UPDATED: Creative's less than creative relations with customers

Wow. Well, on my previous computer (that I abandoned due to acquiring SecuROM with Bon Voyage), I had installed a Creative X-FI Extreme Music sound card, which was pretty good but I had a lil trouble getting up to date drivers for it. It still worked well though and I was running it on XP. That computer at the moment is waiting to be set up in another room, but this computer I am using at the moment is brand new, high spec and we took a gamble and bought an Asus Xonar D2 sound card for it (based on reviews only - we had no experience of this sound card until now). I have to say that I'm very impressed.

I haven't been to the Creative site yet to see what happened with Daniel_K but I have been there in the past and read a ton of posts from frustrated users who can't get a decent, up to date set of drivers. I would have thought that Creative would have worked with Daniel_K to reach a solution that satisfies all. Sorta like when a member of the sims community created a fix for the Bon Voyage bug where NPCs are spawned infinitely and end up causing your nhood to explode with overloaded characters. His fix was simple, quick to produce and small in download size. EAxis spent much, much longer creating a patch that was large in size, though until that patch was released they did point users to that unofficial fix.

Companies who have yet to produce what their customer base needs would do well to consider working with those who can resolve a problem/ create 'fixes', or in this case, a set of drivers.

 

Josh! I am shocked! You are identifying a variety of piracy which you support. This is ludicrous. You cannot be selective about what sorts of pirate you spit on. Either you condemn pirates, one and all, or you support them. Obviously you do realise that piracy is not a one size fits all activity, which is automatically 100% immoral. Of course all piracy is criminal, but there are numerous examples where criminal actions become legal by prevailing over tyrany. (Geo Washington et al in open rebellion against the lawful rule of the British Crown, for example). Law is not always just, not is it always moral. A law that prevents an honest citizen from protecting her computer from installing software of unknown provenance (SecuROM for example) is not merely unjust it is utterly immoral. It is not a law I would stop to consider obeying ... even I considered that such a law actually existed ... which I do not.

I do not have SecuROM on my computer. I have all the expansion packs. I have all the boxes, with all the discs and all the manuals (and EA bumph) and all the registration codes and all the store receipts. (I am a disorganised madam, but in my chaos there is an order which only an major explosion could spoil ) And no-one but me has ever -- or will ever -- install the product on any of my Sims 2 discs on any other computer. That is the fullest possible adherence to the spirit and letter of the law on piracy. The method I use for installing and running the game without SecuROM means that I have to buy the game first because I do not know any other way to do it. How I then proceed is a matter which Josh (in his infinite wisdom) refuses to permit me to discuss.

I find that odd given that he now appears to be supporting piracy on the wholesale scale of another company's property.

So come on Josh, what's your rationale on this. I am mightily confused. Creative Labs' cease and desist missive addressed to Daniel_K appears to me to be unequivocal. It clearly states that it notes that Dan is proposing to sell code, and also that Dan is distributing the code for sues on products other than from Creative's product line. That is as clear a case of criminal piracy as I have ever seen.

Moreover people who elect to install Vista on a machine without first checking the machine's compatibility with the new OS have no-one to blame but themselves.

On an entirely different note ... I am always perplexed by people who espouse the virtues of their super-duper-cold-pressed-latinum sound cards. High fidelity sound from a PC is certainly possible but only if the tower is inside a completely sound-proof enclosure. The difference between true hi-fi and the sound from any old on-board sound processor would be indistinguishable to any human ear, except with state of of the art speakers and a totally sound-proof enclosure for the noisy tower case.

 

In the initial post I don't see where Josh states his support for piracy, or Daniel_K's actions.

 

These are mealy-mouthed responses designed to obscure the truth:

First of the Creative Labs C&D missive says:

There is no confusion in my mind as to what that means. They are accusing Daniel_K of re-engineering their IP for use on other products.

Creative is clearly alleging direct piracy and you have not established any level of innocence in this case. On the contrary you seem to respect and applaud Daniel's right to issue and take payment for distributing derivative works of someone elses IP. If you don't consider that piracy please tell me what you do think it is. And also please say why this is important when to support the pirate in this case. It seems to me that your support is awarded on an absolutely arbitrary basis.

Finally a clear accusation of commercial piracy. You even have the gall to defend Daniel_K by informing me (as if I could not comprehend what was written in the original missive) that "at most" Daniel_K was merely soliciting donations. What for? To cover bandwidth costs? What's wrong with people? Can't they find free file hosting? Haven't they heard of P2P clients? Can't they (if they are so generous and charitable) set aside their ego and risk their work being ripped off and simply tell people to please help distribute the stuff.

I absolutely disagree with your views of PMBD because that site is:

• not charging for redistributed material
• not distributing derivative works
• not claiming copyright of the works distributed
• not removing any copyright or other readme material originally present with the work

PMBD is also absolutely clear in that its mission statement is thoroughly set out in the Electronic Art End User License Agreement. I am aware of the fact that site is hosted in such a way as to render it largely immune to shut-down by litigants crying TOS-foul. It must be very annoying to those who see The Sims franchise as a way of money.

Hugz. Josh would not have raised the issue as a news item if he did not have an interest in the matter. His response, posted before yours, is pretty clear in that his support for Daniel_K is tacitly positive. Have you sold your copy of BV yet?

 

Mirelly - have you read any of that Creative thread? Regardless of the rights or wrongs of Daniel_K's actions (and that's not for me or anyone else to judge except for a court of law), Creative at this very moment are possibly subject to a class action lawsuit for deliberately disabling many features of a sound card that once worked on XP but on Vista is restricted. They advertise the card as Vista ready/compatible but fail to inform the customer that it has REDUCED functionality, despite being fully functional on XP. There are clear cut reasons for Creative to be held to account for this duping of customers who paid hard earned cash for their card, believing it to offer all the functionality and features as said on the box. Creative are hoping that customers will go and buy an upgraded card that DOES work fully on Vista, despite the fact that their current sound cards work fully with XP, yet only partially on Vista. For many, Daniel_K has provided a set of working drivers that enable their card to be used with Vista, as was implied from the original box. I would say that Josh posted a description of what is a very hot news item right now, and is informing readers here of the big news story that's been hot news all over the internet this weekend.

It is not worth my time or effort in re-posting my feelings on PMBD. If anyone wants to know, hit the search button. Suffice to say that I disagree with the actions and existance of PMBD.

As for my copy of Bon Voyage, I'm not sure what your point is? For the record, my copy of Bon Voyage is still in its pristine, legally purchased box, not installed on any machine. Nor is the BV game from a pirated source installed on my computer. I have not purchased Free Time and will not be purchasing Sims 3. When SecuROM is replaced with something less intrusive/damaging, then I will purchase and install those games. You once claimed that my feelings on SecuROM are extreme, yet you have resorted to the Arrr version in order to play it just to avoid SecuROM (and even though you own the game it still means the game is being played in a manner that's not intended by EA). That's your choice, and I've made mine.

 

I never suggested there were ulterior motives. I made no accusations. I intended that my comments be seen as observations. If you do not like the way some people read and interpret the items of news that you see fit to post then maybe it is time to retire from journalism.

I was trying to keep my tone light, rather than abrasive. I was trying to point out that it appears your reportage is pretty much in defense of Daniel_K who is, on the evidence you presented, actionably in danger of prosecution for violation of the IP rights of another. That is a long-winded way of saying piracy.

In consideration of that fact, I was inviting you to consider the irony of the current issue in regard to Creative Labs vs Daniel_K (an action which is, as yet, entirely hypothetical) when compared to our disparate views on the charging by some Sims 2 Community websites for custom content.

Hugz. I was joking. I should've known better.

Do you have the CEP installed on your computer? That is an alteration to the game you know, enabling it to be played differently to the way EA intended. EA supplied us with Body Shop and with Homecrafter Plus. I don't know of any official mechanism for providing new object meshes or for recolouring any existing Maxis object meshes. But of course you will regard that example as fatuously flippant and irrelevant. But the CEP is a clear and direct hack affecting the way the game plays. Along with all the the other game hacks, ranging from the obscene to the amazingly indispensible (who hasn't got either Merola's Multipainting or the Insiminator?)

You suggest I am using an "ar" version of the game. I am not. I installed my game fully and completely from the official EA manufactured discs. The only difference between my game installation and the "official" one is no more significant than that involved in installing the CEP. My game is 100% official.

Josh is more than welcome to forward my log details to EA so that they can take legal action against me if they find a case to answer. If he supplies them with my email address I will even respond to them with a street address for the serving of a summons.

I am completely and utterly confident that I am breaking no laws.

Finally .... I am sorry, Josh, if you feel that I am making a mountain out of a molehill. But may I please invite you to reappraise your own position. I respectfully suggest that it might appear to some that your obvious anger could be misconstrued.

Why would I need to do that? I raised an entirely unrelated issue based upon the reportage. The issue is utterly irrelevant and of interest only to geeks. Neither your nor Josh has addressed any of the real issues I raised. Instead you are too busy throwing up decoys

That's very bold of you to say in public. Me? I'd call that libel.

I don't ever remember seeing you set out a rational argument against PMBD. I've read many a rant against the site, but I never yet read one that held water better than a collander. Those who rant about PMBD make lots of noise, but most of it might as well be in Simlish for all the sense it makes.

Let me see. I had TS1 and all the expansions. What did I do with those? Hmmm ... I gave them to my friend's 12 year old daughter. Now if you take most of the anti-PMBD rhetoric literally, even giving stuff away is a crime. Maybe we should put the illegal distribution of EA/Maxis software on my charge sheet as well. Oh my bad! I just had a horrible thought. Suppose C____ copied the TS1 discsand passed them on at her school. That would me an accessory after the fact. Excuse me I am off to put my head in the oven .... :(

 

I don't use hacks or Merola's Multipainting or the Insiminator. My choice.

My apologies. I think I now remember how you play the game without SecuROM, and it's not with a downloaded Arr version. It is a way of playing without SecuROM though, which is breaking EA's terms and playing as it was not meant to be played.

Possibly because any argument that is in conflict with your own opinion is irrational? Whether my argument is rational or not, I'm entitled to my opinion. I'm not alone in that opinion of PMBD, too.

 

Ok...I honestly don't mean to be rude, but let's try to jump back on ship with Creative Labs and keep Sims discussion in its proper forum...


As for what Daniel did, if anyone refers to his act as "Piracy", I don't see how. Isn't pirating the act of obtaining something that costs and getting it free?

If that is the case, the users already paid their dues when they bought the card. I wouldn't call modifying or distributing drivers "pirating" as technically you don't buy those. In fact, I don't even own a Creative sound card, but if I wanted to could search on their website and download random drivers.

I think what he did should be applauded, not shunned. I was pretty PO'd at Creative Labs back when Vista was released and found out their sound card didn't work when it should have...

 

Ack, double post! Sorry.

 

Ouch.

But no. I am not seeking to deny anyone an opinion.

But I don't believe that people are "entitled" to opinions.

Any fool may have an opinion. Too many wars and other bloody disputes occur because someone has an opinion and then discovers to his horror that he no idea what to do with it. Having an opinion is easy, defending it is the hard part.

Just saying that such and such is wrong, is just a simple opinion, it is also a knee-jerk reaction. I can list, and have listed, reasons why I believe that PMBD is neither wrong morally, ethically, or legally and is a force for good to the benefit of the community. I can also give list reasons why any form of charging is both immoral and against the spirit of the work community as well as being against the letter of the EULA. All anyone on the anti side of the argument will tell me is that they disagree without actually citing anything other than vague legal precepts.

I am happy for you that you do not use any third party material in your game. But if you are not using any third party material in your game I find it difficult to understand how you can have any sort of understanding concerning such material. (Please note that any content you might have which does not need the CEP, is strictly controlled by the EULA in that it was made only and solely with the "tools" supplied by EA.)