Copyprotection of styles is probably a good tool to make pro stylemakers gain more interest in the business.
But as well as there most be possible to edit and resave the edited file and still keep the original one, there
most be a way to transfer this to (if any and compatible) the next kboard model coming.

Maybe a USB dongle is the best way to go, with a pass through connector so the USB port can still be used by another USB device. Then the owner could have the full ability to copy and edit styles, but they would only be able to be used when the dongle was inserted. That would satisfy both the developer and the user.

That's a good idea too.

Mind you, I am not sure whether all this will wither on the vine. It seems manufacturers tend to use new styles (and not even all that many of them) as one of the biggest incentives for you to buy the latest, pitifully minor upgraded arranger over the arranger you have. If they go out of their way to radically increase the ease with which you can get TOTL professionally created styles, you may feel you don't NEED their tiny incremental model increase...

And by choosing short term profit over long term gain, they may very well doom the arranger as a viable professional tool. Talk about a rock and a hard place!

Well said.And it's all our fault because we buy the same instrument again and again and again.We are being milked like there is no tomorrow and again it's our fault.

Dad, Can I borrow the car?

Sorry GM makes them now, that you need to buy your own vehicle...no sharing allowed. Just plain dumb, right?

I voted unprotected. If I can't share it, I'm not buying it.
If a manufacturer REQUESTS that I do not share, I'll most likely abide by that request. What if I ended up not liking the style, and decided to give it away?

The idea that protected styles will bring costs down may not be true. It costs software makers more to write protected files, and to the need to update those protected files from hackers who have figured it out. It's a never ending battle, and we are better off with the current honor system.

We humans love to share. It's in our genes. We don't like stingy people, and that includes manufactures who produce protected material.

That is utterly ridiculous, Larry. You can't share your car AT THE SAME TIME YOU USE IT YOURSELF

Just plain dumb.... right!

ALL software manufacturers DO request that you don't share their work. In fact, they DEMAND it. And legally, they have every right to do so. Look for a EULA or a copyright agreement as part of the purchase paperwork.

Now, some of them DO allow you to sell or give away the software, but ONLY if you are no longer using it yourself. EXACTLY like a car, if you think about it. You can't sell it to your son, have him move across the country, and still use it yourself! But mysteriously, you seem to think this is OK for software?

I am sorry, but I honestly feel that only people desperate for some form of self-justification for an act they KNOW in their heart of hearts is just plain wrong can come up with this kind of baloney. Even the most casual of examinations reveal the illogicality of their position. A piece of software is NOT a car. You did NOT get the right to buy it, use it and give it away to your hundred thousand closest friends. You didn't even get the right to keep it for yourself and give it away to even ONE of your friends.

If you had ANY respect for the musician that made it (yes... MUSICIANS create styles!), you would tell your friends what a great style it is, and direct them to BUY it from the guy that made it. And then, MAYBE... he'll make another one that you really like.

Because he sure ain't if you give it away because you like it so much, you just GOTTA share it!

I'm sorry, but this just burns my a$$. I only hope that you work in a profession where someone can rip you off, give YOUR work away for free, and then come up with a glib justification for doing it. That is, as long as you don't seem to mind doing it to others.

In fact... I am horrified someone in the music store business can be this blind or naive. How do you feel when someone steals a guitar from your store..?

Hold on a minute! I thought we humans like to share? We don't like stingy people, and that includes music store owners who want to get PAID when you walk out the store with a guitar!

Now, imagine that when you DO sell a guitar, the guy that bought it can put it in a magic 'duplicator', and make TWO guitars, and he gives one of them away. Probably to someone that, without the gift from his friend, would have come to your store and BOUGHT a guitar. And lo and behold, HE puts his copy in his duplicator, whips out three or four copies, and gives them to some MORE friends. And so on, ad infinitum.

You sure as sh*t won't be in business long, will you?

But hey! Who want to be stingy? What's making a living, compared to that..?

I don't think that because someone has an opinion different from yours that that makes them 'stupid'. Else, why have a poll? Instead of "Protected" or "Unprotected", we could just label it "Brilliant" or "Stupid". JMO.

chas

Here we go again........it was so nice & peaceful on SZ...oh well

Diki...I understand your point.
Peace
Larry