iLok 3rd generation- all metal design- anyone have one yet?

[Compyfox]

<insert further arguments why this type of CP sucks here - including the infamous car keys comparison>


Though yes, I do agree on the price. 50EUR/USD is a bit steep. And in fact, the Elicenser outlived the iLok2. I'm still using a Gen2 (or is it Gen3 at this point? I did buy a spare end of 2000's) key from SX3/Cubase 4 days... that's over 10 years compared to iLok2's 6 years.

Maybe this is because the firmware for the eLicenser is updated in the process if you do regular maintenance updates? I don't know.

[Numanoid]

Seems to not have a cap anymore?

[Compyfox]

Hm... 1,5inch length, so that'd be 3,8cm. The Elicenser is 5,3cm/2,08inch in total. So it'll be smaller in size


Funny enough, iLok1 and iLok2 also had 8-letter HEX Serial Numbers printed on them (so about 4,29bil keys can be created in theory - not counting those already in use, and those that were sent back broken, which can be "reused" if those sticks are trashed). At first I thought "hm... could be a base for key generation", but I think the key is on an internal chipset - and that is longer than 8-letters (I think more along the lines of 26 to 32 characters - which would result in 128bit to 256bit bar minimum)

Then again, I'm no "code breaker" nut... others might be more enthusiastic about that.

[sprnva]

The USB sticks of a similar style don't have caps either. Less is more.

I put mine away safe when I got my iLok but I imagine there's probably a bunch of people who have lost them over time. Unlike a stick which is used to temporarily move files from A to B, the iLok will be left plugged most of the time so it won't need the cap.

[Numanoid]

The USB sticks of a similar style don't have caps either. Less is more.

But the cap protects the "barrel" from dirt and wear, when travelling with the iLok.

Can't really put it in the pocket with no cap

[Gamma-UT]

I put mine away safe when I got my iLok but I imagine there's probably a bunch of people who have lost them over time.

I recommend the use of a yellow plastic shoobedoobe worn around the neck. Watch out for ravens though.

[robotmonkey]

Okay, a couple of things to clear here:

1) TL;DR: iLok2 was cracked/compromised once, and that was December 2015 - it didn't matter if it was iLok/HDD or iLok/USB

Long version: "The 'breach' of iLok2" was a one-time-only thing as far as I understood it through the grapevine (Google, etc).

That is just factually plain wrong. Please educate yourself.

There has been a steady release of iLok protected software since the first signs that iLok is f*cked. I'm obviously not going to name any names but these include (but not limited to) some high profile new plugin bundles, a certain special reverb and a well known compressor whose development was put on hold for over a month until the developer could rewrite their code with added levels of new Pace protection. The latter one is especially ironic obviously.

And that's probably the reason why we are seeing a new iLok and why people are most likely forced to buy it sooner than later.

[Compyfox]

Really... my last dive on this topic (iLok2 breach, which I did again after the debate about it popped up earlier today) goes back to Status May... and that's about it. The last thing released on that, was a Multiband Master Compressor by a company that also starts with (funny enough) a S. Though well, okay, a certain reverb named after a bird-on-fire was dated to August this year. Else, I did mention both SoundToys and Slate Digital. But I also mentioned that the "leaked" versions were obsolete within weeks.


Then again, I sure have to educate myself on this, because it's not like I wrote this on page 1:

My thought is, that "Generation 3" is the answer to the hacks earlier this year, along with still happening server hiccups and some users reporting super slow load times with certain iLok bound tools that creep up more and more.

But thanks for the correction.

[Numanoid]

Still Awesome: Glowing Blue LED indicator light

If they are serious about it, PACE should make a limited "Pink Floyd" pulse edition of the iLOK

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ARUUsV9CqI

Most users probably got the iLok on the back of their computers, not noticing that blue light anyhow, just a gimmick.

[llze]

what is that gain in speed about? Does it read out the license faster?

[Compyfox]

Funny enough - yes. This could be the case.

And it's no secret that iLok2 did hit the breaks in terms of loading times a bit (in fact, it's written into various knowledge bases for companies that use the iLok2).



Let us assume the following:

You have an iLok2 protected plugin that uses the most recent iLok routines (AFAIK, those are currently called "Eden3") and has about 50-100MB as plugin DLL. You also have a fairly moderate rig to boot with, the USB "key" is on an USB2.x port.

Let us also assume that firing up/launching/instantiating a particular plugin for the first time in your freshly created project, might take you about 2s from the mouse click to initialize it, until the GUI has fully popped up. This would result in the "load time" or "speed" - for one plugin, not a suite.



Now let us assume the following:

You have a plugin suite. This suite is basically a rack where you can load individual modules into (think Soundtoys 5 Rack, Slate Digital VMR, etc - the modules are pre-loaded but are activated "on demand"). But the more licenses you have on your stick, and the more licenses are therefore unlocked in this rack, the longer the plugin takes to load from the first mouse click, until the GUI pops up.

In example of Slate Digital's VMR, let us assume you have 15 out of fictional 20 modules unlocked. As we established earlier, each module takes about 2 seconds max to check if the module was bought and is therefore activated (so that the drivers can talk back "yes, things are in the green, unlock it"), or if it's not and the check just jumps on to the next (basically, no time needed). So going by the worst case scenario of 2s per module, 15x 2s can result in loading times for this rack of up to 30s! However, only for the first instance. All other rack instances are loaded within 2-3 seconds.



Now let us assume that the iLok3 cuts the loading time in half at bar minimum. So 2s for initialization only takes 1s now (I assume an improvement of +/-1s!). Now if we look at the plugin rack with the fictional 15 modules that need to be unlocked in order to use them and before the GUI fully pops up, suddenly the load time has been cut in half from 30 seconds (15x 2 seconds) down to 15 seconds (15x 1 second).

If the new speed is 4 times better than before, then the load time has been cut down to a quarter of the time, resulting in 500ms per module, so that would mean 15x 0,5s = 7,5s. Though sadly, I don't think that this will be the case.



So summed up, and all joking aside - yes, this could be a potential improvement over a well known problem since the introduction of the iLok2.

[llze]

ok, thx!

[sqigls]

$50 to transfer a license? I thought it was $25!!???

[hivkorn]

if you transfer from your account , ilok to ilok , it is free.
I've done it when i switch to ilok 2 and i paid nothing.

[robotmonkey]

$50 to transfer a license? I thought it was $25!!???

It's 50$ when you want to transfer more than one plugin at the same time.