Results tagged “X-Fi” from Birmingham Mail - Technobabble

SOUND card manufacturer Creative got into a bit of a pickle lately after a computer whiz released new drivers for free.
Creative has hitherto steadfastly refused to release software to make its older products work properly with operating system Windows Vista.
This means that anyone who has an Audigy 2 card, for example, wouldn't be able to use all the features, or in some cases even get it to work at all. Creative have stuck to the line that for full functionality people have to invest in the lastest X-Fi cards, which can set you back a pretty penny.
So, as is the way of the internet, someone released drivers on their own website, which allowed the older cards to work in Vista, and also unlock the features which hitherto had been shut off. The did ask for donations, although this wasn't needed to be able to download the software.
Creative had previously said that it had been unable to produce these drivers - with a huge team of software designers. But one bloke, presumably operating in his bedroom, managed to do what this multinational company could not.
Cynics have said that the tardiness might have something to do with trying to force everyone who upgrades their operating system to buy a new soundcard.
The guy, calling himself Daniel K posted a threat on creative's forums - causing them to go absolutely mad.
As the above link shows, they've been subject to a certain amount of editing, with Creative's line changing from 'get off our intellectual property!" to "However, we did not make it as clear as we would have liked that we do support driver development by independent third parties.
"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."
Just goes to show the power of the internet - a big company like Creative forced to do big-style grovelling.
After all some on the initial comments from Creative were less conciliatory: "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."
The potential backlash prompted something of a reversal. But it goes to show what happens if one company effectively has a monopoly on one kind of component - and use it to force consumers to buy the latest product.
So all the nvidia and intel fanboys out there had better hope for more competition from AMD and ATI - otherwise perhaps the same thing could happen.
The question is whether daniel_k is a modern day Robin Hood or a thief of intellectual property. I know what I believe, but it's surprising how many people have different views.