Creative Labs, makers of sound cards that still don’t work properly with Windows Vista, doesn’t want fixed versions of its broken drivers on the net. In a message to “Daniel_K,” who repaired their broken software, Creative Labs’ Phil O’Shaughnessy claims that by restoring functionality to Vista drivers that are offered in Windows XP versions, he is a thief. “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,” writes O’Shaughnessy at Creative’s forums. Granted, Daniel_K is soliciting donations. Furthermore, the gear’s end-user license agreement specifies, as is usual, that you can’t tamper with its software. But why would a company set out to prevent people from helping one another fix problems in hardware it’s already sold them?
The answer is the sad one you’ve probably learned to expect: O’Shaughnessy admits that Creative Labs intentionally crippled its Vista drivers as a business strategy. “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.”
Baffling, yes, but also its prerogative. You can easily find the fixed drivers.
Intentionally crippling its drivers is a business strategy? Maybe they just didn’t want to look inept. Its not like Microsoft gave them plenty of time to patch their software for use in Vista, right?
Thanks to Andrew Shroyer
>>Another reason to boycott Vista.
Did we need another one? I don’t know a single person who has actually “bought” Vista. The only people I know (myself included) who have it on a computer got it rammed down their throats as the installed OS on a new machine.
Had it been available a year ago, I would have bought a machine UPGRADED to XP.
My bad.
basically, the dominant issue here is whether or not creative can legally enforce this (and I don’t believe they can), because the essence is that someone wrote software to utilize hardware in a way in which the hardware vendor did not foresee or intend. think about the broad, far-reaching implications of that kind of IP law. Intel could forge a deal with Microsoft and *poof* OS X and Linux are all of a sudden illegal.
Doesn’t it seem like companies should be coming up with incentives for people to buy Vista (works BETTER with your old POS sound card!), rather than increasing the transition expense, since it’s loathed by 80% of users?
#18 – Creative = Satan ? Compared to most, probably not.
Right…
What they are is desperate. Creative is dying. iPod beats up their superior Zen. Mobos have fine sound for all but specialists. They were a great specialty hardware house… and they’ve been beat by the commoditization (is that a word?) (it should be) of their widgets.
See this as what it is. Not an evil giant kicking a driver guy… But rather a once strong company angrily shaking its fist at God, refusing to accept the reality of its imminent death.
Witness the sadness as a great warrior falls. Now frail and weak, feeling itself go cold. Have pity. For there before the grace… and all that…
Why the HELL are people getting their knickers in a twist about this??
nVidia do this kinbd of thing all the time (but instead of dicking about with the drivers they modify the BIOSes in their cards to limit the number of pipelines and the clockspeed).
Intel do it as well. Ever seen a Pentium Dual Core chip? Its just a deliberately crippled Core2Duo chip made to run at a lower clockspeed and have 1/2 its cache disabled.
Why single Creative out? They VERY politely requested that Daniel_K NOT solicit money for his modifications, thats pretty much it. Daniel_K deliberately broke Creative’s EULA by modifying the drivers and whats more he tried to make money out of it.
If I’d have been Creative I’d have been a LOT more pissed than they were. They acted with remarkable restraint when you look at how they could have handled the situation and yet the stupid blogosphere jumps all over them like they are the Great Destroyer of Worlds!!
Now, I’m certainly not saying that they have the best drivers or customer support, but this whole bullshit issue being echoed about the net is just freaking RETARDED! Hardly anyone has actually looked the the forum where the original thing occurred (where its been settled now for 3 whole days) and instead just regurgitates the same old shit without actually checking on the sources.
Others just jump on the tired old “don’t buy Vista” bullshit bandwaggon and use this as some sort of silver bullet as a reason to trash the OS which is now the 2nd most popular ever!
Grow up you idiots!!
#23–zybach==you are absolutely right. When our OEM overlords have reached a decision, our only role is to comply. That’s what makes our consumer economy strong==that, and freedom thru compliance insights such as your own. MARCH ONWARD!!!
#23 – You the Creative CEO? And where the hell do you get that Vista is popular? It was pre-installed and the majority didn’t have a choice. People sell after market products to make automobiles perform better, do you see them being taken to task? The way I see it, this kid was just turd polishing.
Same problem I had with a Creative Sound Blaster Live External. I wanted to do some multichannel mixing via Adobe Audition but the unit had no ASIO drivers for it, and basically said there would never be any. Then I found “ASIO 4 All,” a free driver that let me use the Live External with no problem, very low latency. Creative is basically got a near monopoly and they are using their influence to screw users in order to maximize their profits. Screw them, screw Microsoft.
Had to be said.
Completely dishonest, or at the least criminally insane business plan.
YOU”RE FIRED… just thought I’d say it FIRST!!
#1 Both. Apathy seems to be the new black, worn by everyone.
My guess is, creative said to themsleves “if microsoft got away with vista, we should get away with this”
#27 who uses creative cards for mixing??
@24: Creative and anyone else who would try to stop people from improving their products should be more than singled out. Posters 9 and 22 have it exactly right: You can’t claim “EULA” on everything. At certain point that EULA becomes illegal and unenforceable. See their real life examples both about technology in general and computing technology.
And, yes, this also exactly applies to the “full of the crippleware” Vista OS. (Which market share is driven by bullying alone, not quality). As more and more people are forced into it I predict similar “EULA” nullifying of the crippled Vista features within a year. And MS efforts to stomp those down by illegal forced updates (as it is easy bet that those would be turned off the automatic mode). And related lawsuits.
So who’s sound card ya gonna use beotch.. ac97?!?
my game.. my rules.. get used to it princess
#30, Dusan,
You can’t claim “EULA” on everything. At certain point that EULA becomes illegal and unenforceable.
While that may be true in very limited cases, this isn’t one. This guy took Creative code and altered it. He then tried to sell that altered code. If he had of written his own code there wouldn’t be a problem.
There can be no comparison between this and automotive after-market products. That would be more like adding an audio card or video card after you buy you computer with on-board audio and video.
#20: While he did alter Creative’s code and ask for donations — which netted barely enough for another Creative sound card — the reason why the community is up in arms is that Creative deliberately crippled their drivers to disable hardware features and to actively degrade sound output. Then, they had the “Audacity” ™ to threaten someone who reinstated the card’s capabilities and better sound. That, most people believe, is definitely scummy behavior.
Psst ! Use the Torrents, Luke !!! (Use the Force, Luke !!!) OOPS, I might get sued by Lucas, Creative, BSA, RIAA, Bob and Ray ….
@#6
That is a hardware difference. The reason why intel did this was because there was a market for SX chips. You can not change an SX into DX by tweaking some software drivers since it’s a physical hardware change, not software. This is nothing like what creative labs is doing.
Creative still makes sound cards?