Since I know that I have to pay 50% if I lose my key, I stopped working outside of my home with VSL. I'm using Logic and Finale for my projects. But if I try to open a Logic or Finale project without the key often I get a crash.

Usually I'm working every week about 20 hours outside of my home on my compositions. Because of the Key problems I'm losing now this time for my music.

Or your car keys...

I posted some suggestions in another thread about the Vienna Key problem:
http://tinyurl.com/hagl28t

I repeat my comments here and welcome feedback, particularly from our friends at VSL.

This whole issue with licensing really needs attention and improvement.

When I first realised that the keys "expire" after 2 years, I started buying 2 new keys every 2 years, just in case. (My licenses span 2 keys)

I now have a drawer full of perfectly functioning keys that will probably never be used again. 

Despite this 2-yearly purchase of new keys, I will still have to pay more money to get my licences back if a key fails. If a key gets lost, I will have to re-purchase the libraries at huge expense.

What I don't understand is this:
eLicenser controls the licensing procedure and they appear to have a record of all licence details. (Correct me if I'm wrong please). If they have a secure database, why is it not possible to report a key stolen or lost or broken? Then the reported key could be listed as non-functional which would allow the legal user to simply retrieve his/her licences.

Of course, there would have to be a method to prevent the stolen or lost key from being used somewhere else. A suggestion would be for a regular check of each key by the eLicenser software. If the check showed that the key was reported stolen or lost, the licences on the key would be disabled or deleted. If the check was not performed regularly, then the key would stop working. Of course this would be a minor irritation for legal users, but nothing compared to the nightmare of having to buy 1000's of Euros worth of software again.

These are just random thoughts on the matter - hopefully our friends at VSL will consider these suggestions and either take it up with Steinberg or perhaps even create their own hardware protection system.

I never posted here (even though I read the forums), but few things you wrote bugs me. This one sentence in general.

"When I first realised that the keys "expire" after 2 years, I started buying 2 new keys every 2 years, just in case."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the 2 years guarantee means only that, that if the key brakes during that time, it is basically replaced for a new one for free (with all the licenses). After that time I have to pay for replacing it (ie pay for new one), but without any additional costs when it comes to license transfer from broken one (taking that I have the key and all licenses registered). Am I right?

"A suggestion would be for a regular check of each key by the eLicenser software. If the check showed that the key was reported stolen or lost, the licences on the key would be disabled or deleted."

Simple and really good solution - stole? Lost? Exterminate, exterminate ;)

And yes, I think that hardware dongles are retro in a bad way. Pirates probably still use VSL from kontakt times and they don't care. Or just pirate things that are easier to pirate. I'm curious though how hardware dongles impact sales, how many people would buy VSL if not that thing? For example EW decided to drop the iLok and allow soft licenses. How much more money they did with that move?

Anyway, hardware dongle is the only problem with VSL. But - and I know that - it's a big blocker for many people. Such as iLok. Or requirement of full Kontakt ;) 

Now I'm angry at myself that I didn't read all those elicenser mumbo jumbo thoroughly before commiting to VSL. For now I've got 4 licenses. I planed to add 5th (and 6th) in a not far future. My dongle is almost 2 years old now. So if that dongle will brake or just stop working then I have to pay again for licenses that I already bought 20 euros each? So now it would be 80 euros + new dongle just to have right for using what I legaly bought? The dongle isn't a car. Dongle is a key to a car. Car is in a garage. On my hard drive. Library itself is a car. It's useless without key, true, but noone in world would say that I have to pay 10% of car value cause I broke key :/

Basically we can sum it up to: pay 20 euros for new dongle every two years or live in fear, while fear actually grows with your commitment to the developer - more licenses, more money to spend if something goes south. Cool. How actually I'm encoraged here to use legal software? Arrrrrrrgh (the old, pirate proverb).

ps. Sorry for emotional tone, but I was almost sure that it doesn't work that way. I thought: it can't work that way. Guess it can :(

ps2. And what if dongle doesn't show signs of external force? Does this make difference in handling license transfer?

Originally Posted by: musos

We're all quite angry, frustrated and emotional about this issue.

I'm not.

Originally Posted by: tek0010

Originally Posted by: musos

We're all quite angry, frustrated and emotional about this issue.

I'm not.

My apologies.
I should have said: Many people here (excluding tek0010 and perhaps a few others) are angry, frustrated......