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
#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?