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... they got fed up with people asking when the next Sound Blaster was coming out http://creative.com/

When I read the head line my first thought was - when did Facebook get into computer audio components?

Of course, you have to rely on audio hardware vendors actually supporting the nifty new Windows 7 sound layer. If that vendor happens to be Creative, you're screwed, particularly if the product is discontinued. Case in point: the E-MU 0404 USB, which has a beta Windows 7 driver that hasn't ever been updated.

It works beautifully on an XP desktop system, and recent Linux kernels seem to support it at least for playback. On Linux, the Clementine audio player works well, but I like Foobar2000 better. Unfortunately, Foobar2000 doesn't work in Linux except under Wine, and Wine doesn't work all that well with the 0404 USB.

I tried running XP under VirtualBox with the 0404 USB passed through, but that just doesn't work - virtualization and timing-critical hardware are a bad mix. I hate the idea that I'd have to dedicate a box to running XP just for audio purposes and nothing else, but that might be what happens unless I can find an audio player that manages my music collection as well as Foobar2000. As it is, I do anything important (email, online banking, etc.) from Linux.

At any rate, I have no compelling reason to go to Windows 7 let alone Windows 8. On my last go-around with Windows 8 CP, I hated it - they're making the same mistake, albeit in a different direction, that the Unity and GNOME 3 developers are making. A tablet UI is great for a tablet, not for a desktop.

As for Creative, I learned my lesson the hard way - don't buy their gear.

Perhaps it would be best to ship something under a bailment agreement to the interviewee:
http://inperson.creative.com/

That way you would have some level of consistency. Alternatively, you may be able to do something custom with a netbook and better camera/mic.

http://us.store.creative.com/Creative-ZiiO-7-Entertainment-Tablet-16GB/M/B004DJQXDW.htm

Resistive Screen, comes with a stylus.
Runs Android but has not access to Android Market - not a problem, you can still download APKs and install it onto the device.
Evernote would be the app you you are looking for for Note-taking, you can download the APK for that no problem - it's freeware.

And I suppose Magma or Lava were already taken ?

http://www.magma.com/
http://www.creative.com/products/mp3/

The submitter is complaining about laptops, and the Dell Latitude D630 I'm using right now is missing a line-in plug. My solution has been the Creative Xmod. You can get them fairly cheaply, and they don't need a driver so you can use them with any OS that supports USB audio. I've used it successfully for a number of one-off recording tasks similar to what the original poster is asking about. I've just re-read some of the original reviews, and I pretty much agree with them: You can use it as an amp for your MP3 player but you'll need a USB power adapter of some sort to power it, and don't use it for gaming.

Oh and if you wind up buying one, go to Creative's web site and download the firmware upgrade, it enables monitoring of line-in recordings using the earphone jack: http://support.creative.com/Products/ProductDetails.aspx?catID=209&CatName=X-Fi&subCatID=668&subCatName=External+Solutions&prodID=15913&prodName=Creative+Xmod&bTopTwenty=1&VARSET=prodfaq:PRODFAQ_15913,VARSET=CategoryID:209

No wireless.

As another user pointed out, iPad supports Wi-Fi. Bring your own Verizon MiFi gateway for even better U.S. 3G coverage than the iPhone.

Less space than a Nomad.

Creative's current MP3 player only goes up to 32 GB.

Lame.

That depends on what restrictions Apple puts on apps for this device.

Try finding a soundcard on the shelf that even lists Vista-compatibility, let alone 64-bit...

Hello.

You can say about Creative's products what you want, but not supporting the latest version of Windows upon release isn't one of the things that happen with them...

np: Mr. Scruff - Eardrops (Keep It Unreal (Disc 2))

The odds that my customers will find anything on sale at Walmart, Best Buy, Staples without XP support? About 0%.

And the odds that they'll find something on sale without Vista or Windows 7 support, or without 64-bit support? About 50%. I'd bet that a modern Linux distro has better hardware support than a modern Windows installation.

It's great that your customers have a vendor willing to sell them an EOLed OS that still has good driver support (as long as you run it on old hardware), but that can't last forever.

That being the case the government should make damn sure that any such device deactivates the moment your car starts moving and punish anyone tampering with it.

Yes, this would be the magic government that has the ability to remotely disable ubiquitous portable video screens, using their Amulet of Regulation.

This is a problem that government cannot solve -- appealing to them is not going to make it happen.

That was most definitely not the fault of Vista. Creative Labs is infamous for their shitty drivers, hardware and support. A lot of people had that same crackling problem across numerous Creative sound cards on both Vista and XP. If you don't believe me, go check out their support forum some time.

Such a shame too. Creative Labs used to be a sign of quality back in the Sound Blaster, Sound Blaster Pro and Sound Blaster 16 days.

I think you're quite right to highlight this, because it emphasises the fact that really the problem here is that this is a poorly designed music player. Whether Apple is evil or not, they are being stupid in this instance by moving away from interoperability and easily replaceable parts.

When their customers are on safari in northern Botswana or hiking through South America and the Apple-supplied headphones die, the whole MP3 player will become useless, because standard headphones (which will be readily available in such places) won't work, and Apple ones won't be available. I think Apple has already demonstrated that its attitude with the Shuffle is fairly anti-convenience by removing the ability to charge it without a special Apple cable.

I once had a Sony (boo! hiss!) tape walkman which had a proprietary controller on the headphone cable. Amazingly, if I wanted to plug in a different set of headphones - even one not made by Sony - I could, I just had to use the buttons on the player rather than on the cable. In other words, it was a convenience, not a hindrance. You could even use similar but not identical headphones from other Sony players if you had them handy, but if not normal headphones worked well.

Instead of bitching about how Apple is trying to "control" your life or music listening in some way, how about this: don't buy any more ipod shuffles, and make sure you educate your friends, family and acquaintances about why they shouldn't either. Tell them to get one of the myriad other micro-MP3 players, or maybe something which has actual decent sound quality like a Creative Zen X-Fi.

The iPod has forced every other mp3 player maker out of business!

Yeah, all the other makers except for Microsoft, Sony, Creative, SanDisk, iRiver, Archos, Toshiba, and a dozen generic Asian manufacturers...

Ah, found them...

http://support.creative.com/downloads

Just had to look in the correct place.

Ah, found them...

http://support.creative.com/downloads

Just had to look in the correct place.

Yes don't bother upgrading; there is no reason for Creative to do this except to force consumers to buy their offical charger.

Here's a full thread discussing the issue: http://forums.creative.com/creativelabs/board/message?board.id=dap&message.id=168199&view=by_date_ascending&page=6

Creative *is* a capitalist company!

I have a Creative Labs Zen V Plus. I bought this after doing some research about what mp3 players were available at the time. I wanted something that:

* Had 4GB or more storage, flash-based.
* Had a decent battery life (8-10 hours).
* Played MP3s; not concerned with other formats (though OggVorbis would be nice)

I ended up debating between a similar iPod product (can't remember the specific one) and the Zen V. I ended up choosing the Zen V Plus because:

1. $30 cheaper.
2. FM Radio (rarely used, but it is there)
3. Voice recording capability

The iPod did look nicer, and I'm sure that it might be a bit easier to use - but the Zen V Plus is pretty easy to use, too. So far I have owned it for about six months. My only complaint is that the screen has a lot of scratches on it now (I am rather rough with it, to be honest), and the screen can be difficult to read in sunlight - but an iPod would be the same.

Overall, I think it is a better value; I spent $99 instead of $129 for a system that is capable of doing more, just with a different interface and a different shell.

A website that was very helpful to me is Anything But iPod, which reviews non-iPod players. If you're in the market for an mp3 player, might want to stop there and take a look around before you make a purchase.

There is nothing remarkable about the iPod, there are many better alternatives like Creative players which don't have any DRM, can play Divx and XDvix and have many more options. The iPod is basically overhyped and locks you into propriatory crap.

If the iPod "locks you into propriatory crap," home come my iPod is full of non-proprietary, non-DRM mp3s that I either bought legally or burned from my own CD-ROMs? Overhyped I'll buy, but I'm not locked into anything.

There is nothing remarkable about the iPod, there are many better alternatives like Creative players which don't have any DRM, can play Divx and XDvix and have many more options. The iPod is basically overhyped and locks you into propriatory crap.

Reminds me of the infamous Soundblaster crackle... Which in this thread is being discussed around X-Fi hardware. Even though I can remember the very first Live!'s giving me and my friends the problem years ago. I don't recall the exact details of the situation but I believe it was an improper PCI implementation.

I rather have more driver hardware support from vendors in Linux first. Apps will follow soon after.

I rather have more driver hardware support from vendors in Linux first. Apps will follow soon after.

Do you write to them and tell them that? Here are some addresses, write to one or two:

Creative (Webcams) http://asia.creative.com/contactus/presales/

Logitech (Webcams) http://logitech-en-amr.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/logitech_en_amr.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php

Lexmark (Printers) http://www.lexmark.com/lexmark/sequentialem/home/0,6959,204816596_689444666_0_en,00.html

Nokia (PIM sync software with OpenSync) http://www.nokia.com/A4126575

Epson (Printers) http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/AboutContactUs.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes

Gigabyte (New motherboards should ship with Linux drivers) http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Company/ContactUs.aspx?CompanyWebPageID=6

Linksys (Networking equipment) http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_Content_C1&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1114037291276&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper

SIS http://www.sis.com/support/support_tech.htm

ASUS http://usa.asus.com/aboutasus.aspx?show=3

Write to the hardware vendors and let them know that we want to buy and use their products on Linux. Here are the addresses of some other hardware vendors. Copy the list and write to one every week:

Creative (Webcams) http://asia.creative.com/contactus/presales/

Logitech (Webcams) http://logitech-en-amr.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/logitech_en_amr.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php

Nokia (PIM sync software with OpenSync) http://www.nokia.com/A4126575

Epson (Printers) http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/AboutContactUs.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes

Gigabyte (New motherboards should ship with Linux drivers) http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Company/ContactUs.aspx?CompanyWebPageID=6

Linksys (Networking equipment) http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_Content_C1&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1114037291276&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper

How does that Operating System display drive size?

Also, which measurement do they use for "130MB of free space?"

Ok, maybe three questions.

Anyone else notice that the cheapest 1GB MP3 player on Creative's website was $34.99 and that they offer 2GB and 4GB models for about the same price? Price of a 1GB Creative MP3 player on Newegg: $19.99 So the 50% coupon just brings their prices in line with normal retail outlets...

Let me get this straight. If you got "screwed" (somewhat debatable), you get a choice between 50% off a 1GB MP3 player (so it'll cost you about $30), or you can get a coupon for 20% off at the over-priced company store? What's to stop creative from upping the prices 5% to offset the 20% 'discount'? This isn't a punishment, it's a marketing campaign. You get a better deal going to their sales and clearance sections!

http://us.creative.com/shop/shopcategory.asp?category=720

Go Creative Labs. You must have very good lawyers.

The video quality is excellent and i do like (for the most part) the UI. Still, unless there's some 3G killer app (Slingbox client?) i'll likely hold off on the iPhone 3G; perhaps I'll get one of those Creative Zens instead just for video. http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=213&subcategory=214&product=16999

Partially true. I think that the best way for mid-level sound is to use an external interface like this one or this one. Anybody who's at least semi-serious about computer-based recording isn't going to shoehorn their XLR mic into some tiny jack on the back of their computer.

I have read all of the threads here: http://forums.creative.com/creativelabs/board/message?board.id=soundblaster&thread.id=116332&view=by_date_ascending&page=1
and here: http://creative.edited.us/

Creative summarily wiped their VP's Original posting from their forums that started this whole epic saga. Good thing somebody mirrored it all here: http://creative.edited.us/page.php?start=1

In summary, here are a few key points (in no particular order):
(1) Creative may have licensed some software for Windows XP and NOT licensed it for Windows Vista. Thus that is *in part* why they crippled it. (and it helps promote new hardware sales for Vista) It seems this is true for the Dolby portions of the code.
(2) Creative stated they cripple their hardware (depending on what model it is) in their drivers based on the Operating System version and what the item was sold as. They state they have the legal right to do so.
(3) Creative stated that anyone re-enabling features (however it is done) is "stealing" from Creative.
(4) Apparently, the Windows XP drivers ignore the Vista "Protected Path" DRM killswitch flags and work quite well. (Recall that Vista is built on Windows XP technology and WinXP drivers *can be made* to WORK FINE in it. It is probably very likely that this violates some NDA from Microsoft to Creative as it likely bypasses their DRM mechanisms in Vista that were not included in WinXP (at least up to WinXP w/SP2).
(5) This is pissing people off in a major way. There are people planning on never doing business with Creative again: http://boycottcreative.com/BoycottCreative.html and http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/BoycottCreative
(6) Creative is not doing very well (at all) financially (Gee, I wonder why?): http://www.creative.com/corporate/investor/ and http://finance.google.com/finance?q=OTC%3ACREAF
(7) A Driver "Modder" known as Daniel Kawakami (AKA "Daniel_K") found ways to re-enable 'features' for certain product Creative lines under Windows Vista, notably restoring the Full functionality on the various Creative Hardware under Windows Vista.
(8) This modder also made their Alchemy software work on non-creative sound products too, likely pissing off Creative more.
(9) The modder asked for donations for his freely available work, he acknowledges that was dumb, and pretty much everybody dumps on him for it.
(10) Many Creative Forum posts have been deleted (redacted) and many are available here: http://creative.edited.us/deleted.html

Interestingly, I created my /. account many years ago while sitting at my desk at Creative Labs Inc. 1523 Cimarron Plaza, Stillwater, OK 74075. 405-742-6655.
Those of you whom also worked there probably knew me, you certainly know the above address and phone number all too well. You had the job while you were in college, learned skills, and happily left around graduation time.
I am not here to badmouth or flame, just to say that I was completely unsurprised when this came to light. I could not believe the VP's posting and how he is clearly so out of touch with the reality of Creative's die-hard customers, their motives, and their sense of loyalty and fairness. He has probably lost the company hundreds of thousands of dollars with that single post if not more!
IN some people's opinions, Creative has now firmly placed itself on the path to be considered as clost to "The customer is always right." as the likes of Microso

I have read all of the threads here: http://forums.creative.com/creativelabs/board/message?board.id=soundblaster&thread.id=116332&view=by_date_ascending&page=1
and here: http://creative.edited.us/

Creative summarily wiped their VP's Original posting from their forums that started this whole epic saga. Good thing somebody mirrored it all here: http://creative.edited.us/page.php?start=1

In summary, here are a few key points (in no particular order):
(1) Creative may have licensed some software for Windows XP and NOT licensed it for Windows Vista. Thus that is *in part* why they crippled it. (and it helps promote new hardware sales for Vista) It seems this is true for the Dolby portions of the code.
(2) Creative stated they cripple their hardware (depending on what model it is) in their drivers based on the Operating System version and what the item was sold as. They state they have the legal right to do so.
(3) Creative stated that anyone re-enabling features (however it is done) is "stealing" from Creative.
(4) Apparently, the Windows XP drivers ignore the Vista "Protected Path" DRM killswitch flags and work quite well. (Recall that Vista is built on Windows XP technology and WinXP drivers *can be made* to WORK FINE in it. It is probably very likely that this violates some NDA from Microsoft to Creative as it likely bypasses their DRM mechanisms in Vista that were not included in WinXP (at least up to WinXP w/SP2).
(5) This is pissing people off in a major way. There are people planning on never doing business with Creative again: http://boycottcreative.com/BoycottCreative.html and http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/BoycottCreative
(6) Creative is not doing very well (at all) financially (Gee, I wonder why?): http://www.creative.com/corporate/investor/ and http://finance.google.com/finance?q=OTC%3ACREAF
(7) A Driver "Modder" known as Daniel Kawakami (AKA "Daniel_K") found ways to re-enable 'features' for certain product Creative lines under Windows Vista, notably restoring the Full functionality on the various Creative Hardware under Windows Vista.
(8) This modder also made their Alchemy software work on non-creative sound products too, likely pissing off Creative more.
(9) The modder asked for donations for his freely available work, he acknowledges that was dumb, and pretty much everybody dumps on him for it.
(10) Many Creative Forum posts have been deleted (redacted) and many are available here: http://creative.edited.us/deleted.html

Interestingly, I created my /. account many years ago while sitting at my desk at Creative Labs Inc. 1523 Cimarron Plaza, Stillwater, OK 74075. 405-742-6655.
Those of you whom also worked there probably knew me, you certainly know the above address and phone number all too well. You had the job while you were in college, learned skills, and happily left around graduation time.
I am not here to badmouth or flame, just to say that I was completely unsurprised when this came to light. I could not believe the VP's posting and how he is clearly so out of touch with the reality of Creative's die-hard customers, their motives, and their sense of loyalty and fairness. He has probably lost the company hundreds of thousands of dollars with that single post if not more!
IN some people's opinions, Creative has now firmly placed itself on the path to be considered as clost to "The customer is always right." as the likes of Microso

http://www.creative.com/corporate/pressroom/releases/welcome.asp?pid=12910
CREATIVE SIGNS MOU FOR THE PROPOSED SALE AND LEASEBACK OF ITS HEADQUARTERS BUILDING - CREATIVE RESOURCE FOR $250 MILLION

SINGAPORE - March 24, 2008 - Creative Technology Ltd., a worldwide leader in digital entertainment products, today announced that the Company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a buyer for the proposed sale and leaseback of the Creative Resource building, which houses the corporate headquarters of the Company and its subsidiaries in Singapore.

The sale price for this proposed transaction is S$250 million (US$180 million), with a leaseback of the whole building for a period of five years with an option for additional periods of three and two years.

The proposed sale and leaseback transaction is conditional upon and subject to certain conditions, including but not limited to, satisfactory completion of legal and building due diligence by the purchaser, the Company's shareholders' approval of the transaction, and applicable regulatory approvals.

The proposed sale of the property constitutes a major transaction under Rule 1006 of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited Listing Manual and accordingly is subject to shareholders' approval at an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Company (EGM) to be convened at a later date. A circular to the Company's shareholders, together with notice of the EGM, will be dispatched to shareholders in due course. The circular will contain more details of the proposed transaction.

The proposed transaction is expected to be completed by the end of June 2008.

Creative expects to make a gain on sale of the property of about S$200 million (US$144 million) from this transaction. In accordance with US GAAP, this amount will be treated as a deferred gain and will be amortised and recognised in the Company's Income Statements over the lease term of five years...

hahahha

i figured this was coming years ago, went to M-audio instead. rock solid drivers, no bullshit. i will NEVER buy another creative product. and if any of you are still thinkin about it, consider where the company is going. they were good, they got richer, and then they started to suck. now they are about to fold.. if you are still thinking your going to get good drivers/support/products from creative, you have something wrong with your bullshit detector.

We have read the strong feedback about Creative's forum post regarding driver development by Daniel_k and other outside parties. Creative's message posted on our behalf by our Company spokesperson tried to address our concern about the improper distribution of certain software which is the property of other companies. However, we did not make it as clear as we would have liked that we do support driver development by independent third parties. The huge task of developing driver updates to accommodate the many changes in the Vista operating system and the extensive testing required, including the lengthy Vista certification requirements for audio, makes it very difficult for Creative to develop updates for all past products. Outside developers have been very helpful to Creative and our customers by developing updates for many of our Sound Blaster products, and we do support and appreciate these efforts. This however does not extend to the unauthorized distribution of other companies' property. We hope to work out a mutually agreeable method for working with Daniel_k in supporting his efforts in driver development. Going forward, we are committed to doing a better job of working more closely with third parties to support their development for our products and our customers.

Creative has replaced the original threatening post on the forum with a very defensive one http://forums.creative.com/creativelabs/board/message?board.id=soundblaster&thread.id=116332 Chunks of the original post are still available on the Wired.com article. Here's a smart guy who archive the original post http://www.woyano.com/view/7839/Archive-of-Creative-Labs-Letter-To-Community-Modder .

Even today Creative is lying about the feature set. For example here is the marketing for the X-Fi Xtreme Music from Creative's site: "Experience incredible audio with THX certified quality and unbeatable movie sound with DTS-ES(TM) and Dolby® Digital EX decoding!"http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=209&subcategory=669&product=14066

Now where does it say that this only applies if you are running Windows XP? They are promoting it as a feature of the product, one which may influence your purchasing decision. They are being extremely disingenuous about this marketing / legal decision. I applaud Daniel K for re enabling this feature, it really only makes the product function as advertised.

Creative has jumped the shark as far as sound cards go (somewhere around the SBLive era). It's understandable enough - all a Windows PC needs is a decent DAC, DMA, and a chip with enough power to mix a few dozen sounds. SBLive did this perfectly and what were the marketing people supposed to do when onboard sound chips caught up? Make up crap like the XFi, that's what.

The XFi is a total waste of time, more marketing than anything else. I don't want my music "crystallized", I want it as the artist intended, but nowhere in the huge chunk of crapware provided by Creative is a button to turn off all the processing. When you can't actually play sound *without* distorting it then you've got problems.

Creative speakers are also crap. I can buy a complete stereo system for $50 (speakers, DVD player, radio, etc.) which sounds better than their flagship desktop speakers at twice the price. I actually fell for the hype on those and bought some. They sound awful - boomy, boxy sound and a big hole in the mid range where the vocals are supposed to be. Creative's return policy is a nightmare so I sold them on eBay. I hope the buyer a) only ever listens to Gangsta Rap, or b) is as cloth-eared as the people who gave the T20 all those awards.

(Aside, WTF is going on with the whole "PC speaker" thing? Why must PC speakers be so crap...?)

So my XFi is in a drawer and I've got the digital output of my SBLive connected to an external system and I've vowed to never buy another Creative product.

If my next motherboard has built-in digital output I'll probably ditch the SBLive as well.

I've been a long time Creative user, and they've lost me with this one. I have used Soundblaster cards since the 8-bit Soundblaster Pro. Since then I've owned the Soundblaster 16, AWE 32, and a couple cards in the Audigy series. For over 15 years, I've used Creative's cards almost exclusively (aside from a brief stint with the Pro Audio Spectrum 16).

When Vista SP1 was released last week, I didn't see it in Windows Update because the latest driver available for my Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro was not compatible with the update (see this KB article). This driver hasn't been updated since March 2007, and didn't work all that well to boot. Analog 5.1 surround was sketchy, and the sub channel didn't even work.

Daniel_K came to the rescue in my situation. I needed to uninstall my drivers to upgrade to SP1, then install his driver package get my card working again. The installation went very smoothly, and my card is working better than it ever has on Vista. There are some quirks, but all surround channels are working as they should, and sound quality seems to be improved over the previous drivers (although this could easily be attributed to the placebo effect).

The last thing that Creative should be doing is going after Daniel_K. If anything, they should hire the guy to teach their driver team a thing or two.

Sadly, this is not likely a technical issue, but a marketing one. Creative seems to have made a deliberate decision to leave Audigy users in the cold in an effort to get them to upgrade to their new X-Fi series. Problem is, it doesn't seem to be working. Peruse Creative's support forums and you'll see post after post lamenting their substandard driver support with promises to avoid their cards in the future.

Creative's strategy may work with casual customers with a sub-$50 card, but not for others who have invested over $200 for a high-end Audigy card with a breakout box. Those people are still looking for return on their investment, and will be the first to walk away from Creative when they get snubbed.

Hopefully this is a misunderstanding, and Creative will work out a deal with Daniel_K. If this doesn't happen, they stand to lose some of their most loyal customers. Given their track record so far, the outlook doesn't look good.

daniel_k wrote: Dale removed everything I posted, including the Audigy Support Pack, that does not enable any "new" feature, except those present in XP drivers. I think you went too far. Now Audigy owners are left in the dark, no Equalizer, no CMSS, no DVD Audio, no Hardware MIDI, no Dolby/DTS decoding.

I checked with management, and it was decided we would bring back the Audigy Support Pack thread and allow you to continue in that endeavor. As long as no intellectual property of Creative is distributed, we will have no problem with it. I will get the thread reposted shortly. Dale

The EEE PC proves that your logic is backward. It's not that "Open Source" is unfriendly it's that most hardware vendors are. EEE PC uses free software and has one of the easiest interfaces to use of any portable device. It also boast accelerated graphics which can be used by other free software to do what Apple's iPhone does. There are plenty of YouTube movies of the EEE running Compiz Fusion's nifty cube interface. Free software will make it's way to other devices because the devices make money for the vendor. At that point, it will be the phone company that objects, yet another layer of unfriendly people.

The beauty and real joy of free software is that you can chose the interface you like rather than having it forced on you, so you will get the interface you want along with privacy and security. GPE and Opie are both better interface than Windows Mobil and better interfaces are on the way that will rival iPhone in every way. People love graffiti for text input and it's still available with X stroke. Really, it kicks handwriting recognition's. Complete platforms have been available through OpenZaurus and Familiar for years, despite the lack of cooperation and outright sabotage by most vendors. Apple's multitouch interface has much to be admired but these features should be trivial to reproduce and will be if Apple does not block the user community with bogus software patents. The move to free software by other vendors began with Zaurus and is now picking up speed. These devices will kick ass.

I'm sorry that you have had bad experiences in user forums. If you want to see a really ugly exchange, try this forum on for size. Nothing is less friendly than non free software because it's owners all ultimately think they way Creative does. Apple seems to be moving away from that with this lecture but the iPhone is still customer hostile because it won't let you do what you want.

Hi folks,

Maybe you should load up ol' Phil's email inbox with complaints... or someone else at Creative, to let them know how shitty this is:

http://us.creative.com/corporate/pressroom/contact/

It appears that Creative is realizing what they've gotten themselves into. Originally, they'd removed everything that daniel_k had done, but they're relenting on the Audigy Support Pack, which I gather is a separate item. I wonder if they will relent on the other one, as well.

To be fair, it's not as if Creative tried to cover up anything, they've come out and stated things clearly enough (and they're entitled to delete links to unauthorised drivers, if they so desire) - it's not in the same league as deleting negative feedback:

http://forums.creative.com/creativelabs/board/message?board.id=soundblaster&thread.id=116332

this guy summed it up very nicely:
http://forums.creative.com/creativelabs/board/message?board.id=soundblaster&thread.id=116332&view=by_date_ascending&page=7

"Now the painful truth which half the posts here have missed: the Creative driver team is a group of smart, very talented people who could release a fully funcitoning driver set TOMORROW if company executives would let them. The fact that they have not done so is a strategic marketing decision based on 1. The cost of drafting a license with other IP holders that would cover the card itself for its entire life cycle versus just the card on a particular set of OS's, and 2. The desire to use a new OS as leverage to force customers to upgrade to a new sound card even though the previous card is still fully functional."

it's all about forced obsolescense

I don't usually post but here goes:

Posted by JohnZS 2) I firmly believe that Daniel K has caught the flack because of the Dolby Digital feature As far as I am aware Auzentech paid a lot of money for an exclusive licence with Dolby to have their cards support this.

But but... didn't Creative have this feature on their cards? I could swear they did, at least in Windows XP.

Does it support Creative's X-Fi on the 64-Bit version of Hardy Heron? After all, a 64-bit driver is in beta testing right now.

http://www.creative.com/products/mp3/

This returns a Microsoft VBScript error! ROTFL. I captured it as a jpg. Priceless. /.ed perhaps.

http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=213&subcategory=214&product=12720 I have one of those (the product I assume you were referring to) and am quite happy with it, being able to listen to radio, music, and listen to and record lectures in my classes.

Perhaps you mean a more direct link like this?

http://www.creative.com/products/mp3/zenstone/

Your direct link will take us to any of the creative mp3 players. I'm guessing you got a stone. Anyways, props to Creative - I've owned 2 of their players, and they've all been fairly solid; only problems I've had is this:

1. Zen Xtra 30gb:
        a. Sometimes gets scratchy in the left ear on turn on - have to cycle power to get the DAC to reset (and it's not the well-known loose jack issue...)
        b. Selecting songs (after having the device for 2 years or so) sometimes will pause the unit.
        c. If my cell phone is near it, it will turn itself on when the cell phone rings (found that one out today!!!)
2. Zen Nano Plus 1gb:
        a. Gets crazy around my lawn mower - will sometimes shut off (interference?) Absolutely 0 problems otherwise. Takes 1xAAA.

They're solid players, and very decent DACs. However, my newest player is a Cowon D2 - takes SD/SDHC cards (just got an 8gb SDHC for 40$ AR) and will play properly formatted (320x200) video! Even though it's a tad more bulky than the micro, it is still comfortable for a trip to the gym. Oh, did I mention it gets around 50 hours of playback (music) and will play FLAC files if you're so inclined? Also plays flash games... the list goes on and on.

As long as it plays music and fit in your pocket, cheap people (who happen to outnumber those interested in being hip) will flock to it.

Orly?

How do you account for this product's relative failure?

I bought one a year or two ago. I love it. It's the size of my thumb, runs on a single AAA battery for days, plays mp3s and radio, has a mic so I can record whatever, stores 1 GB of songs (enough for a good jog, which is what I primarily use it for) and I can use it like a flash thumb drive with a simple 8" cable.

It cost me $75 when a 1 GB Nano was costing $250. Oh, and my wife has a Nano. It sucks. The UI for itunes is counter-intuitive and crash-prone on Windows. Once you get the songs onto it, it does a good job of shuffling and managing, but it doesn't play the radio, and you can't record anything at all with it.

For 4x the money. WTF?