I'm with David Kaye. I downloaded and installed the bandlab assistant and my computer is also not showing an "apps tab" as described in the instructions. Every other person who has come on with no valid answer about the faulty instructions re: offline activation and saying "dude, just marry the internet like me - I don't even think twice" is not helpful and those "answers" are irrelevant and/or otherwise fallacious.
The elephant in the room: If one legitimately purchases or downloads "free" software, it is theirs to own. The program should not open conditionally, or on a privileged use by use basis. This is neither functional nor ethical. No function of the program that I want to use requires internet. This new trend is troubling and totally unnecessary. Period. Think about it, I downloaded the program FROM THEIR WEBSITE. That is where any necessary verification should occur, and one-time.
I actually came to Cakewalk looking for an alternative to Cubase, whose program I acquired via purchase, used for years - with many ongoing projects - and was booted out of during a computer switch - not because I did not have a valid license, but because Cubase arbitrarily decided to discontinue (from all users of that program) the users ability to reactivate a valid, purchased license for a program they deemed outdated (as in I was told I owned but was apparently just renting). Thus, no access to the purchased software (I think this is criminal). Now, here, it is a similar set up, even if the users here haven't experienced it yet. Those who are willing to go along with every new shiny update unquestioningly and be in a constant state of adaptation to new versions and new updates and basically live on computers everyday probably won't have to deal with this. But, everyone should not be expected to want to go that route with their life. I am not interested in that. Just wanna get some tracks recorded in a familiar and consistent workspace. I'm here to record music.
This new trend of constant online check-ins is the stepping stone to the unethical subscription based program model. "You will own nothing and be happy." I want to own a single program, a single version, used on my devoted audio creation computer in my barn that does not link to internet, which is reasonable. A reliable piece of equipment just like my guitar (which also doesn't link to the internet). To have no alternative is unreasonable. To require repeated check-ins to run the same old program on the same old computer is unreasonable. It means you do not own the program.
