At least the off-topic pollution has earned you a new vivid thread. Admit that you enjoy discussing these things 
Agreed. However, this not mean that I will have to like it or to buy into it. If this happens and my instruments are dead, I’ll be back to the acoustic piano and I’ll learn to play the violin.
Actually not.
For music software, subscription mode is lurking just around the corner, while phoning home has been here for a lot longer. I wish more developers would take the Loopy Pro approach: you get to keep the features that you’ve paid for.
Hardware synths have resisted well until here and I’m positive most will for some more time.
I predict a future rebellion against online / subscription synths and music-making tools and a consequent upsurge in DIY 5U modular.
I don’t believe in this kind of determinism. If we (people in general/consumers) accept and allow things to go that way because someone else dictates and decides for us then yes, it’s going to happen.
Love being able to update my MPC without using a computer to download and transfer software. Once done, I switch off WiFi and it won’t be switched on again until I choose to do so. Never had any associated issues.
Same basic concept applies for any connectivity going forward.
G
IMO companies go for subscription, after they have reached a pinacle of finished product and features and don’t see that new releases/updates will be payed for.
In many cases in the graphics and office app industry I have the impression that there are no more “improvements”, which really matter for daily work.
Most apps in this fields are already overloaded with features.
Some decades ago a new release in a graphics or office app was interesting and came with needed new features. Sometimes it was because the hardware improved before and could handle this. That alone was reason to buy upgrades.
Now many apps seem to have reached a point of satisfaction for most of the users and to buy a new release seems not to be as interesting as decades ago. To make money they took the way of asking for a kind of “pension” without the committment to deliver something, which would excite the users and make them buy.
To close my rant … for a company having varying numbers of employees working with an app, a subscription of only the licences needed, is a great cost saving opportunity. But for single place licence users it’s only a black-hole to put money in.
BUT - “subscription to own” is IMO a fair deal.
me thinks the point of the thread is not that use case but instruments which will constantly use connection, right now you’re able to update and turn off comms but imagine you’d be required a constant communication to check on your subscription status or whatever.
imo this is not sci fi, it could happen, music companies being merged into giant corps and the bottom line is all they care about, so this might be the future for some instruments…
Suppose this will appeal to some and terrify others.
The middle ground - where the user controls how and when they connect - is the route that would likely appeal most.
G
This caught my eye whilst I was wasting work time:
Computing moves really fast; maintaining older systems is harder than building new ones (currently, the way we’re doing things). When choosing tools for your hobby and creative pursuits, it seems to me that you should prioritise “not turning into bricks in a couple of years”.
Exactly - also my concern.
A typical good made violine, piano, or horn etc. lasts how many years - decades - even centuries until it’s broken by age?
That thing is like thirty years old isn’t it? And you can still sample with it… I don’t want to sample with USB anyway… it still has all its functions, that was just a bonus because it has a USB on it… I’m not sure this is a good example of turning into brick in a couple years.
30 years is a long lifetime and there is also no guarantee that the hardware side would hold that long either.
The Roland WC-1 is an add on wireless device that connects Roland synths to the Roland Cloud.
Currently Roland has this supported for the JUNO-X, JUPITER-X and now the new Gaia 2 ( thread ).
WoFi is now available on Kickstarter and they put up details on the internet part of this machine.
=-=–=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
With our extensive experience in IT and cloud management, we wanted to bring the power of this technology to the core of our ecosystem.
This platform facilitates sample management for your WoFi(s): sample back-ups, sample browsing, sample sorting, sample sharing, sample discovering, and more.
It can also be a place to share things with the community or to keep everything safe and backed up for yourself.
The platform doesn’t require any paid subscription
As long as you have a WoFi, you can use it and have unlimited storage.
The interface of the platform consists of different sections:
That’s not entirely accurate - it connects your synth to the local network so it can talk to the Roland Cloud App on your computer.
I have one, it’s a bit of a gimmick. But it came with a year of RC Pro so was effectively free.
There is no such thing as a free lunch. 
Thanks for the correction, if i recall i was relying on the (( free credit )) Sweetwater info on the device.
They say :
With this in hand, you can connect your Jupiter X and Jupiter XM synthesizers to the cloud using your mobile device.
WoFi connects through a Wi-Fi connection so you’re going to need that obviously. Not sure what else may be involved.
Yeah, now I have a few projects that depend on Roland Cloud, so I’m stuck paying for RC if I want to be able to play with them. But I did the math, and it takes close to 20 years of paying the monthly fee for Ultimate to exceed the cost of buying everything outright, so got into it with my eyes open. I think I’ve been pretty vocal about my disdain for SAAS outside an Enterprise context, so I’ll leave it at that. 
