End of the Cakewalk Road for me?

[NoelBrutonMusic]

I've been using Sonar since 2009. I was a Platinum user when the product was abandoned, and I very much appreciate how Bandlab rescued it. But I am dismayed and concerned by the latest update for May 2021. The write-up seems to suggest that I will have to ask Bandlab's permission every time I use Cakewalk, and that Bandlab will take an ongoing record of my use of the application. 

For me, this is an invasion of privacy too far. How and when I use my DAW is nobody's business but mine, and frankly that principle is worth more to me than the cost of finding, and the learning curve of switching to an alternative product.

I hope that Bandlab can assure me that I won't have to 'reactivate' the software every time in other words, I have no desire to notify Bandlab when I choose to compose a piece.

If that assurance cannot be given, then sadly, my search for an alternative workstation must begin. 

[John]

That is news to me. I know Bandlab supposedly requires a  six month check by "phoning home" and being reauthorize for another six months. As to checking in with Bandlab each and every time you open the program I am unsure about that. Even so I see no real problem with it if true. Further if you were to produced a mega hit song and Bandlab were somehow able to usurp your ownership of the song then I would be concerned. However, I see that as against all intellectual property law. If all they want to know is it is being used that is not an issue with me.  

I would like others to expressed their opinion on this. I certainly would hope a Staffer would contribute as well. 

[Jeff Bowman]

I may well be wrong but I interpret the new scheme as addressing the concerns that we could open up Cakewalk where we have no internet and it's due it's 6 monthly re-authorisation so we can't use it until we connect to the internet?

It looks like it will now be a rolling "opportunistic" authorisation whereby if there's a connection it refreshes and if not it keeps working awaiting a new opportunity?

I know we live in a cynical world but we really should give the bakers the benefit of the doubt.

[Johnbee58]

I updated yesterday (5-18) and went to launch CbB today (5-19).  Didn't need to ask permission from anybody.  Started right up like always.  I think you're misinterpreting something, my friend.

? John B

Edited May 19, 2021 by Johnbee58

[Noel Borthwick]

@NoelBrutonMusic your concerns are unfounded. You do not need bandlab’s permission every time you use the application. Where did you read that information?  This is how it works:

• You sign in to BandLab to activate the software once when you first install it
• Activation is required generally once every 6 months unless something drastic changes on your system like you changed the version of windows or something. 
• In the latest release it refreshes your activation lease automatically when needed to save the user from unexpected discovery of a timeout
• The lease is automatically renewed when you log in to BandLab, when you install a new version of the software and of course if its about to expire. This only happens if there is an internet connection available.
• If you don’t want your system to be online you have to handle activation manually using the offline activation workflow.
• Previously BandLab assistant was used for activation. This changed in the 2020.11 release and everything is done inside CbB now which makes things much simpler for the user. Now users only need to sign in ONCE to Cakewalk and from that point activation is handled automatically when needed as long as you don’t sign out of BandLab of course.

Its as unobtrusive as it gets and very standard to how everyone in the industry does this.
The changes were in fact made to improve things for users who got the activation timeout messages. 

 

[John]

Thank you Noel for answering this so quickly. I suspected that what you said was the truth, I just wasn't sure..  Like others I don't have a reason to fear Bandlab. I can't recall ever being bothered by any activation requirement.  My only, shell we say bone to pick is, every time I launch; it needs to be updated. LOL I do know that all my software that has a central control installing software all seem to require updating when ever I launch them. In some cases this can take a long time. 

I have to admit I really like the ability to update directly from the application. That is a very nice addition. 

 

[Noel Borthwick]

50 minutes ago, John said:

Thank you Noel for answering this so quickly. I suspected that what you said was the truth, I just wasn't sure..  Like others I don't have a reason to fear Bandlab. I can't recall ever being bothered by any activation requirement.  My only, shell we say bone to pick is, every time I launch; it needs to be updated. LOL I do know that all my software that has a central control installing software all seem to require updating when ever I launch them. In some cases this can take a long time. 

I have to admit I really like the ability to update directly from the application. That is a very nice addition. 

 

I'm not sure what you mean by "every time I launch; it needs to be updated". Nothing is being updated every time you launch. Where did you see that?

[John]

Just now, Noel Borthwick said:

I'm not sure what you mean by "every time I launch; it needs to be updated". Nothing is being updated every time you launch. Where did you see that?

No not Cakewalk but the Bandlab Assistant.  I'm sorry I didn't make that clearer. 

[Noel Borthwick]

3 hours ago, Jeff Bowman said:

I may well be wrong but I interpret the new scheme as addressing the concerns that we could open up Cakewalk where we have no internet and it's due it's 6 monthly re-authorisation so we can't use it until we connect to the internet?

It looks like it will now be a rolling "opportunistic" authorisation whereby if there's a connection it refreshes and if not it keeps working awaiting a new opportunity?

I know we live in a cynical world but we really should give the bakers the benefit of the doubt.

This is a good way to look at it. If you were getting close to the timeout and happened to be online the lease renewal would happen automatically. That behavior has been in place since we added in-app activation. However you do need to log in to BandLab from within CbB at least once or Cakewalk can't activate automatically.
 

[Noel Borthwick]

2 minutes ago, John said:

No not Cakewalk but the Bandlab Assistant.  I'm sorry I didn't make that clearer. 

If it wasn't already clear there is no need to ever use BA once CbB is installed. Everything is now handled in app including uploading and downloading from BandLab. We are also going to debut a standalone Cakewalk installer soon and allow add ons to be installed from within CbB.

IOW BandLab assistant will be deprecated soon.

[John]

Maybe you missed my praise of that fact. 

I should add I don't always want to start Cakewalk due to having other hardware and gear I will have to also start. The Assistant is a simple way to check on updates with out having to go through my start procedure. 

[Terry Kelley]

Hi Noel,

I saw this too when I installed the update. It appears many people saw something that made them think CbB was calling home. Is it possible there is something happening here unexpected by the developers? I my case, maybe I was close to a timeout. I don't know.

As long as Cakewalk works during the times when I am not connected to the internet, I really don't care if Bandlab lives with me.

[Noel Borthwick]

You saw what - a sign in prompt? Its mentioned in the first paragraph of what's new.

"Cakewalk will auto check and renew your activation status whenever a new version of the application is installed and run for the first time, and when you sign in to BandLab from within Cakewalk."

If you saw a sign in prompt it is because you have never signed in from CbB ever so it was not cached. Users who have signed in at least once would get a one time "activation refreshed" message and that would be all until your next update.

[Craig Anderton]

7 hours ago, John said:

I would like others to expressed their opinion on this. I certainly would hope a Staffer would contribute as well. 

I think the way it's currently being handled is unobtrusive and convenient. But since the topic is software and interaction with the company, I'd like to throw in my 2 cents about enabling analytics. I do this on ALL my software where there's the opportunity to do so.  There's always some sort of boilerplate somewhere from the company about how they use this, and in all the instances I've seen, the data is anonymous. Furthermore, it has nothing to do with content, only a program's operation.

I've talked with several companies about whether this is useful or not. They all say at the very least, it's good to know what was happening before a crash. I think some get more granular, like which functions are used the most or the least, but again, I see it as an opportunity for users to help participate in making  a program better.

[Byron Dickens]

8 hours ago, NoelBrutonMusic said:

I've been using Sonar since 2009. I was a Platinum user when the product was abandoned, and I very much appreciate how Bandlab rescued it. But I am dismayed and concerned by the latest update for May 2021. The write-up seems to suggest that I will have to ask Bandlab's permission every time I use Cakewalk, and that Bandlab will take an ongoing record of my use of the application. 

For me, this is an invasion of privacy too far. How and when I use my DAW is nobody's business but mine, and frankly that principle is worth more to me than the cost of finding, and the learning curve of switching to an alternative product.

I hope that Bandlab can assure me that I won't have to 'reactivate' the software every time in other words, I have no desire to notify Bandlab when I choose to compose a piece.

If that assurance cannot be given, then sadly, my search for an alternative workstation must begin. 

I don't know where you heard that nonsense.

You can also turn off the analytics.

[brandon]

In relation to having to refresh activation I cant find anywhere in Bandlab to do this. I log in to Bandlab easily but there is no glaring button screaming at me to activate cakewalk. So I try to login to bandlab through cakewalk and it does not recognise my login details. Any issues I should be aware of?

[John]

8 minutes ago, brandon said:

In relation to having to refresh activation I cant find anywhere in Bandlab to do this. I log in to Bandlab easily but there is no glaring button screaming at me to activate cakewalk. So I try to login to bandlab through cakewalk and it does not recognise my login details. Any issues I should be aware of?

Try logging in using Bandlab Assistant.

[brandon]

5 minutes ago, John said:

Try logging in using Bandlab Assistant.

Yes I just tried that and am not sure if am logged in or not. I opened the desktop app (Bandlab Assistant) and I clicked on Cakewalk then 'refresh activation' but nothing happened. It does say a new version is available though. Do I need to download the latest version or should i be able to activate without it?

Secondly  -if i download the new version will that wipe out all my settings and other stuff I have attributed to Cakewalk?

 

Thanks

[John]

I would get the new version.  I have not had a problem with Cakewalk ever touching any of my settings. However, you may have to update your theme. 

I think you do need to get the new version. 

[Noel Borthwick]

@brandon Refresh activation is in the help menu in CbB. Everything is handled inside Cakewalk now. There is no need to use BandLab assistant. Please update to the latest version since its not clear what version you previously had.

If you cannot sign in to BandLab from Cakewalk, check if you are using the same credentials used to log in to BandLab from a web browser. Try entering your user id and password. I use google sign in so the credentials are the same that I use for google.

If you aren't receiving a message when you refresh activation in Cakewalk you likely have notifications disabled. You should either get a notification or if you aren't signed in you will get a sign in prompt.