I have no experience with Stealth.

As far as the registration process that you are complaining about, this process is essential in order to prohibit people from buying one copy and making a bunch of cracked copies for their friends, or installing it on a slew of computers.

"The only downside to the whole thing was the registration process for everything and it's limited to something like 5 uses on different computers"

Many - not all - software manufacturers will allow multiple licenses, some at no additional charge, and some for a minimal fee per extra license. This is generally offered with the understanding that many of the customers may have a computer at a studio, and then very often take their work home with them where they have another DAW.

It begs the question...Why would you need any more than that? Unless, of course, you were trying to install it on all your friend's computers as well ... ??

"don't get me wrong I am for copyright protection but The Tragically Hip won't email me to say I can only play their CD's on no more than 5 stereo systems"

Your analogy is flawed. Yes, of course you can listen to any CD on any system, as many as you want. But you aren't copying that CD and then re-selling it. You're not making money off of it, either through the sale, or through the unauthorized use. Copying/Cracking software ( and I'm not saying you are) results in the potential for people to use a product to turn revenue without having paid for the privilege to do so.

You say you are for copyright protection... well, you either are... or you aren't. You can't say you believe in it, and then in the same breath, complain that you aren't able to share the program with your friends or install it on a multitude of different computers.

No disrespect but why can't I say that? my intent here was just to say that sharing amongst friends so they can experience the program/music before they buy it is not copyright infringement. I'm completely for copyright protection but for people to say that my way of advertising/using their product is illegal is a bit much. It can be debated that "illegal" copies have actually helped gain sales for older bands and bands that haven't had as much recognition over the years in an advertising sense. I am just saddened that after 5 computers, I can no longer use any of the software that I enjoyed before unless I pay for it again which made me switch to M-Audio gear/software. I totally agree with you in the profit sense but the intention was to say limiting usage is not so much copyright protection as it is a way to make you continuously pay for something that has been paid for already. With today's tech, they can't figure out a way to make your copy exclusive without limiting usage? I lend my commercial CD's all the time, no I don't profit from it but I make that friend want to buy his own and it seems that the digital software/music industry is saying I can't do that. Or even taking it a step further and say I put a particular song on a friends Ipod without profit but as a way to advertise the music and he goes an buys the album, becomes a fan etc etc. Public Libraries do it all the time, I can go and get Soundgardens Superunknown (fantastic album BTW) listen to the whole CD/lend it to friends/use it to learn a different style of music and if Chris Cornell doesn't profit from me because I thought it sucked, then I am doing something illegal or is the library? Chris can't make me pay for it just for listening but in turn my friends who didn't think it sucked go and buy the album. I feel limiting usage is limiting advertising, maybe I am not on the right track here but to clarify what I meant is to say that if I gave/sold a copy of one of my tunes to a friend and he says, " Here guys check this out" and gives them a copy for them to listen to shouldn't be illegal...now to get into what your saying, I wouldn't be too happy if he said he made it or whatever then sold it and became famous from it, now that's wrong. So I am for copyright protection in the profit sense but don't understand it in the usage sense as I feel it can be used for advertising and becoming more recognized. I totally respect what you are saying but if I told my friends to keep my music to themselves and not show it to others (even if it means making copies for non-profit advertising) no one would know my music and I wouldn't get anywhere. I just got the impression you may have thought I was justifying copyright infringement which I wasn't in the profit sense. I just feel that they need to revamp the rules a bit or come up with a better technological way make copies exclusive so that when you buy it your usage rights don't get cut off after so many uses. In turn if I went and sold my Stealthplug to a friend who I wanted to help get into recording, I have actually helped IK Multimedia in the sense that the friend now is experiencing their products and now getting the feel for their products and if he decides to use IK's programs/software, then I feel copyright has not been violated....but now my Stealthplug and software is completely useless and unsellable. I hope you see what I am saying and honestly no offense or disrespect as maybe I wasn't really clear in my meaning. Cheers :)