Saturday, March 29, 2008

Message to Daniel_K From Creative

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.


Read how everyone responded in the full thread here.

I haven't owned a Creative Sound card in a very very long time. I am so glad after reading this that I don't own one now. I say we need to spread the word about how Creative took a stand against their customers by not letting Daniel distribute a working driver for one of their products. Hell, they should have just did the American thing and bought the rights to it and distributed it themselves. I guess I'll never even look at a Creative product again. You now the ones I mean. Sitting on the reduced price table and collecting dust.

Bye-bye Creative. I think you have just gone way of the Do Do Bird.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Ubuntu 8.04 “Hardy Heron” beta - making life easier for Windows users

Let’s face it, deciding to nuke your existing operating system installation and replace it with a completely different OS isn’t the sort of task that you should approach lightly. One of the barriers to Linux adoption is the fact that many people find the idea of wiping their Windows installation a daunting thing. Sure, the widespread adoption of the Live CD with allows users to boot into a working Linux environment has made taking a Linux distro for a test drive easier, but a Live CD experience falls far short of what you can expect from an installed Linux experience.

Full Article