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VSL protection plan

Just got the VSL protection plan, after all, ilok has their protection plan. I've got too much invested (as you can probably surmise by the scroll bar on the bottom right) to be going through hassles. Attached a screenshot:
 

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Just got the VSL protection plan, after all, ilok has their protection plan. I've got too much invested (as you can probably surmise by the scroll bar on the bottom right) to be going through hassles. Attached a screenshot:
Yesterday I looked at all the bills and calculated how much money I spent: Oh boy, was I shocked... :faint:
 
Just read the details at vsl
What a bloody liberty...
70 quid( and that will rise) every 2 years plus you have to buy
Another bloody dongle ..to store emergency
License on

I thought last time this topic was discussed
Vsl said they could'ent disable lost broken
Or stolen keys.. seems now they say they can . Thats it for me selling off most
Of my vsl ...my dad used to say
Theres always some bugger who will make
Money out of some one else's misery
You can dress it up anyway you like
Its still a nice little earner for vsl
of course! But maybe it also means soon new interesting products
 
This policy seems like a stop gap until the new elicenser mechanism is finished.

We know that Steinberg is working on a new elicenser to replace the existing one. According to the developers of Dorico, it will be account based rather than dongle based. I assume this means for products that rely on the USB key as well as the soft-elicenser products (but that could be an incorrect assumption).

We also know that VSL doesn’t require a new key with the new policy. Maybe this is because Steinberg is not going to be making keys anymore once the new elicenser is available. This is pure conjecture on my part. But it makes sense given the above.

So I plan to wait and see how this all plays out.
 
Just got the VSL protection plan, after all, ilok has their protection plan. I've got too much invested (as you can probably surmise by the scroll bar on the bottom right) to be going through hassles. Attached a screenshot:

i'm sure i don't have NEARLY as much as you, but i just bought as well.

 
This new insurance seems like the easiest solution for VSL to provide, in terms of requiring little/no research and development on their part. Basically, they probably crunched the numbers, looking at the historical records of past lost licenses/damaged dongles, etc., then worked out the cost to them, added a healthy profit, and presented "insurance." No need for them to employ engineers to create a technical solution, no need to partner up with other companies (iLok, etc.) beyond the current arrangements they have, and best of all, a new consistent revenue stream, as opposed to simply a solution for which they would not profit.

Viewing the 50/50 opinions on whether or not people like this solution is already a victory for them. I'm sure that even if this insurance was met with 100% disapproval, VSL would firmly stand behind it, simply because they are masters of not bowing to pressure from their customer base (see Synchron Strings) and finding opportunities to profit from what might be considered "mistakes" (see dongles, Synchronized libraries). At this point, complaining is fine simply to see where everybody stands on it, but to expect them to change a newly established policy/insurance offering isn't going to happen. Sadly, it isn't going to happen for years to come, if ever...once you've made a new insurance plan like this available, and once even a handful of customers have purchased it, you're bound to this. To change things yet again would place existing customers that went along with the insurance at harm, and would further make VSL look like they're grasping at air to find a solution. Sadly, this insurance is THE solution, so we either like it or learn to live with it.

Dave
Pretty much sums it up as I see it too. I will have no problems living with this.
 
It feels like they want to make their own copy protection the user's problem and as a simple solution, make them pay for it. First, we have to deal with a dongle which is relatively rare in the industry, but well ok, but now we should pay a subscription on top of that? How does that make you feel when you legally buy your software?
If whatever copy protection a company thinks it needs cannot be subsidized by the software sold, there is obviously something wrong in the calculations. Raising eyebrows or worse with their customer base is another calculation that can go awfully wrong.
 
Software licensing - maintenance, subscriptions, perpetual, term, dongle, flexlm, none - seems to be going through a major upheaval.

My 3D CAD tools typically have a yearly maintenance 20% of the original cost.

It's a deductible business expense.

So, the break on my taxable net alone (initial cost and 'insurance'), makes this justifiable.
 
If you buy a new dongle for two years like me ( I bought my in february this year), then you don't need to purchase the protection plan as these circumstances would serve no purpose and nevertheless would a bit cheaper when you would buy the new dongle for 2 years, surely it all depends on how much you will pay for new one:)
 
If you buy a new dongle for two years like me ( I bought my in february this year), then you don't need to purchase the protection plan as these circumstances would serve no purpose and nevertheless would a bit cheaper when you would buy the new dongle for 2 years, surely it all depends on how much you will pay for new one:)

i bought a new dongle a few months ago.

it's so pretty.
 
Can someone answer this for me..when VSL sells a license to use a sample library does the license have an expressed expiration date? If no then how can VSL charge you again a fee for this lifetime license that you already paid for simply because the USB dongle malfunctions and a fee per library? Just because the dongle stops working how does that invalidate the right to use the library without paying another fee to have it reinstated? This is just awful.
 
Can someone answer this for me..when VSL sells a license to use a sample library does the license have an expressed expiration date? If no then how can VSL charge you again a fee for this lifetime license that you already paid for simply because the USB dongle malfunctions and a fee per library? Just because the dongle stops working how does that invalidate the right to use the library without paying another fee to have it reinstated? This is just awful.

i don't think they expire.

but according to some here, they get stale.
 
the direction software companies are going with their licensing,

these will be the good old days.

enjoy then while you can.

to a grandchild in the future,

"I remember when you could insure your library purchases that you OWNED for less than 2 bucks a month.

Now, get off my Cloud."
 
It is not currently worth it for me. But I only have SE 1 bundle and Smart Orchestra. But if you own the whole VSL setup, I would definitely buy it. Especially if you are mobile or use your key on multiple computers. If it sits on your studio computer and never moves, it's a toss up as to whether it is worth getting.

I went through this with my ilok. The point at which I had a couple thousand dollars worth of products on it? I started paying for the insurance. I'm also a hobbyist. If this was my business? Yeah, I would pay in a heartbeat. Instant re-access might be the difference between getting a job done and breaking a contract.

Things to think about. It would be nice if they were iLok, but they aren't and I have no idea whether it would be worth it to them to switch.
 
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I have three iLicenser dongles for VSL instruments and software and until now I spread the licenses to different dongles to minimize the risc of total failure. With the protection plan I put all of them together on one protected dongle.
 
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