Why the iLok hate?

[Russell Grand]

...sometimes there are developers perhaps with no bad intentionality at all, sometimes they are willing to help, but at the end you become dependent exactly for the copy protection, you have to ask for help constantly if there is problem and I think that is better to secure those keys independently of company, as I already said, nothing will guarantee the company will be there always, that is a big risk and problem.

+1

[ghettosynth]

...sometimes there are developers perhaps with no bad intentionality at all, sometimes they are willing to help, but at the end you become dependent exactly for the copy protection, you have to ask for help constantly if there is problem and I think that is better to secure those keys independently of company, as I already said, nothing will guarantee the company will be there always, that is a big risk and problem.

The only software that I've had to ask the dev for help or permission to install was Abelton Live because of their annoying low bound of C/R installs. The only software that I've bought/obtained and can't use anymore has also been C/R based, e.g., a TCElectronic reverb that was a freebie, among others.

I don't think that any user really wants copy protection, but, given the choices, and given that most devs aren't willing to go with a serial number, then, I prefer any solution that keeps the dev in business and isn't stored on my computer or requires me to ask for help just to install the software.

[Russell Grand]

...sometimes there are developers perhaps with no bad intentionality at all, sometimes they are willing to help, but at the end you become dependent exactly for the copy protection, you have to ask for help constantly if there is problem and I think that is better to secure those keys independently of company, as I already said, nothing will guarantee the company will be there always, that is a big risk and problem.

The only software that I've had to ask the dev for help or permission to install was Abelton Live because of their annoying low bound of C/R installs. The only software that I've bought/obtained and can't use anymore has also been C/R based, e.g., a TCElectronic reverb that was a freebie, among others.

Then consider yourself lucky. I've had to ask numerous devs for help such as when a hard drive crashed on me. Some devs were helpful and a couple devs basically told me to "f*ck off". I wish all commercial plugs were serial-protected; anything else only hurts the customer in the end.

[ghettosynth]

...sometimes there are developers perhaps with no bad intentionality at all, sometimes they are willing to help, but at the end you become dependent exactly for the copy protection, you have to ask for help constantly if there is problem and I think that is better to secure those keys independently of company, as I already said, nothing will guarantee the company will be there always, that is a big risk and problem.

The only software that I've had to ask the dev for help or permission to install was Abelton Live because of their annoying low bound of C/R installs. The only software that I've bought/obtained and can't use anymore has also been C/R based, e.g., a TCElectronic reverb that was a freebie, among others.

Then consider yourself lucky. I've had to ask numerous devs for help such as when a hard drive crashed on me. Some devs were helpful and a couple devs basically told me to "f*ck off". I wish all commercial plugs were serial-protected; anything else only hurts the customer in the end.

Hard drive crashes have no impact on iLok if you have a dongle. Storing iLok credentials on your hard drive is the worst of all worlds. You now have a vendor and a third party to deal with and your license is stored on an unreliable mechanism.

[JunSev]

...sometimes there are developers perhaps with no bad intentionality at all, sometimes they are willing to help, but at the end you become dependent exactly for the copy protection, you have to ask for help constantly if there is problem and I think that is better to secure those keys independently of company, as I already said, nothing will guarantee the company will be there always, that is a big risk and problem.

The only software that I've had to ask the dev for help or permission to install was Abelton Live because of their annoying low bound of C/R installs. The only software that I've bought/obtained and can't use anymore has also been C/R based, e.g., a TCElectronic reverb that was a freebie, among others.

Then consider yourself lucky. I've had to ask numerous devs for help such as when a hard drive crashed on me. Some devs were helpful and a couple devs basically told me to "f*ck off". I wish all commercial plugs were serial-protected; anything else only hurts the customer in the end.

Hard drive crashes have no impact on iLok if you have a dongle. Storing iLok credentials on your hard drive is the worst of all worlds. You now have a vendor and a third party to deal with and your license is stored on an unreliable mechanism.

And that's why it remains as a problem ghettosynth, companies are trying to offer a image of confidence and no further investment in dongles, that's why the Ilok/Pace software was represented as a option, but a the end everything comes down to the same problem, you buy a software and also have to buy a official Ilok dongle for the unavoidable risks from a lot of situations (that by the way Pace Ilok dongle 3 could cost more than 8 times or more what a simple flash drive cost), if not that then pay an additional fee yearly to Ilok/pace again if you want more protection... so you can see why people think that Pace is doing this to make money with their disgusting copy protection model?

Just to add, I decided to get Izotope Iris this black friday, yes, it uses Ilok but it has copy protection alternatives (almost like 3 alternatives to choose as the user prefer), If I want I can save my licenses in almost any usb flash drive of my choice in case of system failure, theft or anything, no overpriced dongle, no dependency and no need to pay additional fee to Ilok/Pace.

This with all respect, if you enjoy using Ilok is your decision and is respected, is just that the fact of this Ilok/Pace issues is clearly unfair and between the worse copy protection against the costumers; If people continue accepting that just like that, in the future everything will be worse, way worse than now.
All respect to all developers, Ilok is really a serious problem.

[Russell Grand]

...sometimes there are developers perhaps with no bad intentionality at all, sometimes they are willing to help, but at the end you become dependent exactly for the copy protection, you have to ask for help constantly if there is problem and I think that is better to secure those keys independently of company, as I already said, nothing will guarantee the company will be there always, that is a big risk and problem.

The only software that I've had to ask the dev for help or permission to install was Abelton Live because of their annoying low bound of C/R installs. The only software that I've bought/obtained and can't use anymore has also been C/R based, e.g., a TCElectronic reverb that was a freebie, among others.

Then consider yourself lucky. I've had to ask numerous devs for help such as when a hard drive crashed on me. Some devs were helpful and a couple devs basically told me to "f*ck off". I wish all commercial plugs were serial-protected; anything else only hurts the customer in the end.

Hard drive crashes have no impact on iLok if you have a dongle. Storing iLok credentials on your hard drive is the worst of all worlds. You now have a vendor and a third party to deal with and your license is stored on an unreliable mechanism.

You're absolutely right, ghetto...but I don't want a dongle.

[TheSynthScientist]

That is why I really question the haters: Why all the hate?

Cheers
Mork

I agree, over the years now the iLok has been the most simple way to keep all my licenses organized.
All other ways have turned out to be more time consuming.

[ghettosynth]

That is why I really question the haters: Why all the hate?

Cheers
Mork

I agree, over the years now the iLok has been the most simple way to keep all my licenses organized.
All other ways have turned out to be more time consuming.

Yeah, I actually prefer it for the organization reason. Once you have that much on your iLok the annual insurance cost doesn't seem like much with respect to the value on the iLok. Compared to my time chasing down C/R auths in the event of a hard drive crash, there's no comparison really.

Of course I prefer serial numbers, but, even that takes more time to chase down.

[Halonmusic]

My ilok broke a few days ago

Now, it has to be sent to USA, estimated shipping is 50 dollars (one way), transferring my licenses to a new (free) ilok costs 49 dollars.

And I can only pay with credit card, which I don´t have

How can you not have a credit card? How do you pay Bills, pay for food in the store or pay for plugins? Does people still use cash?

[Haraldator]

I don't mind dongles, I've been using them since I got my first copy of Steinberg Pro 24 for the Amiga the better part of three decades ago. And solid copy protection is obviously a VERY good thing.

PACE is a thoroughly awful company to deal with as a user, though. I can never trust them to not f**k things up (for instance, logging into your account to see most of your licenses GONE - as happened to me once - is never a fun experience). And if something happens and you need to talk to support, they've done all they can to prevent you from actually getting in touch with them. Furthermore, the $25 transfer fee seems a tad, well, "outdated" at best in a time where major plugin developers in their infinite wisdom have decided that music software should cost roughly the same amount. And the Zero Downtime "offer" is like giving users the middle finger.

So while I think dongles are fine, especially if they offer solid copy protection, I do wish they were made by companies that had nothing to do whatsoever with the people behind PACE.

[zvenx]

..............
Hard drive crashes have no impact on iLok if you have a dongle. Storing iLok credentials on your hard drive is the worst of all worlds. You now have a vendor and a third party to deal with and your license is stored on an unreliable mechanism.

Couldn't agree with this more.
rsp

[nitex]

My ilok broke a few days ago

Now, it has to be sent to USA, estimated shipping is 50 dollars (one way), transferring my licenses to a new (free) ilok costs 49 dollars.

And I can only pay with credit card, which I don´t have

How can you not have a credit card? How do you pay Bills, pay for food in the store or pay for plugins? Does people still use cash?

In Germany a credit card is not really needed, you can pay with your banks EC card at most places or get money from terminals and we even have a lot of places where it's still cash only.

[Halonmusic]

My ilok broke a few days ago

Now, it has to be sent to USA, estimated shipping is 50 dollars (one way), transferring my licenses to a new (free) ilok costs 49 dollars.

And I can only pay with credit card, which I don´t have

How can you not have a credit card? How do you pay Bills, pay for food in the store or pay for plugins? Does people still use cash?

In Germany a credit card is not really needed, you can pay with your banks EC card at most places or get money from terminals and we even have a lot of places where it's still cash only.

Oh yeah what i meant was a normal bank card actually. Everyone has one or more of those.

[Stokely]

I'm not a pro, I do all this for fun and have few plugins...if I was doing this for a living I might feel differently.

As it is, if all else is equal or close, I'm going to pick the easy authorization every time. Garritan, Scuffham, Scarbee, Addictive and a couple others (u-he for one) have all been painless and don't require a 3rd party to be involved.

If something comes along that I HAVE TO HAVE (!!!) that requires iLok, I'll cave I'm sure. So far been happy with non-iLok products so why make things more complicated than they have to be?

[Acid Mitch]

Oh yeah what i meant was a normal bank card actually. Everyone has one or more of those.

There are around 2 billion people worldwide who don’t.
In the UK there are around 1.5 million people without a bank account.
A number of people on benefits have a post office account, needed to recieve the benefits. The card can not be used like a debit or credit card. It only allows you to withdraw cash from the post office.