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Wooo, Creative pisses off end-users again . . .

112 pages (1,120 posts) and growing like a wildfire.

What an absolute PR blunder. Creative would have been better off not having Moderator post the words of Phil O'Shaughnessy, VP of Corporate Communications, in the open forums and done it this through more private channels. Oh, they'd still have taken a lot of heat over everything but this is definitely a, "What were you thinking?!?" moment. They should just hire Daniel_K.
 
112 pages (1,120 posts) and growing like a wildfire.

What an absolute PR blunder. Creative would have been better off not having Moderator post the words of Phil O'Shaughnessy, VP of Corporate Communications, in the open forums and done it this through more private channels. Oh, they'd still have taken a lot of heat over everything but this is definitely a, "What were you thinking?!?" moment. They should just hire Daniel_K.


In some cases, I think Creative purposely crippled drivers in order to force customers to buy new soundcards. If that's true, I don't see how hiring Daniel K. is going to resolve crippled drivers for end-users.

But yeah, posting that out in the open was pretty stupid (but better, I think for end-users).
 
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In some cases, I think Creative purposely crippled drivers in order to force customers to buy new soundcards.

It should be noted that Creative isn't the first company to do something like that (not uncommon actually).
 
In some cases, I think Creative purposely crippled drivers in order to force customers to buy new soundcards.

This isn't unheard of and it's very angering to see done but it does happen, of course.

If that's true, I don't see how hiring Daniel K. is going to resolve crippled drivers for end-users.

It isn't that he can fix their product where they cannot. It's about the public perception. By hiring him they could effectively shut him up and pay him off and get him working on something else. He's obviously very good at what he does. They could have hired him all through private channels and then he would say he could no longer release drivers since he works for Creative. Problem solved before this entire firestorm began.

But yeah, posting that out in the open was pretty stupid (but better, I think for end-users).

It's good for the end-users because we get to see just how stupid Creative is and what's going on is more transparent without us hearing of a supposed private communication. No matter how you slice it they made a PR blunder, though.

It should be noted that Creative isn't the first company to do something like that (not uncommon actually).

Of course not. "It's all about the Benjamins". ;)
 
It should be noted that Creative isn't the first company to do something like that (not uncommon actually).

Hardly the first...........I would venture to say it is more common than not.
 
Creative has been bad for a few years, these people should do what I did a couple of years ago, Stop Buying Creative Products, that will get more attention than moaning and groaning about it on that forum.
Creative seemed more upset about the donation request than they did the fellas work. I think if he had not asked for donations he would have been left alone.
 
Creative has been bad for a few years, these people should do what I did a couple of years ago, Stop Buying Creative Products, that will get more attention than moaning and groaning about it on that forum.....(snip)...

Same here. No more creative. I won't buy a card that is a rebagde or uses a creative chip either. Off hand Auzentech is one to steer clear of for using a creative labs chip.

Later, Conrad
 
Same here. No more creative. I won't buy a card that is a rebagde or uses a creative chip either. Off hand Auzentech is one to steer clear of for using a creative labs chip.

Later, Conrad

True but they give you a better card with full functionality from the get-go w/o making you purchase the secondary Alchemy pack for Vista like Creative does.

I've always loved the sound from Creative cards but hated their drivers. My next card may be a C-Media, HT Omega (C-Media processor), or Auzentech.

I'm still interested to see what new advancements the Creative X-Fi 2 will have, though.
 
If Creative was the only choice in the market... That's just savvy business. But when users have choices Creative is forcing users over to their competition. That's just nuts. What a can of worms that is going to be.
 
One thing I forgot to post in this thread truly made me laugh and also dislike Creative even more.

Where they post their beta drivers you can post comments, I believe. Some people ragged on the guys working on the drivers due to issues that hadn't been resolved, etc. One of the developers replied back something along the lines of, "We are not the best programmers in the world. If you want a good product then you should have bought one!" Um, yeah, not a good idea.

This was reported in the forums and a Moderator passed it on to management and the issue was taken care of. The Moderator then went on to say, "I assume the developer had a bad day." Uh, yeah.

That happening at the same time as the Daniel_K incident definitely was a bad public image to display.

Anyway, I'm leaving my options open on cards.
 
Well well well... Creative has [maybe] seen the light. As of the next slated release on May 18th-19th, ALchemy which had previously cost Vista users 10 USD will become free and people who had previously purchased it for their Creative cards will get a refund.

Has Creative learned a lesson from the Daniel_K fiasco or are there deeper and darker reasons?

I have yet to see any specifications for the X-Fi 2 card but I have heard in multiple places that it will have a designed for Windows Vista designation. Will it require ALchemy?

Is Creative now making ALchemy free because it won't be needed soon and by doing this they may move the older X-Fi cards off shelves? Are they doing it because they, surprisingly, really did learn a PR lesson from what happened from Daniel_K? More importantly, after the Daniel_K incident, did they notice a decline in sales?

I can't answer any of the questions I have posed but I do wonder about them. I guess time will tell.

Refer here (http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/05/08/creative_frees_alchemy/) for the initial report I read that mentioned ALchemy becoming free.

NOTE: Requests for refunds on ALchemy are only available until June 30th, 2008. Go here (http://us.creative.com/alchemy/welcome.asp).
 
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Vista x64's incompatibility with my Audigy 2 ZS was one of the things keeping me from upgrading after SP1 was released. The whole Daniel_K fiasco finally motivated me to stop waiting, and just dump the card. I replaced it with one of Asus' Xonar models, and finally upgraded to Vista Ultimate x64 last week. I've been a user of Creative's sound cards since the SB16 in my first PC back in '94, and I had noticed the decline in their customer service. This recent thing, though, just served to prove how little they're truly concerned with their customers these days.
 
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