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A community member
Nov 13, 2017
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I would advise against buying Creative Labs anything. In the past they implemented artificial obsolescence on their cards through software support and drivers and then sued programmers when they provided unofficial drivers for those cards. Up to you really, I know am not coming close to their stuff ever.
Nov 13, 2017
DigitalRonyn
558
Creative Labs
Nov 15, 2017
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MeanEye,
This is completely off base. What do you mean by "built-in" obsolescence? We have several users still using X-Fi Titanium cards in their builds..those cards are over 10 years old.
The Z series is 6 years old and we've supported all the latest OS builds from Windows (alongside our various USB based products as well).
You would be hard pressed to find another computer hardware component maker that supports products as long as we do.
The incident with the developer you are talking about happened over a decade ago and is a lot more complicated than you are letting on right here. This involved 3rd parties and said developer working around licensing agreements that we had entered with a 3rd party which created a massive legal issue.
The simple fact is. We support our products MUCH longer than the vast majority of PC hardware manufacturers and take pride in our products as we continuously add features and develop for the changing needs and wants of the community.
Nov 15, 2017
Shinigami84
86
Nov 16, 2017
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DigitalRonynTo support DigitalRonyn: I am still using X-Fi Music from the original X-Fi series card and it works great. And it has a properly working windows 10 driver! Certainly, there are some problems (most are solved by changing sound mode, sometimes I just have to reinstall sound driver), but I'm pretty happy about the fact it still works. And I never thought about it but yes - Creative does provide driver updates for a 10 year old product (last update was a couple of moths ago, if I'm not mistaken). Thanks, Creative!
Nov 16, 2017
SpecTP
176
Keyboard Club Member
Dec 18, 2017
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I have several computers and 2 of them still use the older X-Fi titanium cards with no issues whatsoever. I don't know what this artificial obsolescent that you are referring to.
Dec 18, 2017
A community member
Dec 20, 2017
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SpecTPhttps://www.wired.com/2008/04/daniel_k-who-fi/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/03/31/creative_labs_developer_legal_action/
Am talking about this (and other instances). Shitty support for operating systems. People come forth to help support it only for Creative Labs to threaten them with lawsuit. This never happened, but it's a matter of principle. I will not support the company which has this toxic level of behavior. Regardless if they followed through with this threat or not.
The fact you have support for these cards today is thanks for all this battle other users had at the potential cost of their own freedom and money. The fact they won shouldn't be the base of your justification of this company's behavior.
Dec 20, 2017
DetroitCW
5
Jan 24, 2018
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DigitalRonynIn response to this comment posted. It's absolutely correct. My daughter's new core i7-8700K has my old X-Fi Titanium Fatality in her machine and it works as well as the day I bought it brand new. I have never used anything except Creative Labs products (Even dating back to the early 1990's) and have never had a single hardware failure that wasn't caused by me. I still have my old Creative Labs Inspire 5300 speakers in my garage. They still sound great after more than a decade of gaming, exposure to extreme hot and cold temperatures (here in Michigan), being bumped, knocked off the cabinets, having wires stepped on. I might even still have my Creative Labs soundblaster 16 somewhere. I would also be willing to bet that if I could find an open ISA slot and plug it in, it would work. When I was deployed, if Creative Labs has made an M4, I would have carried that instead of my issued M4. Hell, I would have worn a flack vest made by Creative Labs if they made one. This company has never been anything than stellar. In a business where doors open to doors closed and mothballed can be measured in WEEKS, Creative has continued to push the envelope and provide superior products for 30, YES THIRTY, years. That is the measure of a company. It is a testament to their focus on listening to their customers, continually innovating, and bringing value to market.
Jan 24, 2018
DigitalRonyn
558
Creative Labs
Feb 16, 2018
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We support operating systems WELL past the adoption date and "sundown" period of them. Just take a look at our current driver set and the current hardware supported. You're not going to find many hardware vendors that maintain the level of support and development that we do. Period.
The fact that we have support for these cards is because we as a company design products to have a long functional life to add value to the customers that buy them.
Feb 16, 2018
A community member
Feb 18, 2018
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DigitalRonynSpeak with actions not words. Even if support is good now, as you say, how can we know there's no another law suit waiting to happen in the future because someone has decided to use your product in a way you don't deem right. No amount of PR will get this stain out.
Feb 18, 2018
SpecTP
176
Keyboard Club Member
Feb 19, 2018
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I have and use CL's sound cards for the last 20yrs without much issue pretty much cements my trust in CL. I build my own pc's every 2-3yrs and one of my checkbox has always been a CL sound card/chipset (for onboard). I will not use Realtek based sound (they're mediocre).
Feb 19, 2018
A community member
Feb 23, 2018
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SpecTPAm not disputing hardware, I am criticizing toxic behavior from the company making it. The fact community won doesn't justify their behavior. It's important to remember they actively tried to prevent people from using their cards on newer system in order to force a new purchase. They failed, but that is only thank to people who actually stood up to them. In the end you are free to use whatever you want, I merely gave my opinion and advice.
Feb 23, 2018
wetmuddragon
43
Jan 13, 2019
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DigitalRonynwhen we gunna get another drop going?
Jan 13, 2019
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