Cubase SL Dongle

[UHFD]

I bought Cubase SL for my powerbook (running OSX) the other day. Simple qustion. This dumb "dongle" usb thing.... DO I ACTUALLY HAVE TO HAVE IT IN A USB PORT EVERY TIME I START CUBASE SL????? Sorry for the screaming but I never would have bought Cubase if I knew about this...
Thanks for the help,
Z

[Blue Bear Sound]

Originally posted by UHFD
DO I ACTUALLY HAVE TO HAVE IT IN A USB PORT EVERY TIME I START CUBASE SL?????

Yes - it needs to be there... why is that an issue?

[UHFD]

I carry my laptop around with me and the dongle is just one more thing to keep up with. It's about the size of a pinky finger and I'm sure I'll lose it sooner or later and then I'll be screwed. Also I only have 2 usb ports and I use the M-Aduio Duo and the Oxy keyboard so if either isn't plugged in when you start the program it doesn't recognize it and you have to restart the program. I guess when I buy software I don't expect it to take up any more resources than it has to. I'm pretty bitter about the whole thing anyway. I have a duo and Cubase SL and I can't monitor and record at the same time. I've paid 300 bucks for the duo, 300 for the software and 1600 for the laptop why is it when people are investings hundereds and even thousands of dollars into this stuff that these guys can't make something that you plug in and it just works. Neverr once have I bought something related to home recording where I just plug it in and it works. I've been working for days now trying to get my duo to monitor and record tracks at the same time with no luck.

[Bass Master "K"]

Well, as far as the dongle issue goes, next time you run into someone who has stolen software on their computer, you can thank them for screwing up your USB situation. If everyone were honest and paid for software they used, there would be no need for a dongle and you would not have this problem.

Regarding getting stuff working right, it can take a bit because digital audio is very computer intensive but when you get it right you should have very little trouble. I am not familiar with a duo, but I know that laptops are often tough to turn into DAW's so I hope that you did some reading before you made your purchases to make sure everything would work well together. Also, putting a DAW together is tough! I thought I new crap about computers until I built my setup. The downside was a few weeks of agony, the upside is I do know quite a bit more about computers now

Good luck getting your system up and running!

[Dave S.]

Software theft is certainly a problem. However, UHFD has a point in that many other DAW software manufactures, Adobe, Cakewalk, etc seem to be able to stay in business without resorting to a hardware dongle.
Dave

[Bass Master "K"]

Originally posted by Dave S.
Software theft is certainly a problem. However, UHFD has a point in that many other DAW software manufactures, Adobe, Cakewalk, etc seem to be able to stay in business without resorting to a hardware dongle.
Dave

I don't think of theft as being "A" problem...it is "THE" problem. If people didn't do it, then indeed there would be no need to have a dongle.

Yes, there are companies that exist without hardware dongles but it doesn't mean that Steinberg has to follow suit if they feel better by having a hardware protection device. My friend doesn't lock his car at night because he feels that if the thieves want in, they are going to get in, so screw it. I lock my car with no illusions that someone can steal it. Hell, I can get into it with a coathanger in about 30 seconds and I don't know shit about breaking into cars, but it makes me feel better that at least I did what I reasonably could to make it harder for someone who wants to break into it.

Copy Sonar and get a serial number and your in. With Cubase you have to get a crack where someone actually edited the program to get around the dongle issue and many of those copies don't run right and run into trouble later on leaving the user without a stable program. Two companies with two different philosophies and I don't blame either one for the approach they take.