Hi Creative,

Registered just to post this message as I saw it on Digg.

Been a long time Creative customer since the AWE32 ISA.

I've always thought your driver support was average (or below average) though it never bothered enough to look at another vendor.

Now its time, this is the last straw.

Bye now.

I am astonished that Creative, with infinitely more to lose in terms of real dollars in lost sales and immeasurable good will now gone, would decide that this was the best course of action.

The larger picture is that we users are slowly but surely being dictated to as to how we can use what we buy for our personal use, "donations" or not for the sharing of the idea with others, making something better than it was for one and all is the way of this industry and if you do not do it someone else will.

Mark Russinovich of Sysinternals was a master of Windows internal operation and provided free utilities that had no equal, Microsoft humbly recognized the critical need he filled and now they work as partners, assisting both the users as before and Microsoft, everyone won.

Epic fail, Creative.

Phil O'Shaughnessy, did you recieve money for the competition?! Your post must be the biggest blunder in Creative's history!

Like many others I have seen this piece of news on another site and I have registered just to tell you that I started with a SB 2.0 and bought several other Creative cards but now I will no longer buy your products. I was thinking of getting an X-Fi but now I'm looking for alternatives, thanks to your post. Good job in promoting Asus, M-Audio and others!

Hi there Creative, Long time listener, first time poster.

I have no reason to post here, as I still run XP, and my sound card is not Creative brand. But let me tell you where I am a "fanboy." Your mp3 player. I STILL carry around my Creative Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra. It is my favorite piece of technology after owning it for approx. four years. I have been watching the prices on the new Creative 32GB Zen every day, just about ready to pull the trigger. I tell all my friends, "Buy the Creative brands, stay away from the iPod and Zune's." And for two main reasons, the fact that they play ALL popular formats (video and audio?) And the fact that after four years, my mp3 player still works like a charm.

After reading what you all have done since the release of Vista, and actually short changed your customers on features for your hardware, I have to tell you that definitively starting today I will no longer be supporting you and your mp3 line. I seriously feel as if you all can't be trusted for features promised. I've been googling, reading more, and once this hit Digg....you guys are definitely in for a world of backlash on this one.

Ok, just wanted to chime in, don't 'pect any more trouble from me kind sir. I'll go back to dancing for ya, and shining yo' shoes.

NC4L

I run a LAN center here in Louisville, Kentucky and we're in the process of building new computers. We have been using Creative sound cards for the last 5 years but this year we will NOT be using them. Think of me, along with many others who posted here, to never use another Creative product again.

Sincerely,

Andrew

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Dale-CL wrote:
Daniel_K:

We are aware that you have been assisting owners of our Creative sound cards for some time now, by providing unofficial driver packages for Vista that deliver more of the original functionality that was found in the equivalent XP packages for those sound cards. In principle we don't have a problem with you helping users in this way, so long as they understand that any driver packages you supply are not supported by Creative. Where we do have a problem is when technology and IP owned by Creative or other companies that Creative has licensed from, are made to run on other products for which they are not intended. We took action to remove your thread because, like you, Creative and its technology partners think it is only fair to be compensated for goods and services. The difference in this case is that we own the rights to the materials that you are distributing. By enabling our technology and IP to run on sound cards for which it was not originally offered or intended, you are in effect, stealing our goods. When you solicit donations for providing packages like this, you are profiting from something that you do not own. If we choose to develop and provide host-based processing features with certain sound cards and not others, that is a business decision that only we have the right to make.

Although you say you have discontinued your practice of distributing unauthorized software packages for Creative sound cards we have seen evidence of them elsewhere along with donation requests from you. We also note in a recent post of yours on these forums, that you appear to be contemplating the release of further packages. To be clear, we are asking you to respect our legal rights in this matter and cease all further unauthorized distribution of our technology and IP. In addition we request that you observe our forum rules and respect our right to enforce those rules. If you are in any doubt as to what we would consider unacceptable then please request clarification through one of our forum moderators before posting.

Phil O'Shaughnessy
VP Corporate Communications
Creative Labs Inc.

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I registered solely to post this angry comment.

I used to be a Creative customer, since the 8-bit days. I would even say the AWE64 was a brilliant product ahead of its time, but those days are long gone. Today's Creative is a mockery of its former self.

Dale-CL wrote:
If we choose to develop and provide host-based processing features with certain sound cards and not others, that is a business decision that only we have the right to make.

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I, for one, am extremely disgusted with this practice of releasing crippled drivers and the EAX lock-in that has segregated the gaming industry. You speak the truth: it is a business decision. A BAD business decision. The fact that these advertised features are software-based means the Sound Blaster hardware is no longer relevant in today's marketplace, and perhaps Creative should simply make the software features compatible with ALL audio chipsets and sell the software.

My confidence in Creative was first rocked with the Audigy series. I was one of the first people to buy the Audigy, and I was also one of the first people to return it for a refund. It was worse in performance and sound quality than the OEM SB Live it replaced, yet cost more than many semi-pro audio interfaces from the likes of Roland or M-Audio.

I continued to ignore the Sound Blaster until the release of the X-Fi series. I rolled my eyes at the ludicrous prices and claims of reduced CPU usage. Do you even realize the cost of an X-Fi sound card often exceeds the value of the motherboard ? I've done multitrack recording and playback for many years, and CPU usage has never been an issue - in fact I've never noticed it at all. Today's processors and board chipsets are very efficient at multimedia processing, making such claims irrelevant. The concept of audio RAM piqued my curiosity, but as a game developer myself I dug deeper into the details, and quickly realized it was little more than a marketing gimmick that added much programming complexity for very little benefit. Yet another lock-in strategy by Creative, big surprise!

As a system builder and reseller, I will make it a point to berate any of my customers who ask for Creative products. If they are so concerned with CPU usage, they should skip the sound card and spend the money on a faster processor instead!

While Daniel_K's actions may be illegal as far as copyright and IP are concerned, his intentions are far more pure than anyone that has walked the halls of Creative's offices in over a decade. You are a truly heinous and detestable company. I can only pray your profits will dwindle and your business will soon cease to litter the industry with its inferior products and sociopathic customer relations.