Remove Ilok after PT9 loads?

I guess I will find the answer as soon as I'm done downloading PT9 but In PT8 I can remove the Ilok after PT loads. Is the same true with PT9. Oh and BTW it always made me wonder why people get so obsessed with the ilok and what it looks like and how hazardous it can be when its plugged in when it only needs to be in for the initial 10 seconds at startup. :o People go record/create music and stop looking for something to whine about.

It seems to me that PT9 is actually checking for the ilok at certain intervals. So no, I don't think you can get away with that anymore.

It is my understanding that PT9 requires the iLok to be plugged in at all times. Versions up to PT9 required proprietry hardware (ie Digidesign/Avid) which served as a dongle. Since proprietry hardware is no longer necessary, the iLok is the dongle. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

You are soooooo right. Just like Steinberg products. No dongle, no play.

You absolutely need the iLok in at all times. I use a USB hub with my MacBook Pro, and occasionally the computer won't be able to find the iLok (I also have 2 MIDI devices and a USB mouse plugged into it, possible conflicts), and it'll make me save my session and close Pro Tools. Now I make sure the iLok goes directly into one of the MacBook's USB ports. So it must periodically check. If it didn't, you could theoretically start Pro Tools on any number of computers you wanted to with one license just to get them started.