Stopping buying stuff

[OneWorld]

I took delivery of an eagerly awaited controller this morning, a Nektar CS12

Here I am at least 1 hour later and am still faffing about.

I unbox it, read the bits of documentation, which are not much use.

I find before I install I need to register the product, before I can download the requisite files - why do I need to register? If I buy a TV/Microwave/Kettle/Radio/Massage Pillow etc I don't need to register them, yes OK I need the requisite software but why do I need to register to get that?

I register after password wea weak weak strong palava

I then go to download the software, the controller, controller software + 2 other files
and I find there is also another download - Nektarine, is there any indication of what it is? nope, do I need it, not need it - and is it one of those dratted download managers that are more pervasive these days.

Computer rot is quite insidious these days. I look after my music PC down to forensic level, I do not want one single byte of trash trash on it, even using 3rd party uninstallers, an uninstall still leaves a trail of breadcrumbs behind it, one cannot scavenge their machine of superfluous detrius. So what cannot manufacturers put on a download page add the following comments.....

1 - you need/don't need this
2 - this software does (whatever)
3 - you will need/not need to start your DAW
4 - if you have installed it and want rid of it delete files to purge your computer of any and every trace of it.
5 - you need this (whatever)
6 - install/don't install it before plugging in
7 - if not already, turn on

Note to Manufacturers: see above, in 6 steps I have come up with a foolproof plan, if I can do it, anyone can, and for goodness sake, stop using jazzy coat of many colours Forms Pages - have clear and obvious buttons

Please Click 'YES' or 'NO'
NEXT or GO BACK
ALL DONE

My PC is in danger of becoming the computer equivalent of a shopping trolly, full of bits and bobs that one keeps forgetting to jettison

Last week I bought some new software, and had to go through the same process - like on military training, through the tunnel, scramble over the ropes, crawl under the netting, scale the wall, traverse the monkey bars, swing across a ditch full of snapping turtles, cross a minefield, bayonet a dummy and despatch it.

What became of the days when you snatch the box off the postie, put the kettle on, tear the box open toss the manual to one side, get the cables and rip that bit of wire off, plug the thing in, turn on and off you go, happy as Larry

I am convinced hardware/software manufacturers are in cahoots with the makers of valium, or whatever other anti-stress tablets

[IAA]

How true!

I dread updating too,

and is it one of those dratted download managers that are more pervasive these days.

these managers should make the process easier, seamless and tidy but not in my experience.
They still leave lots of files scattered all over my Mac, particularly if you try to set up an external disk for their downloads. Or they load everything they produce in case you want to audition it (I don’t) or refuse to let you use their software unless they’re running too.

My recent update experience with Arturia (which I did previously believe had got this about right) was a nightmare.

So yes I’d like to see
1 a more standardised licence system across the industry (goodbye dongles)
2 no bloatware
3 easy back up options incase it goes south
4 proper documentation
5 no adverts. I’ve paid my money so enough pls.

I share your frustration OneWorld.

Mind you I got a new guitar recently and that was a true box opening delight!

Ian

[MOF]

and is it one of those dratted download managers that are more pervasive these days.

I find them to be an improvement, they show you what you own and which ones need updating or repairing.

[alexis]

I took delivery of an eagerly awaited controller this morning, a Nektar CS12

...
and I find there is also another download - Nektarine, is there any indication of what it is? nope, do I need it, not need it - and is it one of ...

Hi OneWorld,

I think Nektarine is a tool to more easily control VST instruments as easily as plugins.

The Nektar rep who visits the Cubase forum says that's a temporary need, to be addressed with a future update.

https://forums.steinberg.net/t/c14-and- ... 971850/161

https://forums.steinberg.net/t/nektar-p ... 962002/220

https://forums.steinberg.net/t/random-p ... s12/974325

[Arpangel]

OneWorld, not heard great things about Nektar stuff, support etc.

[Peevy]

and is it one of those dratted download managers that are more pervasive these days.

I find them to be an improvement, they show you what you own and which ones need updating or repairing.

I’m with you MOF. It makes keeping plugins up to date an easier task and especially helpful if installing your plugins on a new computer.

[Watchmaker]

The problem is exacerbated by devs all relying on the same 3rd/4th/5th party platform provider so all the crap looks the same except has different colors and branding. Same bugs, same limited choices, same boring uninspired caca doodoo for the consumer masses, of which I appear to be one.

Homogeneity is a hideous outcome of the hoax of progress. The race to the bottom for short term profits. The calculus of short term thinking describes an arc circling the drain.

I have become fashionably disillusioned by almost all software at this point. Ever since I installed Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol (oh! the irony!) I get a core MIDI error every time I start Logic.

[Arpangel]

The problem is exacerbated by devs all relying on the same 3rd/4th/5th party platform provider so all the crap looks the same except has different colors and branding. Same bugs, same limited choices, same boring uninspired caca doodoo for the consumer masses, of which I appear to be one.

Homogeneity is a hideous outcome of the hoax of progress. The race to the bottom for short term profits. The calculus of short term thinking describes an arc circling the drain.

I have become fashionably disillusioned by almost all software at this point. Ever since I installed Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol (oh! the irony!) I get a core MIDI error every time I start Logic.

Sometimes, I'm really serious about just throwing anything to do with computers right out of my studio window, it’s all becoming so tedious, predictable, and just plain boring, I'm still adamant that music died with the advent of computers.
One day a few years back, I got so angry with a laptop I had, it just wouldn’t play what it was supposed to play, I took it outside stood in the middle of the road and threw it in the air as high as I could, it smashed into a million pieces.
A girl I was with at the time looked at me very strangely, and then couldn’t stop laughing.

[tacitus]

Was it GBS who apologised “for writing such a long letter as he didn’t have time to write a short one”?

And didn’t the NHS promise it’d be cheaper when we all got healthier? And didn’t scientists promise that software would become more compact as it was refined?

What they didn’t realise is that delivering stuff as speedily, cheaply and plausibly usable as we like is quite literally a world away from scraping bytes off a moon-lander program for Apollo. Furthermore, complicated anti-copying routines are mandated by humanity’s poor record of honesty. Perhaps all this is our just reward …

[Drew Stephenson]

All those things could have happened, or could yet, but we've chosen to support an economic and political system that prioritises short termism and quarterly profits over people long term benefits.
We do get what we deserve.

[RichardT]

This is the curse of technology! It promises to be cheaper and easier but ‘every form of refuge has its price’.

[MOF]

Ever since I installed Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol (oh! the irony!) I get a core MIDI error every time I start Logic.

I don’t. I have an Apple M1 MBP 13” laptop and an iMac 27” from 2018 with the intel i9 CPU.
Have you removed a vital piece of software?

[Arpangel]

Ever since I installed Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol (oh! the irony!) I get a core MIDI error every time I start Logic.

I don’t. I have an Apple M1 MBP 13” laptop.

I have an Apple M1 laptop, and I still can’t install Reaktor, as it’s not supported yet.

[alexis]

All those things could have happened, or could yet, but we've chosen to support an economic and political system that prioritises short termism and quarterly profits over people long term benefits.
We do get what we deserve.

I didn't make that choice, the people I elected have corruptedly warped the systems they can control to maximize their personal gain.

Politician: "I want to be re-elected. Let's do it this way: you contribute lots of money to my reelection campaign, and I'll pass laws that let your company enrich you personally a lot - then we'll all be happy. Deal?".

Titan of Industry: "Yup".

But I forget what I was complaining about. By the way, isn't it wonderful how our elected politicians are protecting us from those horrible others who think they have a right to what we have, and have worked so hard to get for generations? I never actually realized how much that was going on till they so kindly pointed it out to me.

BTW, would you like to see my new smart TV (got one in every room now), and our new kitchen remodel?

[amanise]

Even though I'm now retired and blissfully happy - I'm still waiting for the leisure revolution that I was promised in 1970 by Michael Burke on Tomorrows World. We were all going to be sitting around being waited on hand and foot according to him back then. Then real life happened. I'm expecting the same disappointment from AI. If I wasn't already doing shag all for a living, I'd be livid!

[James Perrett]

Furthermore, complicated anti-copying routines are mandated by humanity’s poor record of honesty. Perhaps all this is our just reward …

That's why I prefer to support developers who trust their customers. Most of my software is authorised using serial numbers.

[MOF]

I have an Apple M1 laptop, and I still can’t install Reaktor, as it’s not supported yet.

I have Reaktor 6 working on my MBP M1, it’s OS is 15.4.1, from memory it’s been supported for some time now.

[ajay_m]

Furthermore, complicated anti-copying routines are mandated by humanity’s poor record of honesty. Perhaps all this is our just reward …

That's why I prefer to support developers who trust their customers. Most of my software is authorised using serial numbers.

I have a simple rule of thumb. Does this product use iLok or PACE?. Or does the licensing infrastructure require some kind of device driver to be installed?.

Then I am not purchasing it. Otherwise licensing is to some extent a necessary evil but I certainly prefer vendors who provide a license file that I can back up safely somewhere (Reaper, for instance, where I have the added security of knowing that even if I did lose the license key and have to reinstall on a new machine, it's only gonna bring up a splash screen but won't degrade functionality. That attitude has made me a lifetime customer, perfectly prepared to pay for the occasional upgrade).

[Drew Stephenson]

All those things could have happened, or could yet, but we've chosen to support an economic and political system that prioritises short termism and quarterly profits over people long term benefits.
We do get what we deserve.

I didn't make that choice, the people I elected have corruptedly warped the systems they can control to maximize their personal gain.

A collective 'we' obviously.

I'm not close enough to the actual policy positions in the US but in the UK polling consistently shows majority popular support for socialist positions on things like ownership of utilities and public transport, health care, wealth taxes, minimum wage, public education, etc. etc.
But when it comes to voting it all goes out the window.

But this isn't the Lounge so probably best not go any further here!

[alexis]

...

this isn't the Lounge so probably best not go any further here!

Whoops, I shouldn't have allowed myself to be enticed!

[Rich Hanson]

Ever since I installed Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol (oh! the irony!) I get a core MIDI error every time I start Logic.

I don’t. I have an Apple M1 MBP 13” laptop.

I have an Apple M1 laptop, and I still can’t install Reaktor, as it’s not supported yet.

Yes it is. I've just double checked and Reaktor 6 loads just fine on my M3 MacBook. Do you have an older version perhaps?

[Arpangel]

Ever since I installed Native Instruments Komplete Kontrol (oh! the irony!) I get a core MIDI error every time I start Logic.

I don’t. I have an Apple M1 MBP 13” laptop.

I have an Apple M1 laptop, and I still can’t install Reaktor, as it’s not supported yet.

Yes it is. I've just double checked and Reaktor 6 loads just fine on my M3 MacBook. Do you have an older version perhaps?

No, I'll give it another go, I sort of gave up.

[MOF]

It’s easy to do, use the Native Access App’ (which you were so disparaging about), if that doesn’t work it looks like you’ve removed something you shouldn’t have.

Computer rot is quite insidious these days. I look after my music PC down to forensic level, I do not want one single byte of trash trash on it

[BWC]

...

this isn't the Lounge so probably best not go any further here!

Whoops, I shouldn't have allowed myself to be enticed!

It's difficult to resist sometimes, isn't it? Without inviting further such discussion (in this thread, at least), I can't resist (sorry) suggesting two things to think about on that one, voter turnout and campaign finance (at least here, not sure about there).

[amanise]

...

this isn't the Lounge so probably best not go any further here!

Whoops, I shouldn't have allowed myself to be enticed!

It's difficult to resist sometimes, isn't it? Without inviting further such discussion (in this thread, at least), I can't resist (sorry) suggesting two things to think about on that one, voter turnout and campaign finance (at least here, not sure about there).

I try to resist Master, but they put worms in my ear..