All in one USB dongle...

[abyssinianson]

just posting this as an inquiry because some folks on here might know of a solution to my problem. i have several licenses that live on dongles. it would be nice if i could get one dongle to house ALL of my licenses - Cubase SX, Nuendo, other Steinberg stuff, and my PT HD iLock PACE key among other things. do you guys know of a universal storage key and had experience with it? I've already emailed Steinberg and they reported that there are some but they didn't have current compatibility reports with Digidesign dongles sharing the same lock.

thanks for any help!

[KitC]

I know you can move all Steinberg licences to a single dongle, but frankly, that scares me coz if you lose the dongle, everything Steinberg goes to a screeching halt. I've read of some folks using a usb hub just for their dongles (somehow, that didn't come out right...  ).

[abyssinianson]

yes, and that is what I have done so far for Steinberg products, only. However, it would be nice to have a single dongle for all of my licenses to reduce the risk of things being bent, broken or lost. I have all of my info jotted down and registered with Digidesign and Steinberg so that base is covered. I have heard of people using a hub enclosed in a metal box to protect their program dongles and connect that to the PC or their Macs. I haven't tried it yet but I might consider it.

Kit, I think the word "dongle" was a poor choice on the programmer's part in selecting a name for program authorization keys because it always makes people snicker when someone mentions it. I know it makes me do that sometimes

[KitC]

Kit, I think the word "dongle" was a poor choice on the programmer's part in selecting a name for program authorization keys because it always makes people snicker when someone mentions it. I know it makes me do that sometimes

It's all because of :"My ding-a-ling"  LOLZ!!! 

[xjepoyx]

When i first had my licensed cubase... napaglaruan kaagad ng daughter ko yung usb key at nakwento ko to sayo boss kit hehe, good thing di sya nawala at napunta lang sa ilalim ng tape deck.

lessons learned... these usb keys are super dooper valauble and "Keep out of reach of children" hehehe

[KitC]

Oo nga, jeps!  I remember that.  Thing is, these dongles look like thumb drives... some unknowing soul might get the wrong idea and try to copy files into it. And these blasted things cost $20!

[starfugger]

plus shipping which might cost you another 20 ... or more!

hello all   first post in 2007 ...

[Jim Ayson]

Urban legend has it that the programmer who invented the dongle was a guy named Dongle. Or was it Don Gel?

It would be difficult to have a universal dongle because the program is set to make a call to the hardware every now and then - and every manufacturer has their own, its not a universal API obviously because that would defeat the purpose of copy-protection.

The only way to go about this problem is to hack the program so it doesn't call the dongle. I know  this was done in the past by some, and they were legit users who didn't like the hassle of hardware-based copy protection.

[abyssinianson]

yeah, it may be hard to house them all in one dongle due to design differences but I would imagine someone has to already have worked with this problem. especially if they run multiple platforms like I do. I am going to keep on looking into this stuff. Hopefully, there is a viable solution.

[KitC]

The only way to go about this problem is to hack the program so it doesn't call the dongle. I know  this was done in the past by some, and they were legit users who didn't like the hassle of hardware-based copy protection.

And some legit users usually have a "Try-before-you-buy" copy of the same program lying around to get past the dongle issue. I once read the .nfo file the H2O guys wrote about how SX3 made so many calls to the dongle that it most likely interfered with program operation, midi timing and all that. Kinda makes me glad I'm using Sonar most of the time.

[KitC]

plus shipping which might cost you another 20 ... or more!

hello all   first post in 2007 ...

And a Belated Happy New Year to you, Hazel!

[abyssinianson]

  Oh, BDay ni Hazel pala? Happy (belated) Bday!

[BALDO]

Abbys..
what i do with my Nuendo and Waves is i use a box that accomodates 3- 5 dongle drivers and just switches a-b or c,
 thats the kind that connects to the printer port. i dont know if it will work on your system..mine worked. you just have to switch it FAST..really really fast.!!!  because sometimes it freezes.. hehehe

[abyssinianson]

an A/B/C switcher for dongles? I've seen people using a USB hub but never an A/B/C switcher. Wouldn't that require you to switch between the different ports to validate your dongles during loadup?

[BALDO]

Abbys ,
 the dongle driver i was talking about is the one that goes to the serial port.. i am using the Belkin Switcher.. USB dongle maybe the one you are using right now...my bad..