So, for will people who paid for rolling updates be refunded?  I just renewed, so I'm hoping I'm not out the money I paid for updates.

From the announcement, two things stand out to me:
 
"... we ceased new product development and reduced overall operations ..."
 
So this would imply (perhaps optimistically on my part), that the skeleton crew left will be focussed on some level of maintenance.
 
Given Gibson's past record with holding on to IP, I'm not holding my hopes up for Cakewalk being sold on at this point, nor do I think Gibson will want to open-source Sonar.
 
I did occur to me however that there must be a fair few professional software developers (myself included), who would be more than happy to volunteer their services to keep Sonar going. I guess this would work in a a similar way to open source, but rather than being "open" it would be limited to those who sign an NDA.
 
Obviously beta testers would be invaluable as well.
 
Maybe it would only take one or two Cakewalk staff members to vet any code changes.
 
This solution would at least allow bugs and any issues with Windows updates to be looked at, whilst allowing Gibson to keep their IP and keep their costs down to a minimum.
 
Just a thought...

I've been a licensed user of cakewalk and SONAR producer products since it was distributed on 5.25" floppies, a long time ago.  This is a disappointing decision, on the part of Gibson, that will cause me financial issues. (eg: failing to trainsitiopn to Logic fully last year due to faith in Cakewalk meant investing in the wrong hardware)  If find it very ironic, and telling, that Gibson essentially bagged a high-tech product and staff that actually works, while clinging to G-Force as a flagship Gibson brand product.  My G-Force Gibson Les Paul, out of the box, came with a single instruction for use, essentiaslly " press this button and strum to tune", which resulted in two strings almost completely unwinding themselves, some strings tuned way too high, and a completly untuned instrument-- after scrounging the net for info, I found a manual Gibson had stashed online, which revealed one of the worst-designed user interfaces in embedded computer history (I have been designing them for decades, and know.)  The idea that Gibson executives are shutting down Cakewalk to focus on anything music/consumer electronic is pretty stupid.  Somebody should tell them that bull dicks are nasty dog treats or canes for old men, and should not be eaten, especially by the bag.  Oh well.

Is it possible to convert or render Sonar files to work in Pro Tools?  
 
EDIT:  I just found this excellent article.
 
http://www.pro-tools-expert.com/home-page/2017/11/25/the-critical-lesson-all-of-us-should-learn-from-the-cakewalk-closure
 
Exporting SONAR Projects as OMF Files for Use in Other Applications
Last updated on 3/28/2016
Return to Part 1- Importing OMF files
An Ounce of Preparation...
If you plan to export a SONAR project to another program that can read OMF files, it pays to consider three things before you start your SONAR project:

• Sample rate and audio bit depth of the target system
• Number of tracks the target system can handle
• SONAR and most other audio programs do not include Video in OMF file

While sample rates and bit depths can be converted after you export a project, it saves a lot of time to avoid conversions, if at all possible.
To Prepare a SONAR Project to Export as an OMF File

1. Make a copy of the project you want to export, and then only work on the copy to prepare for export.
2. If you have any MIDI tracks you want to export in the project, either record them as audio tracks, or put them into a Standard MIDI File that the other program can read.
3. Delete any tracks you don't want to export.
4. If you want to export volume or pan automation that is represented in SONAR as volume and pan envelopes, you will need to Edit-Bounce to Tracks or Edit-Bounce to Clips to mix the envelopes into new audio tracks or clips.
5. If you want to export the sound of any plug-in effects that you have patched, select the tracks that have the effects patched, and then use the Process-Apply Audio Effects command.
6. Create a text file to send along with the OMF file, detailing the tempo and any other important information about the project.
Exporting SONAR Projects as OMF Files
After you prepare a copy of your project to export, exporting is straightforward. Check with the engineer at the target studio to see if there are any special instructions for exporting, such as whether they want the file in Windows (RIFF Wave) or Mac (AIFC) format, which you can choose in SONAR's Export OMF dialog. If you've booked time at the studio, arrange to have your project played and inspected at the studio the day before your session, to be sure your project is as expected.

To Export a SONAR Project as an OMF File
1. Use the File | Export | OMF command.
2. The Export OMF dialog appears.
3. Enter a File Name (maximum 64 characters-SONAR limits name length for ISO CDR compatibility), and in the Save As Type field, choose OMF Version 1 or 2. Most applications expect Version 2, but check with your engineer.
4. Audio Packaging: usually you should choose Embed Audio Within OMF, which includes the audio data in the OMF file. But you should check with your engineer.
5. Split Stereo Tracks Into Dual Mono: see what your engineer wants. If exporting a 24-bit project to a Pro Tools system, enable "Split Stereo Tracks Into Dual Mono," as some Pro Tools systems do not support 24-bit interleaved stereo files.
6. Include Archived Tracks: you can choose to include archived tracks in your exported file.
7. Mix Each Groove Clip As A Separate Clip: if you have several Groove Clips in a track SONAR exports them as one clip unless you check this option. If you check this option, SONAR has to do a separate export operation for each Groove Clip in the track, which is very time-consuming. If you only have one Groove Clip in a track, and you have rolled out numerous repetitions of the clip, SONAR exports a single clip that is the length of the original clip and all the repetitions, which is not a time-consuming operation.
8. Audio Format: ask your engineer what format the studio uses, Windows (RIFF Wave) or Mac (AIFC).
9. Click the Save button.
10. SONAR exports the project as an OMF file.
You can also open OMF files to SONAR from Pro Tools and other programs that can export OMF (File-Open command). Read the tip on importing OMF files into SONAR.

one hopes that Gibson will sell Cakewalk/Sonar rather than just shut it down. of course, one would also assume if that were the case, they would have been shopping the software company while they still had employees...
 
has anyone heard if Craig Anderton has made a statement? he's integrally linked with Gibson's purchase of Cakewalk...

gamehits
one hopes that Gibson will sell Cakewalk/Sonar rather than just shut it down. of course, one would also assume if that were the case, they would have been shopping the software company while they still had employees...
 
has anyone heard if Craig Anderton has made a statement? he's integrally linked with Gibson's purchase of Cakewalk...

Craig has posted on this thread some pages back.

In case you don't know, he is no longer with Gibson, and I think he doesn't want to say much, or reveal anything he may know.

Matron Landslide
In case you don't know, he is no longer with Gibson, and I think he doesn't want to say much, or reveal anything he may know.

Everybody that got a pink slip at Cake probably also had to sign some kind of termination agreement that says they can't disclose anything about anything, talk bad about the company, and maybe some non-compete mumbo jumbo, if they want to receive their severance paycheck, and not forfeit it within some specific time frame.
 
That is the most likely reason there are no familiar faces stating the facts.

the_user_formally_known_as_glennbo

Matron Landslide
In case you don't know, he is no longer with Gibson, and I think he doesn't want to say much, or reveal anything he may know.

Everybody that got a pink slip at Cake probably also had to sign some kind of termination agreement that says they can't disclose anything about anything, talk bad about the company, and maybe some non-compete mumbo jumbo, if they want to receive their severance paycheck, and not forfeit it within some specific time frame.
 
That is the most likely reason there are no familiar faces stating the facts.

Or they don't want to ruin their reputations and chances of employment somewhere else by shooting their mouth off online about their previous employer.

I think there is a bit of that, especially when your previous employer could be one of the ones that may possibly offer you consultation gigs