Basically for new products, ie whole numbered versions, why should they be available online when the distribution/sales channels have no look in?
Not everyone is an engineer/producer/composer/recordist/mix engineer etc to be included in the frame of “the industry” at large.
Maybe updates can be downloadable, but for new versions it is unlikely, as there would be no face to face interaction, and no reason for a music shop to want to help anyone learn except maybe about a competitors product (hint).
I remember the old days when you were referred to the so-called distributor who had a quota of time they could support people, which I’d never want to go back to and as for the situation now, ie Yamaha, they don’t normally have a clue, and it is the “bricks & mortar” music shop that have helped me most over the time I’ve been learning so to want to take that away is completely counter intuitive I believe.
I support having a download option, although I much prefer a physical copy myself. It’s worth noting that a lot of music workstations will, purposefully, not have internet access. If you’re someone who formats their PC once a year, having a physical copy is a must for speedy setup. It also is preferable to me to not depend on an outside service for access to my software.
+1 for a download option. Saying that it’s “too big” in these days is not a valid reason for me since is so simple to split the things and let customer choose what he need to download in that moment.
Also, the Borgz install is usually 15 separate installs and 8 folder drags. So, you could break it up into 23 downloads. Then we could just get the parts we want.
absolutely definitely +1 here for downloads.
big time cost cutting by omitting production, transport, paper etc etc, environmentally infinitely more friendly, and FASTER!
I can’t even remember when I last bought software on a DVD / CD.
By that logic we should all still be using horse and carts and posting letters to each other.
What are you doing here on an ‘electronic’ forum? Get your messages hand written on paper and go and pin them on the local bulletin board. Why should the local bulletin board manufacturers not get a look in? What about horse carriage manufacturers? Who thinks about them?
Electronic software distribution is not some ‘future pie in the sky’ it’s the present and quite the norm. The only software I have had to suffer the incredible inconvenience of having to arrange delivery and waiting (waiting…!!!) for it to be put in a box and sent to me in the last several years is Cubase. There was also Snow Leopard of course, but operating systems can be excused at the moment as that’s about the only thing I would actually need physical media for should I have a real problem.
No one ever said the dongle was the most convenient apparatus around, but it serves a purpose and it does it very well, and frankly even though you have a beautiful app store, the dongle is here to stay, as are the distribution channels.
As written before the package is huge. But, should you now buy for example Cubase Artist 6, and you decide to update to Cubase 6, then you can do it online. You will then get an activation code, you enter the code in the eLicenser Control Center to update your license, and you have Cubase 6.
Just to pitch in with a bit of info… Avid allow you to buy a ProTools licence from their distributors (e.g. Sweetwater). Then when you buy, you get registration info via email and the licence is sent to your chosen iLok account - from there you can log in and download the licence to your iLok. You then download the full product from the Avid web site after you’ve entered your new registration info. So, Avid have safe-guarded their existing distribution mechanism by allowing their usual distributors to sell either the licence or a boxed version with registration info inside. Indeed, this seems like a great idea to me, and saves everyone time and saves the environment in ways already mentioned.
I would love to be able to download Cb6 in that fashion, and I’d buy the licence from my local dealer where I buy most things.
Not everyone is a first-time purchaser or needs a dongle. Many users - especially upgrade seekers - already have a dongle. Perhaps a compromise would be for upgrades to be downloadable at first. I see no reason why this cannot be accommodated. Eventually full versions too, because the dongle doesn’t have to be bundled, you can get a Syncro key from your local music shop.
I certainly don’t consider 3.5GB large. I’ve downloaded larger packages (split into roughly 1GB chunks) several times without problems. I’ve just downloaded the Halion Sonic 1.5 update which is a little less than half the size (approx.) without problems. This size issue is a non-issue for many users. I suspect the real worry for Steinberg is whether their server can take the strain.
As for the support your local music shop argument. Most people will probably order it directly via Steinberg anyway. Also, where I live now there are no local music shops. Where I lived before the local music shops treated their customers so badly, they don’t deserve consideration.
As for the dongle argument. Obviously, new customers need to order a physical copy (most likely directly from Steinberg).
Yes, if they stock Cubase. But what about situations just like this where a download option would make a new version accessible to a much wider audience much faster?
A lot of shops don’t stock Cubase at all, and no one in town stocks upgrades. They are special order and often at high markup and a very long lead time. Buy full versions in hard copy, fine. But upgrades should be available online.
Ok but as software becomes more and more vulnerable to hacking, would it not be wise for Steinberg to require an “upgrade” code for each and every update in a given product cycle as opposed to an update proper, which in all likelihood would be something that would need to be ordered via the regular sales channels/distribution network.
Maybe the real issue here is one of quickness, in that currently the system is too slow, starting with upgrade cycles right through to updates becoming available, then onto distribution and finally the customer being able to use said software.
I would rather want a printed manual and a DVD for the price of an upgrade (from Cubase 5 to 6). Thank you very much for that, Steinberg! I think downloads of excessive size should be the option, not the other way around.
(This is just MY opinion.)
Also, that helps me on the throne, rather than HAVING to bring a laptop along, without the actual Cubase distracting me.
I think downloads of excessive size should be the option, not the other way around.