Guys, there is an issue I’m still not certain about.
PERSONAL LICENSING:
If I purchase Dorico, on how many computers can I install and operate Dorico on? So, using a dongle, on how many PC’s can I run Dorico? So, can I have Dorico running in my Studio and then use Dorico at home as well?
CLASSROOM LICENSING:
SO I guess what I need to know is, using the dongle, can I activate and use 5 PC’s in my classroom by activating it with the dongle, or does each PC require it’s own licence AND must those classroom PC’s also have a dongle EACH!?
So, in a nutshell, using a dongle (eLicenser Dongle), how many PC can I operate with my single Dorico licence? And, can I use THAT dongle to activate 5 PC’s in my class or must each PC be separately license…and IF so, is every classroom PC licensed by means of a SOFT eLICENSER or must each classroom PC have it’s own dongle?
Lastly, does Steinberg provide educational licenses for each PC’s in a class?
Our license agreement states that if you have a USB-eLicenser, you can run the software on up to three computers, though of course you cannot run the software on more than one computer at once simultaneously. If you have a Soft-eLicenser (which is what you have by default), then you can run Dorico on only a single computer, i.e. the first one on which you activated it.
You can run Dorico in your studio and at home with a single license, provided you are using the USB-eLicenser.
In your classroom, you would need five licenses if you want to run on five computers. Each computer could use the default Soft-eLicenser, i.e. you would not need a USB-eLicenser for each one, since you would install and activate the software on each computer individually.
Firstly, I would like to officially thank you and Steinberg for your wonderful consideration in providing our Military School of Music the educational pricing for Dorico. We are extremely excited about Dorico and cannot wait to finally transition over to Dorico after it matured a bit.
That said, I just purchased an USB-eLicenser Dongle. So if I understand you correctly, my Dorico and Cubase are (obviously) activated by means of an “soft"eLicenser” that resides on my Studio PC. I am allowed Dorico on THREE PC’s with ONE license provided I make use of the USB dongle! Correct? BUT…I can only RUN Dorico or Cubase on ONE PC at a time by plugging in the USB-eLicenser Dongle…which will then activate Dorico and Cubase on THAT PC? Thanks, I think I understand so far…but,
Once I transfer my “Soft” eLicenser onto the USB device, am I correct in saying that I cannot make use of the “SOFT” eLicenser ORIGINALLY installed on my PC? Does this in effect mean that I have to carry the USB device with me in order to use it with any of those 3 licensed PC’s?
AND…if I may ask…
Does Steinberg provide educational licenses (prices) for classroom PC’s? I have a concern about another issue as well. The Military does NOT allow internet access on their PC’s (for security reasons naturally). If I plug an USB internet dongle in each of those classroom PC’s, and the “Soft” eLicenser activates Dorico, will Dorico STAY activated without an internet connection…or must I insert the Wifi USB Dongle every time I restart one of those classroom PC’s? The thing is…I might get away doing it ONCE without being caught by our IT Dept. but I’m afraid of Hillary-Syndrome (if you’ll excuse my tactlessness)?
That’s right. Once you have moved your license from a Soft-eLicenser to a USB-eLicenser, it no longer exists as a Soft-eLicenser, and from that point on it is only on the USB-eLicenser, so to run Dorico, you have to plug the USB-eLicenser into the computer on which you want to run Dorico at that moment. If you remove the USB-eLicenser from a computer while Dorico is running, Dorico will stop running.
If you buy multiple copies of Dorico at the educational price, I believe there are certain further per-unit discounts depending on how many copies you buy at once. Your local reseller (who I guess might be Peter Tuerk) will have more details.
You do not need to be connected to the Internet to run Dorico once it has been activated, either using the Soft-eLicenser or the USB-eLicenser.
If we purchase the USB licenser, can that license be copied to a second thumb drive so we don’t have to carry this dongle back and forth? The real issue here is that people don’t want to have to move this dongle from work to home every day.
What if I don’t want to carry the dongle arround? Is there a way to us the software eLicenser and “license and unlicense” it or transfer the license between two computers? (I myself use both a computer and a Surface Pro 4 almost as often)
Not yet, but the plan is to enable the moving of a license from one computer to another using the USB-eLicenser to hold the license temporarily, i.e. Dorico is licensed on Computer A using the Soft-eLicenser; you move the license from Computer A onto the USB-eLicenser; you plug the USB-eLicenser into Computer B; you move the license from the USB-eLicenser onto the Soft-eLicenser on Computer B.
Since one can only plug the dongle into one computer at a time, why is one limited to three computers? Is not possession of the dongle in itself sufficient proof of a licence?
I once asked a salesman in “Best Buy” a question about a piece of equipment and the unusual reply was “I do not know.” I thanked him for his honesty. It is the same with the people who are developing Dorico. One gets a straight answer. It may not be the one that one was hoping for, but the honesty is welcome, and is the reason why I know that this program will get there eventually.
So, “Thank you Daniel!” Another opportunity for the question and a general discussion of licensing with the people in Hamburg will undoubtedly present itself in due course.
I asked our director of product planning about this, and he says that the reason for the three computer limit is somewhat lost to time, but it has been part of our EULA for a very long time. He will review this with our lawyer, but I don’t expect the language to change imminently.
That said, while I am not a lawyer, I also do not believe there is any reason to think that Steinberg would attempt to enforce this limit for software licensed with the USB-eLicenser, since it is not possible to run the software on more than one computer simultaneously.
Dear Daniel, As I understand it, there is no limit to the number of machines one can install Cubase on, as long as one has the Dongle. (At least, that is what Thomann told me on the phone.)
I want to change my machine in six months or so. Does that mean I need the dongle package? Or will there be a way to move the soft elicenser by then. Tx
Steinberg’s EULA, which is shown in the installers for all of our products, stipulates that you cannot install Cubase on more than three computers, which is what recent posts in this thread are about. But, as I say, I don’t think there’s any reason to think that Steinberg would actually try to stop you from installing the software on a fourth computer.
For Dorico, if you need to move machine, you can follow the ‘Reactivation’ steps described here.
…the plan is to enable the moving of a license from one computer to another using the USB-eLicenser to hold the license temporarily, i.e. Dorico is licensed on Computer A using the Soft-eLicenser; you move the license from Computer A onto the USB-eLicenser; you plug the USB-eLicenser into Computer B; you move the license from the USB-eLicenser onto the Soft-eLicenser on Computer B.
Dear Daniel,
Please may I encourage you to press again for implementation of this plan in the near future? I transferred my licence to the dongle a few weeks ago in order to see how Dorico worked on my then-new laptop (not happily, as I wrote in another thread!), and now, unless I want to watch a red LED glowing all the time while constantly changing in brightness like some electric fires, I have to unplug my dongle every time I stop using Dorico.
