I have to say i am very upset with there not being an option to upgrade from 5.5.2 to 6 by downloading.
I live in Thailand and buying stuff like this from here is risky to say the least.
Sometimes when you order “stuff” (especially electronic stuff) it never arrives but thats not the worst part, i can almost gaurantee that even if i order Cubase 6 upgrade (whenever thats available) from 5.5.2 i will be charged an additional 33% (sometimes with an additional 7% on top of that) import Tax/Duty by the great guys at Bangkok immigration or the Thai reseller, its a damn joke.
So Steinberg, for me to buy the upgrade at say £100, its going to cost me AT LEAST and additional £33 (and perhaps an additional £7) just to get it to my door - IF IT EVER ARRIVES and the time it takes, sometimes as much as a MONTH is simply rediculous - this doesnt include shipping charges either.
Now i know that me living in Thailand is not Steinbergs fault but even here we have fast internet connections and would LOVE the opportunity to at least have the CHOICE to download the files no matter HOW BIG they are.
I don’t think Steinberg are about to dismantle their sales channels network just because a few disgruntled and impatient users demand.
Selling whole numbered versions as boxed articles is good for the overall business model, as it allows local retailers to bundle hardware at their discretion, without having a company such as Yamaha trying to dictate what they should sell.
Agreed. But we need to let them know what we want. This request/demand will only get louder as time rolls on. Sooner or later (probably later in this case), it will be considered too environmentally irresponsible to do otherwise.
Disagree with your view here. Don’t want to buy into it either. Each to their own. Respect.
IMHO In the not to distant future almost everything will be bought/sold on-line.
And then either shipped or downloaded to the customer. No more (or very few) stores needed.
And very soon this 3D printing thang will also take off. I’ll never leave the house.
Yes but if Steinberg did away with all the bloat whether or not developing it impacts on release schedules and so on, then users could download only the core app (or update) and then install the license necessary for them.
Regarding whole numbered versions, I doubt you will ever take the sales channel away, as that would destroy the concept, and we’d be like logic, touted as the best thing since sliced bread but zero features and poor support.
Or at least offer Cubase in modular bundles for download.
The core install is 300mb tops - I checked the Cubase 5 installer.
Have the Halion sound banks, tutorials, demo projects, and other nonsense like that as their own separate packages for download. Not everyone needs or wants them. It shouldn’t break anyone’s broadband to download if they’re needed.
Users can purchase their own Steinberg/Syncrosoft keys as necessary. A license download is as simple as Steinberg issuing the Syncrosoft code at time of purchase in an e-mail.
I’d even go so far as to say that it would be good for business, since the interest value for new customers would be so high in the Richter, that current users while likely happy, could check periodically when bored to see if any new and ground breaking content was available.
Too big for 1995 perhaps, but for me right now that’s ALMOST TEN MINUTES of downloading (granted, under ideal conditions). Ok we have contention ratios, congestion, server bandwidth and so forth, but even if we triple that, it’s still acceptable. Bear in mind this should be measured against literally DAYS to physically transport a piece of plastic.
Secondly we have the fact that I (and no doubt there are others like me) have absolutely no interest in Halion whatsoever. If it was part of a download purchase I might not even bother downloading it. I certainly wouldn’t be wanting to download it immediately. In fact I don’t see why you couldn’t lower the price of Cubase and offer Halion as a paid optional extra. So there is 3.5GB of data that is not required right there. How much is the main installer going to be? Looking at the FTP server, Mac updates (which are essentially the full install of the app) weigh in at around 100MB. In this day and age that’s insignificant. In fact let’s see how long that takes me to download that right now - downloading 5.5.2 - go: Done. In 21 seconds. The fact I can just do this in the middle of writing a forum post I think illustrates pretty well just how quick and painless this should be.
Going back to ‘too big’, this might be true for your existing server capacity right now, but how much does it cost you to send a box of paper via courier? What cost is there to the environment for all that fuel burned? Chemicals involved in the manufacture of DVDs and printing ink? Cost of storing all those boxes in warehouses? Cost of disposing of unsold stock when a new version comes out? Cost to the environment as they end up in land fill?
Sure, your servers might not be up to the load right at this moment during a product launch, but there are companies who specialise in that area that can help you with that and I guarantee you it will cost significantly less than the alternative.
Think of the benefits - you put the software on your distribution servers, and sit back while the money rolls in. Users never have to put up with waiting and the concept of ‘out of stock’ is simply ridiculous. Can you imagine going to iTunes to buy an album and being told ‘sorry it’s out of stock’? Actually excuse me for a moment - I’ve been waiting for an album to be released and I just reminded myself that it’s today - Done. (This if anyone is interested). See how easy that was?
Upgrading Cubase should be that simple. You would make a FORTUNE in minutes. Your users would LOVE you.
I know you say it’s a work in progress - I look forward to being able to upgrade minutes after reading about a new version.
It’s good to think about but the idea of fully downloadable products from woe to go is not well conceived IMV.
The reason is because there is a sales chain that exists not to mention a distribution network that already has the “rights” ie yamaha to bundle software as it sees fit.
Also, the concept of negating certain aspects in order to produce a saving for end users is false, as those extras are the result of Steinberg partnering with 3rd parties, eg Sonic Reality and cost very little in relation to the rate of return, ie royalty.
What I think users here need to understand is, it isn’t so cut and dry as it appears and coming on here full of bluff and bluster won’t change anything insofar as Steinberg is concerned.
You’re right about one thing. It’s not cut and dry. But, neither is any kind of feature request.
The idea is that we express our wishes to Steinberg and then they consider it and decide if,when and how to implement it. Implementing a request is for Steinberg to figure out - just like a feature request. No one’s saying it’s cut & dry.
It’s only a matter of time before boxed software is a thing of the past and is only available as an optional paid-extra.
Avid seem to be on to something with this crazy, ill-conceived downloading idea. They have about 50,000 satisfied and grateful customers downloading away. And I’m pretty sure they have a lot more custom just because it’s so quick and easy to buy, download and install - instantly. Nuts isn’t it.
And I’ll bet my pet goldfish that some Steinberg staff are already pushing for download options as an environmental initiative. Most businesses are heading towards being as paperless as possible. Why should Steinberg be any different?
In my view it is the future regardless of current circumstance and business arrangements.
As a small music shop owner would know, their staff would sell a vast amount of computer and/or audio gear, including (ASIO) audio interfaces, so when a person says “should I use cubase” what does the staff member say?
Surely they don’t tell them to get online, or this comes with LE so that’s enough when you have a gift horse looking at you in the face.
Nice thoughts maybe but well placed, definitely not.
It has a significantly less environmental footprint than transport fuel and paper/plastic manufacture.
It’s cheap to distribute.
It can increase market share - I know how much crap I’ve bought at 3AM on an impulse splurge.
Shops will need to adapt or sell something else.
Many would argue with your view that Steinberg is the industry leader and even if they were, then all the more reason that they should be showing some environmental initiative in this area. Believe it or not, being ‘green’ is a selling point these days.
Steinberg being the leader in the audio and media industries is in most part responsible for fostering the development of technology in general, so a large portion of hardware sales are directly attributable to ongoing development of the software.
Sure, there may need to be some scope for internet delivery of software besides peripheral content, but to have that as the be all and end all of life IMV is “missing the point” however noble the intention might seem.
I think the point is that on-line downloading in addition to the existing brick-and-mortar distribution channels can only help. No question it would increase revenue and customer satisfaction. Pro Tools is a perfect example of this, as already stated.
Case in point, if downloads were possible, Steinberg would already have my money and I would already have my Cubase 6 update. Instead, I now get to mess around (like I did with the C4 to C5 upgrade) trying to figure out how I can get an upgrade physically shipped to Canada, which may take weeks and also cost more with shipping and customs/duty costs. That = unhappy customer.
