Creative GPLs X-Fi Sound Card Driver Code 369
An anonymous reader writes "In a move that's a win for the free software community, Creative Labs has decided to release their binary Linux driver for the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi and X-Fi Titanium sound cards under the GPL license. This is coming after several failed attempts at delivering a working binary driver and years after these sound cards first hit the market."
Fucking awesome (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:At last! (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Win? (Score:5, Interesting)
The summary is misleading. TFA says that the source is available on their web site.
FWIW, you can't use the GPL if you don't make the source available.
Re:At last! (Score:5, Interesting)
While Ubuntu goes a long way to improving the user experience with Linux, even to get it to a 'standard' setup, I needed to use the console no less than 5 times.
Which "standard" issues required the console, if I may be so bold to ask?
Re:Why is this even closed source in the first pla (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Soundcards? (Score:2, Interesting)
The X-Fi still handles S/PDIF output better than my motherboard's onboard sound device. It's more flexible in letting applications output to S/PDIF directly or going through their Dolby Digital Live encoder. It lets me use the analog outputs simultaneously with the S/PDIF output. Little things that add up, it's worth the money I spent on it 2 years ago.
Re:At last! (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:At last! (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:At last! (Score:5, Interesting)
Honestly, being a casual Linux user, sound card support is not the defining factor holding back Linux adoption. While Ubuntu goes a long way to improving the user experience with Linux, even to get it to a 'standard' setup, I needed to use the console no less than 5 times. That's *needed* to, there was no GUI way to do what I was trying to do.
While I personally have no problem doing that, I shudder at the idea of talking someone like my father through it. The day that I can combine Linux stability with ease of use... that will be the year of the Linux desktop. Driver integration and support goes a long way to doing that, and a flushed out menu system will put it over the top.
I have come to disbelieve in the mystical power of the GUI. The GUI does not solve all problems. It can not provide radio buttons and check-marks for every situation. And it does not invoke a state of bliss for helping the wayward neophyte in a state of confusion. I accept that some will see this as heresy.
Granted - I've long been a heretic. The command line is what ultimately turned me from Windows to Unix. But I understand that I am not a "normal user" and so I was willing to accept that GUIs are generally Good Ideas. And I still think they are; I used them in my Linux environment all the time for a lot of tasks. But there are times when it just doesn't work as well as a command line.
This isn't a Linux concept. Various proprietary Unix environments have long straddled the fence between GUI and command line. And that includes today's most celebrated consumer Unix environment: MacOS X. Even Microsoft has given the command line increasing attention. And that's not even covering such dark arts as registry hacking.
But wait! Most users never see a registry hack! Yet Linux must always resort to the command line. Right? Not in my experience.
It's probably due to my particular interests - but I've always found a reason to dig in to the guts of a system. Either I'm doing something unique for my own use, cleaning up after having broken something, or cleaning up after someone else having broken something. And that's always required a registry editor or a command line (and sometimes a command line even when a GUI option was available as I just found it easier). And when I'm not doing something too out-of-the-ordinary, I've found the base Unbuntu install gives me a perfectly suitable environment. The clicky-clicky magic is baked right in. Here. Today.
And when it doesn't? Its often a cruddy driver involved that trips up Ubuntu's autoconfig magic. That "driver integration" goes further than given credit for.
That doesn't mean "Linux" can't use improvement. There's plenty of room for it. Cruddy drivers included.
Re:At last! (Score:3, Interesting)
I really don't understand how your post can get modded up with so complete lack of arguable points.
I tend to use the console a lot, but when I do it's usually because:
1. I'm trying to do something others wouldn't, like say bridge a virtualbox to the network
2. I'm trying to bludgeon half-supported hardware into working, like my laptop's ACPI support
3. In a forum it's 100x easier to type up three lines of console text than make a GUI guide
I have had problems with sounds. I've also not had problems with sound on other hardware.
I have had problems with network. I've also not had problems with network on other hardware.
I have had problems with wireless. I've also not had problems with wireless on other hardware.
I have had problems with controllers. I've also not had problems with controllers on other hardware.
I have had problems with suspend/resume. I've also not had problems with suspend/resume on other hardware.
I have had problems with printers. I've also not had problems with printers on other hardware.
I have had problems with keyboard&mouse. I've also not had problems with keyboard&mouse on other hardware.
I am fairly sure that for any setup you can show me where you have to go to the console to get a "standard" setup, I can show you hardware that would work out of the box. I really, really hate reviews that start off with:
1. Put Linux on random hardware
2. Spend rest of article on fixing hardware-caused issues
3. Conclude Linux isn't ready before they've used it
To me, that's about as useful as a OS X review that starts off with:
1. Install OS X on your PC to make it a Hackintosh
What Linux really, really needs is a logo program like Windows has. just a non-profit to cover its costs should be enough. Nothing complicated, just basicly "does all essential functionality of this hardware function well under Linux" with some tags to indicate official/volunteer support, kernel/external driver, platform support (x86-32, x86-64, PPC, all) and whatever. Make it the same basic logo with a bronze, silver or gold border to indicate levels of support. Cobrand it with a review site where people can search the results for test reports and pull in some ad revenue to help funding. Hopefully you can make it successful enough to get review samples, ask any large etailer if they could co-locate with them and borrow hardware for testing, anything. Perhaps it would even really help, but it would at least help change the attitude that Linux runs anything and you can just throw any hardware at it and expect it to work. It would be nice, but it's not true and won't be true for a while.
Re:Win? (Score:1, Interesting)
Why not? If they wrote the enitre driver in a hex editor the binary is the source. And it would also explain why it sucks so much.
No thanks (Score:1, Interesting)
I just built a new system and was looking to upgrade from my SBLive 5.1 w/ full EMU10K1 (not SE "software enhanced" crap). But after reading all the lousy reviews on the Audigy and X-fi I decided to stick with my SBlive, it sounds great. I've noticed over the years that while some of Creative's hardware is great, the software has been horrible, with the exception of WavStudio which rocks.
Re:At last! (Score:3, Interesting)
.
I doubt I've opened REGEDIT four times this year or twenty times over the life of XP.
I have yet to meet anyone other than the enthusiast or the pro who is genuinely comfortable editing configuration files.
The syntax is arcane - people fear the consequences of a typo. The experience has all the appeal of root canal without sedation.
It isn't enough to say that Linux as "ready as any other consumer OS." That is simply not a compelling reason to migrate.
Win 64 is now mainstream.
The more complex your home and SOHO systems become, the less likely you will be willing - much less able - to spend time "under the hood."
Re:Soundcards? (Score:1, Interesting)
I used to think that way too, but using surround sound more changed my mind. I notice much smother transition between speakers on a good soundcard than I did on my on-board, I didn't realize there was anything wrong until I heard better. On-board sound is definitely adequate, but now that I've heard the difference it's hard for me to settle.
Too little to late (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm not going to bother dusting off what were my state of the art X-Fi soundcards out of the garage. As with the copies of Windows I get bundled with the computers I buy, I won't bother giving them away or selling them as I refuse to inflict the damned things on anybody else. I'm not going to buy Creative again.
Phillip.
Re:At last! (Score:3, Interesting)
This is unrelated to the parent however.
My Mum used to do data entry on punch card terminals (or something like it), she would tell me about how in the day she wrote a program to add more then one zero when she pushed the zero key because she was lazy to press the key multiple times, however even with all this she still can barely use a modern GUI machine and she used to be scared of computers.
It puzzles me to this day that she could do these difficult things before but now she can barely operate a much easier PC.
Re:Soundcards? (Score:3, Interesting)
I'd buy the Xonar D2X. It compares reasonably well with the high-end HiFi cards, but also has EAX, and full Linux support. Naturally, you'll also need decent speakers. I have M-Audio AV40s, and that's about as much desk space as I can spare :) I'd add a 10" subwoofer if I could figure out where to put it.
Re:Why is this even closed source in the first pla (Score:3, Interesting)
It's because all their cards are the same but they turn features on and off in the software allowing them to charge more for some cards then others but still producing the same card.
It's also why Nvidia doesn't release the source to their drivers, it's been put forth by the Nouveau guys (the people making an open source nvidia driver) that the Geforce 7 series is the same as the Geforce 6600 series and that if you want your Geforce to become a more expensive Quadro it's a simple memory rewrite to a certain location on the card.
Re:At last! (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:At last! (Score:3, Interesting)
The comment is made in the context of a discussion started making a claim about what is holding back the adoption of Linux.
Given that Windows is widely adopted (to say the least), it makes no sense to attribute to the low adoption of Linux to a flaw that is shared by, or even worse, on Windows.
If you complain on a distro's forums about a usability issue or submit a bug, you are very unlikely to get the same response.
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
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