This is not a rant – I’m just trying to point out a shortcoming in product description.
I’ve been through the mill and back again with Cubase AI 8. The download version was bundled with the Steinberg UR22 Mk 2 that I bought about a month ago. The Steinberg website rejected the download access key that came in the box and so I created a support ticket. Having heard nothing four days later, I also contacted the vendor to ask for their help (as the vendor is responsible under Consumer Protection legislation). They also contacted Steinberg, but nothing was heard for a further two weeks, after which I received an email from Steinberg that gave a download link and a new licence key.
I’ve just spent over two hours this morning downloading and installing Cubase AI and activating it via the eLicenser Control Centre only to find that when I attempted to launch it, I got an error message, “This Steinberg product does not support ‘Basic and High Contrast Themes’ on Windows operating systems. Please use one of the ‘Aero’ themes that you can set in the Windows Control Panel.” Since I use the Windows Classic theme for other purposes, Cubase AI is effectively about as much use to me as a chocolate teapot. Thankfully, I have an alternative DAW (which I had to install to be able to make use of the USB interface while waiting for Steinberg to respond to my support request).
Steinberg: please make it clear in your product literature that you don’t fully support Windows and that an Aero theme is required. I’ve wasted a lot of time and effort chasing this up, feel cheated and feel that the UR22 was sold under false pretence, which is a pity because the UR22 is a good product that I probably would have bought at the price without the bundled DAW.