License management and the future of the eLicenser – changes ahead

Just to make sure you don’t miss this announcement:

https://forums.steinberg.net/t/license-management-and-the-future-of-the-elicenser-changes-ahead/701407

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Finally! Thank God!

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yeah, niiiiceeee :sunglasses:

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Being a dongle lover, I can just knock on wood :wink:

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As long as it’s not a subscription plan this is very welcomed news. :+1:

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Indeed, but i am holding my breath … :face_with_hand_over_mouth:

Probably iLok & ILok cloud. Like VSL is going to do. The first one is a dongle, the second one requires permanent connected to the internet. I hope I’m wrong.

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Great news!
Just hope its not a subscription service

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Awesome!!!

This locks me in to Cubase longterm now. The dongle has always been my biggest bug-bear and made me consider options this past year due to using Cubase on different machines. …Can we have it tomorrow, please? :slight_smile:

In regards to subscription service, if that appears as an option (Not replacement!) to the current buying methods then 100% i think it would be a brilliant addition too.

Dongle-free and a new MIDI Remote API, can’t wait! :slight_smile:

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No Dongle = no more money from me.
I surely don’t buy software where I have to rely on unlock codes or an activation server, especially from a company with such a bad customer service.

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Thank you Steinberg for listening to your customers! If this will make Cubase users happy let it be.
But there are many other things that make cubase users happy like a “Scroll wheel free experience” inside the MIXER!

I don’t have 100,000$ console I bought Cubase for the mixer and its channel strip I can’t scroll this thing without the wheel messing the values why is this annoying behavior… The dongle never annoyed me…??? But this thing annoys every single second!

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I am on the brink of dropping Cubase after 15 years, precisely because of this. Worse, is an announcement of an announcement. How long do we have to wait? 2 years?

If Steinberg has any sense of consideration for their customers they should be treated better, with more objective communication and not by throwing sand in our eyes.

“It’s too early to announce details on the schedule or the new environment”

This, to me, is insulting. It is a weak tactic to try and mitigate loss of customers, terrible customer service, and overall bad community sentiment.

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I’m afraid the majority of software will be going this way, if it hasn’t already. Very few pieces of software rely ‘only’ on a USB dongle. In fact, outside of industrial software i can’t think of many at all.

When you own a Macbook Pro with 2 USB ports, those two ports are normally pre-occupied with an external drive and audio interface. That’s a very objective reason for many users wanting to be dongle-free.

I don’t see users of Logic, Studio One and Ableton leaving the platform because they have to enter an unlock code, or login for an online activation at install - it’s just a non-issue, surely?

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If this turns out to be Cloud based or with a permanent internet connection then im out . never thought i would say this but i will move to elsewhere . ive paid for Steinberg for the last 25 years and have never used any other Daw but i will go , sorry but this is bad news , pretty pissed off to be honest there’s nothing wrong with the dongle and have loads of licences with you don’t make me shut shop and move else where because if it is internet based then i will certainly be going

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I think you’ll find your sales with plummet until you make clear your path of a licencing procedure , i can’t see any of us that doesn’t want the internet based activation updating or upgrading until you have made it clear on the direction you are taking .

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Since you’ve decided to move on from Dongle-based license protection, please allow me to make a suggestion: build the new system on a Blockchain.

A Crypto-based system will immediately solve the piracy issue.

Obviously, periodic internet connection will be necessary but its a trade-off people will have to deal with.

…and if I’m away from a fast internet connection, my phone should serve as the dongle via Bluetooth.

Is it christmas already or not ? :partying_face:

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They’ve already expressed that they’re working on it - the whole point of the announcement is to explain where they are, and will undoubtedly now take feedback from users. That’s just the state of play right now.

Why not be pro-active and state why an internet connection every month (for example) would be a genuine problem for you - that way they can take all this onboard when reading such threads as this. It’s not really clear what your concerns are.

Also, in my mind, sales will increase, not plummet. You can’t trial Cubase Pro, Nuendo, HALion, Groove Agent etc. without a dongle - think what a barrier that is if you’re in the market for software. Not to mention 2 port laptops like the new M1 Macbooks.

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Please God don’t move to a subscription model. That would be worse than the dongle. I honestly will sell my 11 Pro license if it goes to a sub.

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