market expectations. There are not significant enough issues where a feature freeze is necessary and if there were, we would all be looking at some other DAW because that level of quality would not be tolerated. I am also sure that Cakewalk likely prioritizes production issues over new content so while new development goes on, field issue will take precedence and developers hopefully realigned to fix the issues before moving back to the new stuff. Again though, it depends on the severity and actual user impacts the problem has. Cakewalk, am I close here?
Agree with pretty much everything you say here. Esp "What separates the good from the bad companies is how well they react to those issues." I would also how it get's packaged is critical (i.e. with yet more enhancements?).
This bit though...
" I always wait a week or two before loading the latest new version because I have noticed CW almost always providing a patch update a week or two after their release launches which I think is a very much in line with market expectations."
I do the same here. And agree.
When cakewalk does this they do a pretty good job, but I didn't see anything happen here with Jamaica Plain where there were quite a few serious issues, and I'm seeing less of it. I'm continuously being frustrated that regression fixes are getting packages with enhancements leading me to stick with the current version I have for months.
So I would disagree here, but I totally see the point, however I really need a stable version of Sonar with no big issues to get in my way, and month after month I'm given a choice of what I should cope with or not, and yes I might be considering another DAW if the situation continues (not to be facetious or anything). Pity because I think Sonar is a great product. I certainly was pretty optimistic about the situation when Platinum came out but getting less so.
I appreciate I may be in the minority in these forums when it comes to vocalizing this opinion, but outside the Sonar forums I see a different story. A lot of people I notice are worried about making comments like this for fear of being shouted down, the reputation is that these are helpful forums until somebody says something which can be deemed or labelled as anti-sonar, even when they are not trying to be. People have messaged me outside of the forums and I do appreciate it, thankyou...
So anyway let's hope this thread continues into a sensible discussion...