Why I will never buy another Creative product ever again....

I just replaced my creative sound card with a brand new Asus. So far the Asus works perfectly, sounds great and was super easy to install. The first creative card I bought was deader than roadkill in 3 months. The second Creative card I bought(The one I just replaced) would intermittently stop working either in the middle of doing something like playing a game for no apparent reason or simply not work at all when you boot up the computer. No error messages, no indications of any kind. It would just go silent. I have a feeling that part of the reason this may have been happening is because the shape of the card was very weird and never fit in my case quite right so I had to almost force it to line up with the screw hole so that it wouldn't fall out of the PCI slot. Not the case with my new Asus card. I put it in the slot, everything lined up perfectly and took about 0 seconds to install.
Also, the Creative card was a 5. surround sound card and I bought Creative 5. surround sound speakers to go with it. The logical leap is that the two would work in conjunction with each other. However this was far from the case. I never got all the speakers working at the same time. Ever. Not once. This made 3 creative products in a row that sucked.
One bad product, well maybe somebody had a bad day at the factory. 2 bad products is pushing it. 3 bad products means there is a serious quality control and cheap parts problem in the company. Perhaps this is because I am buying their low end products. Maybe their 200? - 300$ range products are better. But after all this hassle and waste of money I sure as hell am not wanting to find out.
Next on the agenda: replace the crappy Creative speakers with something nicer. Sad really, the Sound Blaster used to be the Industry Standard. Now your cards are junk. After 6 months the metal on the card is literally rusting and corroding away. I have NEVER seen that happen on a computer peripheral before and I have bought a lot video cards, sound cards, etc... Goodbye Creative. That is the last dollar I spend on you.

Which component is broken? If it is only the hard drive it can be replaced, and someone here will be happy to help with that.
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Similar Messages

Never buying another Creative product again

To anyone at Creative who might be reading this,
I recently submitted the following question to Creative email support: "When do you plan on releasing updated drivers for the Audigy 2 line which will support Vista and be compatable with the Service Pack installation? (The lack of up to date drivers currently prohibitsupgrading to SP according to Microsoft) Thank you."
In return, I received the email below. As a long time supporter of your company, I'd like your team at Creative to know that this canned, non-reply pretty much guarantees that I will never buy another Creative product again. The notion that a simple email query can't be answered if it's more than a year after the purchase date is laughable. Especially when it's related to your company failing to keep up to date with the roll-out of one of the most common operating systems in the world.
Thank you for so clearly indicating the little regard with which you hold your customers.
----- Original Message ----
From: Creative Americas Customer Support < [email protected]>
Dear _,
Thank you for contacting Creative Labs regarding your Audigy 2 Platinum.
From the detailed description provided; I understand you wanted to know
when will updated drivers for Audigy 2 be release so that it can support
Windows Vista. I would like to apologize that you have to go through
this issue on your sound card.
However, based upon your product's date of purchase 27/4/2003, it
appears you're beyond the complementary telephone (60 days) and e-mail
( year) support period.
If you are covered under a Creative Care Protection Plan (CCPP) and are
within the warranty and service coverage of your plan, please reply back
with the e-mail address the plan was purchased under, as well as your
CCPP order and reference number.
If you are beyond your complimentary support period and not covered by a
Creative Care Protection Plan, there are helpful support options that
are still available to you.
. You may take advantage of our free web support services by visiting
www.**bleep**.com to access the following resources:
Knowledge Base of expert solutions, frequently asked questions, and
reference material
Download drivers and application updates
Auto update will automatically detect and download the latest updates
for you (not available for all products)
Product documentation
Tutorials
User-to-user customer discussion forums
2. You can purchase a Creative Tutor session to receive expert help and
advice from a Technical Advisor by phone. Each Creative Tutor session
is only $2.99 and covers one support issue for up to 30 minutes. To
start, simply call -405-707-8777 Monday through Friday from 9AM until
6PM Central Time. Please have your credit card ready when calling.
3. If you believe you product is in need of repair and wish to simply
pay for an out of warranty repair, you're welcome to reply to this
message to request an out of warranty repair. Simply confirm your
product's name, model number, serial number and an advisor will provide
you with a repair quote and instructions on how to safely ship your
product to Creative.
4. You may utilize 3rd party on-line forums and discussion groups that
can be found using on-line search engines.
However, you may want to download and install the updated driver and
software applications from our download site which is more compatible
with your Windows Vista.
DOWNLOAD LINK: http://us.creative.com//support/downloads/
-Select ?Product Type? + ?Product Categories? + ?Product Name?, once you
have select your product option, select the ?file type? + ? Language? +
? Operating system?.
If you would like to search for additional solutions and for future
references, you can search through our Knowledge Base website, http://us.creative.com/support/kb.
Again, I apologize for the complications that you have experienced and I
understand where you're coming from. Meanwhile, you might want to take
advantage of our products and accessories.
Bring out the vibrancy in your entire music playback with the Creative
Aurvana Live! Headphones. Lightweight and ergonomically designed, the
Aurvana Live! is perfect for listening to music on the move or for your
home entertainment use. Constructed with revolutionary driver technology
and in-depth acoustic tuning, it deli'vers a natural and faithful audio
presentation akin to a li've performance. Sharp transients and dynamic
passages are handled with effortless finesse. For realistic music
listening, look to the Aurvana Li've! today.
For more information regarding our accessories please refer to this
link:
http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp
Thank you for choosing Creative Labs.
Sincerely,
**removed**
Technical Support
Creative Labs Americas
Original Message Follows:
==================================
Subject: CLI - Technical Support Request - (Audigy 2 Platinum)
Self Description: Advanced PC User
Region: Americas
Country: United States of America
Support Inquiry: ID(5) I need help with a third-party software
application
Product: Audigy 2 Platinum
CCPP Certificate Number:
Serial Number:
Purchase Date: 27/4/2003
Operating System: Windows Vista 32-bit
Creative Model Number:
Computer Brand/Model:
Processor/CPU:
Memory:
BIOS Type/Revision:
System Board/Chipset:
Detailed Problem Description:
When do you plan on releasing updated drivers for the Audigy 2 line
which will support Vista and be compatable with the Service Pack
installation? (The lack of up to date drivers currently prohibits
upgrading to SP according to Microsoft) Thank you.
==================================
*Please remove the names of our email advisors per the forum rules. Dale-CL
Message Edited by Dale-CL on 03-26-2008 2:0 PM To anyone at Creative who might be reading this,
I recently submitted the following question to Creative email support: "When do you plan on releasing updated drivers for the Audigy 2 line which will support Vista and be compatable with the Service Pack installation? (The lack of up to date drivers currently prohibitsupgrading to SP according to Microsoft) Thank you."
In return, I received the email below. As a long time supporter of your company, I'd like your team at Creative to know that this canned, non-reply pretty much guarantees that I will never buy another Creative product again. The notion that a simple email query can't be answered if it's more than a year after the purchase date is laughable. Especially when it's related to your company failing to keep up to date with the roll-out of one of the most common operating systems in the world.
Thank you for so clearly indicating the little regard with which you hold your customers.
----- Original Message ----
From: Creative Americas Customer Support < [email protected]>
Dear _,
Thank you for contacting Creative Labs regarding your Audigy 2 Platinum.
From the detailed description provided; I understand you wanted to know
when will updated drivers for Audigy 2 be release so that it can support
Windows Vista. I would like to apologize that you have to go through
this issue on your sound card.
However, based upon your product's date of purchase 27/4/2003, it
appears you're beyond the complementary telephone (60 days) and e-mail
( year) support period.
If you are covered under a Creative Care Protection Plan (CCPP) and are
within the warranty and service coverage of your plan, please reply back
with the e-mail address the plan was purchased under, as well as your
CCPP order and reference number.
If you are beyond your complimentary support period and not covered by a
Creative Care Protection Plan, there are helpful support options that
are still available to you.
1. You may take advantage of our free web support services by visiting
www.**bleep**.com to access the following resources:
Knowledge Base of expert solutions, frequently asked questions, and
reference material
Download drivers and application updates
Auto update will automatically detect and download the latest updates
for you (not available for all products)
Product documentation
Tutorials
User-to-user customer discussion forums
2. You can purchase a Creative Tutor session to receive expert help and
advice from a Technical Advisor by phone. Each Creative Tutor session
is only $2.99 and covers one support issue for up to 30 minutes. To
start, simply call -405-707-8777 Monday through Friday from 9AM until
6PM Central Time. Please have your credit card ready when calling.
3. If you believe you product is in need of repair and wish to simply
pay for an out of warranty repair, you're welcome to reply to this
message to request an out of warranty repair. Simply confirm your
product's name, model number, serial number and an advisor will provide
you with a repair quote and instructions on how to safely ship your
product to Creative.
4. You may utilize 3rd party on-line forums and discussion groups that
can be found using on-line search engines.
However, you may want to download and install the updated driver and
software applications from our download site which is more compatible
with your Windows Vista.
DOWNLOAD LINK: http://us.creative.com//support/downloads/
-Select Product Type + Product Categories + Product Name, once you
have select your product option, select the file type + Language +
Operating system?.
If you would like to search for additional solutions and for future
references, you can search through our Knowledge Base website, http://us.creative.com/support/kb.
Again, I apologize for the complications that you have experienced and I
understand where you're coming from. Meanwhile, you might want to take
advantage of our products and accessories.
Bring out the vibrancy in your entire music playback with the Creative
Aurvana Live! Headphones. Lightweight and ergonomically designed, the
Aurvana Live! is perfect for listening to music on the move or for your
home entertainment use. Constructed with revolutionary driver technology
and in-depth acoustic tuning, it deli'vers a natural and faithful audio
presentation akin to a li've performance. Sharp transients and dynamic
passages are handled with effortless finesse. For realistic music
listening, look to the Aurvana Live! today.
For more information regarding our accessories please refer to this
link:
http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?
Thank you for choosing Creative Labs.
Sincerely,
**removed**
Technical Support
Creative Labs Americas
Original Message Follows:
==================================
Subject: CLI - Technical Support Request - (Audigy 2 Platinum)
Self Description: Advanced PC User
Region: Americas
Country: United States of America
Support Inquiry: ID(5) I need help with a third-party software
application
Product: Audigy 2 Platinum
CCPP Certificate Number:
Serial Number:
Purchase Date: 27/4/2003
Operating System: Windows Vista 32-bit
Creative Model Number:
Computer Brand/Model:
Processor/CPU:
Memory:
BIOS Type/Revision:
System Board/Chipset:
Detailed Problem Description:
When do you plan on releasing updated drivers for the Audigy 2 line
which will support Vista and be compatable with the Service Pack
installation? (The lack of up to date drivers currently prohibits
upgrading to SP according to Microsoft) Thank you.
==================================
*Please remove the names of our email advisors per the forum rules. Dale-CL
Message Edited by Dale-CL on 03-26-2008 12:10 PM

Boz968 wrote:
Looks to me like they gave you very good advice and places to look to solve your problem yourself.
Please suggest to us how you would resolve this problem with any of those resources? This is a known compatibility problem between Audigy series soundcards (amongst others) which can only be resolved with updated drivers which have not been written yet. It affects both recently purchased cards and older ones. In the future, I would suggest becoming more familiar with the problem before jumping in with comments (also reading the original post helps).

I will never buy another HP Product Again!

I tried to get some help with an issue that I have been having and could not decide where the issue fit best so I posted it over multiple areas ... NOT to SPAM, but because it did not fit into anyone area ... here it is listed below;
I have a HP Pavilion a6152n PC purchased in Sept. 07, running 32 bit Vista
For a while my web cam worked fine, but now, while I can see the web cam, those on-line using such services any Skype and Yahoo. can NOT.
The audio continues work fine and CAN be heard by the other party ... the problem is with the video.
I even bought a new web cam thinking maybe it was a problem with the cam, but the same problem repeats on THREE different web cams, one microsoft and two Logitech, so if must be some kind of software(hardware) problem with the computer.
I am hoping it is an easy fix ... I just have no idea what it is, Please help!
Thanks so much and have a good day!
Not one area ... could be hardware, could be software, could be 'other' ... I wanted to get as many eyes as I could so maybe someone would have a solution.
No solutions from HP ... just my posts locked.
That is NOT the kind of customer support that I deserve and I will be taking my future business to other providers.
My suggestion is that HP have both more help and more respect for its clientele.
Thank you for reading this!
Message Edited by Clyatt on 06-01-2009 05:16 PM

I have had problems with HP from day one and HP would not-could not solve my problem so I lived with it for several years. After intensive searching for help from HP, I took my HP products off line and bought a Brother AIO and booted it up and guess what....IT WORKED PERFECTLY the first time. It finally scanned to Word and I could edit my files. NEVER could do that wtih the HP G85 AIO which was very expensive and the HP 2400 PhotoJet which was expensive at the time. Not only would HP refuse to help me solve the problems with my AIOs, HP wanted money UPFRONT just to ascertain what might be the problem. I have had my home office setup for consulting but was limited as to what I could do with the HP products but now I am certain that with the Brother, I can do all I need to make clients happy and bring in an income. I, too, will never buy another HP product again. And by the way, Wendy, get the hell off the forum....you are an HP employer and are as useless as your products. You should be solving our problems with your products rather than talking gibberish.

Why I will never buy another HP Laptop

So I guess I'll try Dell next, but unfortunately I still have to struggle with this hunk-o-junk I bought from HP for at least another year.
Model: HP Pavilion dv8 1103TX
I've had so many issues, especially after 2 years, it's like HP designed the thing to start breaking after 2-years of 8hours/day usage.
Problems include:
Quick-Launch Keys that have a mind of their own (rendering my wifi & bluetooth useless, since the keys switch them on/off at random) Took the laptop to the HP repair centre for this problem on the last day of it's warranty, and they ended up replacing the wrong part. (The speaker cover, instead of the Quick-Launch Keys) After that my laptop was out of warranty and they refused to take it again without me paying for the repairs. The quick-launch button issue continues.
Charger issues - this is the one problem I've ALWAYS had with all my HP's, their chargers die after 2 years, like clockwork, like it was designed to do so, 4 co-workers/family got HP's more or less the same time as I did and we all started shopping for replacements chargers at the same time.
Endless other related power issues - The laptop would be charging but not know it, thinking it's running on battery, forcing me to change all my power schemes so that the system performance isn't affected. And when the laptop is charging, don't dare disconnect it, because it will not resume charging easily. (Note that this still happens at random even after replacing the battery and the charger)
Finger-print reader - Must be disabled else SSMS (SQL Server Management Studio) is unstable as hell and crashes for every second query you run. Too random? That's what I thought but Google it to check me up. Once I disabled the finger-print reader, SSMS worked like a charm.
Don't ever, EVER, buy HP Laptops!

I, too, will never buy another HP. I have had 3 laptops in 7 years. My first was a dell and it worked well, but the harddrives crashed. I switched to HP mainly due to high ratings from Consumer Reports. It worked well for two years then I began to have problems on boot up. I decided to replace it before it crashed or further deteriorated. That's when I purchased my G-70 in fall of 2008. I have been pleased with the product, but am dismayed to know HP had knowledge of issues with its hinges. I, unfortunately, didn't know this until I began to experience the problem with my hinges and did a bit of research. I was even more dismayed to know the problem with my first HP was due bad motherboards and heat issues. I was never informed of the motherboard problem and subsequently missed the deadline to have my computer repaired. These are the reasons I am no longer a loyal HP customer

Why I won't buy another Creative product

Why I won?t buy another Creative product![size="3" face="Times New Roman">?[size="3" face="Times New Roman">It all started when I bought my first 7. speakers, Gigaworks S750. Since I li've in Iraq... not all creative products are available, so when I was on a trip to a near by country I found the Gigaworks and returned happy home hoping I?ll have great experience?well it was until they broke only 3 months later! Nice job creative for a 500 dollars set of speakers ?well done!
[size="3" face="Times New Roman">?[size="3" face="Times New Roman">And then there is the Audigy 2 ZS, I ?m a power user and I really find it hard to get the fixes and driver updates, what the hell creative? You guys can't find a way that make it user?friendly? What the hell is wrong with your support? I really don?t know what fix or driver to get when I download them manually, and don?t get me started with the automatic update it sucks big time.
[size="3" face="Times New Roman">?[size="3" face="Times New Roman">Then vista comes and nothing works on vista, no THX setup, nothing except for a crappie driver console!
[size="3" face="Times New Roman">?[size="3" face="Times New Roman">And now they do that to Daniel_k?!?! well that?s it ! no more creative for me, the ?next time I?ll stay with my mother board sound, since it won?t make that difference on Vista.
[size="3" face="Times New Roman">?[size="3" face="Times New Roman">I hope you are happy Creative!
?
[size="3" face="Times New Roman">?P.S: Many people come consult me about getting upgrades for their computers and guess what I?m going to tell them about whether they should buy a creative soundcard?

I agree completely. The corporate monkey who started this war on consumers should be tarred and publicly humilated. I won't stand for this. I've been a long time creative labs consumer, but no more. Creative Labs is now at the same gutter as MPAA/RIAA as far as I'm concerned.

I trigue 3300 one channel out. i will never purchase another creative product

like so many other customers, i have channel very low level and distorted. with gobs of glue splattered all over the circuit board, its impossible to troubleshoot. all we have asked of you is to give us an idea of the possible faulty component. with absolutely no input from the tech support, leaves me no options but to throw these speakers in a land fill. not only will i never buy another ceati've product, i will tell every friend, family member and customer of mine to do the same.
customer service is a key to customer satisfaction and loyalty. when you have a good experience with a product or company, you most likely won't tell anyone. but when you have bad experiences, you tell as many people who will listen. for years to come, i wll shout about the poor customer service and inferiority of your products.

Hi jedirabbi, thank you for your message. I apologize for the bad experience. Let me send you a private message regarding this notice. Regards,

I will never buy a Creative product ag

I have my Zen Sleek since October, and I have been quite pleased with it until a week ago. My new computer will NOT detect the Sleek. I have installed and reinstalled drivers over and over again and I can not get it to work. The player gets detected on 2/4 computers in my house. It just won't on 2 of them. I don't understand this...
I have browsed this board for solutions, and I only find people with the same problem. It is absolutely unacceptable that Creative refuses to adress this situation. I will also encourage people I know to not buy Creative products. I am completely dumbfounded by the lack of support on this matter, that affects more people than you might think.

My rage has been appeased. Forgive me for my outburst.
After a long search in the forums, I found a fix for the problem. It worked just fine... I hope everyone that has this problem sees this post, or you guys could add the information to the first post on the Sticky.
DM wrote:
http://www.myfilehut.com/userfiles/54685/fixup.zip
Download this file. Extract it to whatever folder you like. Run the fixup.cmd program. A DOS window will open up and start displaying info on what its doing. When its finished it will instruct you to remove the player from Device Manager and reconnect it. Do this and see if it works.

WILL NEVER BUY AN HP PRODUCT AGAIN!

I am incredibly unsatisfied with HP. I bought my laptop (a dv7 4077cl) from Sam's Club a little over a year ago (in October of 2010), and over Thanksgiving the heat sink and fan assembly began to go bad. I am in graduate school right now, so I let it go until finals week was over, and then took it home to see about getting it fixed. After having tried Staples, Best Buy, and various computer stores to find a replacement heat sink/fan assembly, but couldn't. So, I decided to try and call HP directly in order to get a replacement part, therefore I could fix it myself and save myself the $250+ they would charge me to fix it. First, the computer service technician told me they would need to replace the entire motherboard, which is blatantly untrue. Then, we called back and were told that those parts were not available for customers to purchase (however, hard drives, moniters, etc. were). I asked if I were to take it to a computer store, if they could get the part, and the representitive at HP stated that no, the only way to fix my laptop was to go through them directly. It is absolutely RIDICULOUS that a) my laptop has hardware that goes bad after just over a year of use and that b) the only place we can get the part is through HP, for a crazy amount of money. My family has bought roughly 6 or 7 computers from HP, as well as family friends, and after this experience I will never EVER buy another HP laptop again. I will also tell every single person I know about this experience and urge them not to purchase an HP laptop. This experience has been way more of a headache than it needs to be, and I can not believe the amount of trouble this has caused over a small part that needs to be replaced. If you are considering buying a laptop, I urge you to reconsider and purchase a Dell or a Mac, because HP clearly does not stand behind their products.

Dont feel bad.
I tried contacting HP service today about an issue I'm having with a Lap Top I purchased for my son last Christmas. The display has taken a dump and now the Hard Drive has crashed. I called a month ago. First I get that the Lap Top was out of warranty... I pourchased it on 11/26/2010 and they toldf me the warranty had expired ion July. I was told I needed to send in proof of purchase to verify the warranty period, but never recieved the email they claim to have sent. Now its really out of warranty and they wont help! I asked to speak to a supervisor and was told NO! can you beleive it! NO! if I wanted to have my lap top repaired I would have to pay for it! HP SUCKS! I own 5 HP computers 2 HP Printers, and I will Never buy another HP product again! Way to Go HP Customer service at its best!
Happy Holidays!

Zen Vision M - I am never buying another Creative MP3 Product aga

For years I bought their MP3 players because it's obvivous it has the better sound quality, but the **bleep**ty support, endless firmware issues and crappy software just makes me want to take a sledge hammer to the **bleep**. Its obvivous that both the Apple IPOD and the ZEN Vision M has issues. But it does not appear that either company seems interested in fixing the problems. IPOD - Crappy Sound.ZEN Vision M - Crappy software and crappy firmware.
Maybe Creative should get together with Apple and make a great sounding visually pleasing IPOD. Until then my MP3 days are over, but it was great while it lasted.Message Edited by Dane on 04-07-20070:30 PM
Message Edited by Dane on 04-07-20070:3 PM
Message Edited by Dane on 04-07-20070:3 PM

So I gotta say... I have to agree a bit! I had so many problems with my Zen vision:m and felt that the ipod was just a stupid option. I then desided to try and li've with it and make the best of having such a adapting machine... I now have made my own ecosystem with Urge and windows media player! It works great and I have just been up on the Customer service intill they gave me good service. I am now doing great and wish that creative would make more updates... but I will li've!

I will never complain about Creative products again...long story

Two days ago I was a winy little #$%&* complaining about what my Zen Touch didn't do. It didn't support Audible, it didn't support Janus, has few accessories, blah, blah, blah. Then, it didn't do anything...it broke. So, in my infinite wisdom, I decided that I would get a replacement. I had always looked for something a little smaller, a little sleeker, and not an iPod (that's another story altogether). I didn't go out and just grab what looked good on the shelf...no, I had my priorities. Battery life is important, almost more so than features. I looked up several candidates
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr>
Zen Touch - 40Gb - 24 hour battery
Sony Network Walkman HD05 - 20Gb - 40 hour battery
iRi'ver (insert model here) - 20Gb - 6 hour battery (or was it 2)
Apple iPod Photo - 60Gb - 2 hour battery
Zen XTra - 60Gb - I don't remember the battery life[/quote]
At the time, I didn't even consider a 5Gb player because I was distraught. I had just lost something that, until that morning, was just another thing that I took everywhere with me. I didn't realize the gaping hole that its loss would create.
After reading some reviews, I settled on the Sony player. It's small, it's slick, ZDNet gave it a sweet review with the only real bad points being the software (Sonic Stage) and the only available music service (Sony Connect) and it's got a 40 hour battery. I got this beautiful piece of audio hardware back to the office and quickly downloaded some tunes from EMusic (excellent bit rates...better than ANY download service period...if you like independent labels), loaded SonicStage and dumped the songs on the player. At first I thought, "SonicStage is a little slow...", but I had no idea what I was in for. I played the device and noticed...the sound...a little tinny. So what! I'll mess with the EQ later! I have a 40 hour removable battery! I also noted, that you can't build playlists on the fly. They had a "Bookmark" feature, but the only way to add songs to a bookmark was if the song was currently playing. I missed "Add to selected" but hell, it's got a 40 hour battery. I got the beast home, installed SonicStage on my PC and pointed it to my music library of some 5000 songs. SonicStage didn't like the fact that my library was on a network dri've (I have a Buffalo LinkStation that has nothing but media on it.) It began the import and after 2 hours of lots of blinking lights on my router asked me if I wanted to copy the files to my local hard disk. Of course not! That's what I bought the link station for! Creative doesn't have a problem with this! Why was Sony concerned? I told it "No!" After about another hour of activity, It showed me that it had begun importing the files. Four hours later it was done. Seven hours total to import my files? No problem, I have a 40 hour BATTERY! I then, sleepily as it was 2:30 in the morning, began to copy music to the device. Since I had also done this at work, the software said that I couldn't put any files from another computer onto the device. I had to delete the songs on the device and register my home computer. Fine, the songs are still in my library. I deleted the files, the hourglass appeared...and stayed... Thirty minutes later...the hourglass...what the #$%&! Now, I was told ahead of time that I would absolutely hate the software by a friend that owns a newer MiniDisc player. I have a faster computer than him so I thought it would be different: it wasn't. I have a great deal of tolerance for computers because I am a computer programmer and technician. I could not deal with this...this THING had to go.
Today, I returned the Sony THING and gave myself till lunch to think about buying a new player. I came to the following conclusion. My Zen Touch will get fixed. I will use my Zen Touch until it completely dies. I like Creative's Zen Explorer...it's small, fast, and integrated into Windows. I like being able to queue up exactly what I want to play on the fly. Sony's didn't offer any of that. The Zen Touch may be a little fat, a little old (technology ages quickly), but the Touch really does nearly everything I wanted and does it well. Sony didn't even come close...it was just a pretty face, a slim design, and a bad personality. From what I can tell, Sony designed it's software for smaller players and smaller libraries. To me it doesn't seem to keep in mind, that I may not want to play everything by one artist or genre. It doesn't allow me to play an album, queue up another, and another...it allows that functionality on the song level through it's bookmarks. From what I hear the iPod is similar, but since I have no experience with the iPod, I cannot comment (If it is I'll add that to my reasons not to buy an iPod).
At lunch, I returned to Fry's (my 4th time in 2 days) and went looking. I picked up a 5Gb iRi'ver, then a Rio Carbon. I stopped... I was doing it again. Creative players had been good to me... I didn't need another big player...just a small player I could use as a backup...the Touch would be fixed! I then picked up a Zen Micro and didn't turn back. Perhaps my comfort level with the Creative devices is just way to high. Perhaps the Sony software just shocked me. Whatever it was; unless I can see how a player works and how the software reacts, I think Creative will always get first consideration when choosing a new device.

SSR wrote:
iTunes only works on two platforms, so it's hardly some paragon of development.
It's still one supported platform more than any other software, including Creative's Mediasource. This is a paragon of development compared to other MP3 players' software.
SSR wrote:
The only reason they got it working on Windows was to sell more iPods and tunes from their store.
You say that like it's a bad thing. One wonders why other MP3 player manufacturers haven't done the same thing in return to boost their own sales. There is no MP3 player to compete with the iPod on the Mac because it seems no other manufacturer is able to write compatible software or firmware. Gi'ven that the iPod started on the Mac and really started the MP3 player appeal for the masses, I find it staggering that no other MP3 player software developer even considered writing support for the Macintosh into their own software development plans.
SSR wrote:
I find the UI for iTunes *awful* so it's not as simple as you make out. Also the UI is hardly Windows compliant.
You may not like the UI for iTunes, but hundreds of thousands of other people love it! I (personally) prefer WMP0, but iTunes is the only other MP3 player management software that even comes close to that. Mediasource is laughable next to iTunes. The iTunes UI may not be windows compliant, but that's hardly a failing. When I referred to compliancy, I mainly meant the firmware (such as UMS support) did not conform to any known standards which meant that the software developers for the management software faced the burden of making it compatible with other (non-Windows) platforms.

I will NEVER buy a Thinkpad again :-(

So I opened my briefcase this morning and took out my Thinkpad T61p.
It was warm, which worried me - it has always run very hot and it doesn't seem to shut down all the time when I close it. (note: with Win 7 my other one does).
So I opened it up and the screen was black on half of it, garbled on the other half and had a "crack" down the middle of it.
I called tech support. What they told me made me decide I will never buy another Thinkpad again (15 year devoted customer here who loved Thinkpads).
They said:
- You must have dropped it. It is NOT covered under warranty. i.e. You are lying.
- You can send it to us to fix it. You must give us your credit card number and pre-approve a $950 charge to replace the screen.
I told them that for less than $750 I could buy an entire new Thinkpad with an equivalent monitor and that this was ridiculous. They escalated it and supposedly Lenovo will call me (there is a prior deal between IBM and Lenovo setting prices for this) within two days.
I checked prices locally for replacing monitors - it is $179 for parts and labor.
Lenovo has ruined the Thinkpad brand.
I doubt they will call me within 2 days. Prior to this any time I had a hardware problem they were great - that is why I have purchased 8 Thinkpads in the last 15 years.
This is a lesson in how to lose a long-term customer who was completely loyal.
Note from Moderator: A comment which violated the forum rules was removed.

Did you put a switched on laptop in your carry case? Also if you have a cracked LCD, there is little chance that it will be covered under warranty unless you have accidental protection warranty, no laptop company covers LCD cracks in their laptop on standard warranty term, whether it is IBM or Lenovo.
With the full magnesium rollcage, it would take a large force to actually crack the LCD. It is a standard policy to charge customer a service fee of around 500 to 750 dollars when the company suspects there is user damage to their laptop. It is a policy from IBM days.
Regards,
Jin Li
May this year, be the year of 'DO'!
I am a volunteer, and not a paid staff of Lenovo or Microsoft

Until Sony repairs my effects unit as promised then reneged on I won't ever buy another sony product

Sony manufactured a guitar effects unit. My studio bought two at NAMM as professional recording engineers. Right out of the gate, they went bad. Sony promised to repair them and they did. The problem was not resolved. The reason is it was defectively designed with a memory battery soldered in instead of with a replaceable battery receptacle. I sent it back AGAIN and they promised to repair it. Well the big Sony mother ship sent it back said sorry out of warranty, unless you PAY the price essentially of a new unit since it was discontinued you are out of luck!! They just sent it back and it never worked. Essentially it was a defective design with Sonys poor attempt to get into commercial recording. It was a good unit when it worked! Until Sony repairs the unit, I will never buy any Sony product again nor have I, nor will anyone in our circle studio etc. nothing no computers nothing nor have we. It's their loss! We have one old computer left that is sony and after that dues we will have purged everything sony. Again their loss because we had an entire office full of song equipment, headsets, computers, recording gear, all purged!! You don't stand by your products, we won't invest in them!

annoyed2,
Why not send me a private message with your contact information (name, address, phone#) and the system model type and serial number from the bottom (i.e. 7763CTO, L3-A1234) and also the FRU# on your battery.
I'll look into this and see what can be done. Sorry to hear that your recent experiences have soured you a bit on ThinkPad.
I hope we can restore your confidence.
Best regards,
Mark
ThinkPads: S30, T43, X60t, X1, W700ds, IdeaPad Y710, IdeaCentre: A300, IdeaPad K1
Mark Hopkins
Program Manager, Lenovo Social Media (Services)
twitter @lenovoforums
English Community Deutsche Community Comunidad en Español Русскоязычное Сообщество

Why i will never again buy a creative prod

Hi,
scince there is no company email-adress or subforum for criticism i post my issue here to see what other users think about that:
Below is an email i wrote to the company:
Dear Ladies and Gentleman,
please let me explain to you why i will never again by a product of your company.
It is not because of the product itself, it is the way you distribute your product.
I recently bought a Zen Creative mp3-player, which really is a fine product.
When i bought it online, the product description said "software only available for windows"
which is ok with me, i dont use windows anymore, and i am used to reading this sentence.
Ususally this only means "of course you can access the product with whatever operating system you prefer,
but the software we ship out with the product works only on xyz" (xyz meaning windows in 99%)
Then i tried to copy my music:
It is not possible to read or write to the player using Linux as operating system.
Please dont tell me that this would be difficult to write your software for linux,
i am a software engineer developing for windows and linux and i know that this is trivial.
2.
Even worse, you designed the player in a way, that it is impossible to copy data to it WITHOUT
your software. And no, this didnt show up in the product description. Scince your player is more or
less just a usb-stick, there is - from a technical point of view - not a single reason why anybody would
need a special software just to simply copy data to an usb-device.
3.
Now the worst of all: I still had a windows 2000 system on one of my computers, so i tried to install
your software on the system. which of course failed scince your software can only be installed on windows xp.
Again, for no technical reasons.
This leads us to 2 questions:
a) How much money did Microsoft pay you, that even people owning a legimitate windows 2000 licence are forced to buy windows xp?
b) Let me guess: As soon as windows Vista is released your software only runs on windows vista, right?
Please be also informed that i also sent letters describing the case to several german popular computer magazines, and hopefully
they will publish my concern as an example of how impertinent a company can get.
Regards,
Timo RoessnerMessage Edited by tr on 2-26-200604:07 AM

Tr,
I am not a Creative employee but I do know a bit about Plays for Sure so I can reply a bit about that.
). Creative did not choose to limit the players to Windows XP. Creative chose to make the ZEN line Plays for Sure devices. Microsoft was the company that chose to limit Plays for Sure to Windows XP (and at one point they were saying there would be a 2000 and ME/98SE update but it never came out). By choosing Plays for Sure I am sure Creative was aware that they would be restricting to a Windows platform but Plays for Sure was the only standard being offered that has built in database and metadata support which the ZEN line all depended on. UMS (Uni'versal Mass Storage) does not have the features that allow for the internal system database to be updated during transfer (rather you have to update it following the transfer which is usually done at boot up which leads to very long boot times following uploads). Creative had been using a proprietary system (called the PDE driver) however that also was being critisised for not being uni'versal enough and requiring the disk to install the drivers (the ZEN Micro fixed that by adding a UMS data dri've feature which many used to store the CD on). The PDE system also did not support subscription tracks like PFS does.
2) The system is in fact not at all like a USB stick. There is a database in the background that stores all of the metadata for the tracks to allow for the sorting and subscription/DRM support. There is a USB storage mode where you can make a portion of the dri've act like a data stick using UMS but it can't support music transfer due to the limitations of the UMS system. On Windows XP machines (with SP ) the player is plug and play with no need for special software (it works with Windows Media Player). It is only when you move outside of the specified system requirements that you lose the plug and play ability.
3) Windows 2000 isn't supported by Plays for Sure. There are workarounds, but really this is a case of Microsoft not providing a driver. You may be a
a) I suspect Creative paid a licensing fee to participate in PFS. I would take your complaints about PFS not supporting Windows 2000 to Microsoft as they are the company that runs that program.
b) I doubt that Microsoft would remove PFS support from Windows XP. Such a move would be horrible but once again would not be the fault of Creative.
One might fault Creative for supporting PFS, but even today it is the only standard available that offers the features it does. It also offers support to what accounts for a vast majority of Creative's targeted user base. I am sure Creative would love for it to be offered for 2000/ME/98SE but they don't develop the license.
Jeremy

Why I will never shop at Best buy again, EVER!

I will never shop at best buy again! Over the years I have made sure to buy anything tech at best buy. I was a premier member for several years. Ive bought MacBook’s, Tvs, tablets, all kinds of tech. I used to send my customers to best buy to purchase all things tech because of the accidental warranty. Ive used the accidental warranty A LOT. It has been a great blessing as I am a darn cluts! Ive tripped and dropped MacBook’s, even had one randomly crack right across the screen. Ive had some pretty stupid battles with cuomer services In electronics that have failed. Im a network engineer with a degree in my field nd love all things tech. I one time put a solid state drive in my last mac which shorted out. I was told it would not be covered because I shouldn’t have changed the hard drive as I was not qualified. This flat out ticked me off more than anything. After speaking with their legal department about how the book that cam with the darn laptop they sold me had section on how to change the HDD and this would not void the warrenty. I decicded to go to best buy to swap it instead of apple. Which was a MAJOR MISTAKE. Not only did they junk it out on me but I had to pay to have it replaced with in its first year!!! I never even thought of the manufacturer warranty as it sent me into a MAD war path. So I reckon I deserved the $300 dollar loss…I was able to recover from most of this. I realize that most of the geek squad crew lacks education in the technology field. One of the most amazing feats of the local geek squad was when I was using canned air to blow the keyboard out on the mac. Yip it be my luck one blew off. Brought to best buy. Got a cell phone call before home that it was fixed. Now I had researched these keyboards and what was required to replace them. This was not a snap it back on feature. Went and picked it up. Was told by a supervisor named Paul that they had a keyboard in stock. Got home (youp silly me) opened her up. The key was crooked, it was even loose. Pressed it a couple time. Popped off with a string y substance. Yup they glued the darnkey on. MIND BLOWN
Anyway through the years and the issues I just kept piling up. My wife bought me an alienware computer for Christmas. I fell in love!! I loved every bit of it. Much to my despair I left it on the table one day and my very curious 2 yearold yanked on the cord and down it came into many pieces. It never ran the same again. At this point I was bed ridden due to a rare disease. I jad just finished a series of 14 surgeries and was recovering for a few months or so. My wife bought it to Best buy they had decided they wouldn’t fix it on the warranty that it was cheaper to replace. My wife called, and told me . I was a bit disappointed but I said as long as it works im fine. Well the phone rang a few min later, my wife, the manager did not have another alien ware, I told her I would wait and asked if she could have them order it. We were told best buy no longer carries them. So we would need to pick a different one. I was really upset. The had nothing equivalent to my alienware for playing games. I will be in a chair or bed for the majority of my life at this point. So I had gotten into PC gaming and invested a bit of cash into software. SO they hooked me up with an ASUS that was supposed to be equivalent of my alien ware. Of course that wasn’t the case. We had been snookered. Some of my games did run. Well, I had a working computer. Well like an idiot I had spilled water on it in a few months. Its was so dang slow. I sent it off to geek squad 4 times. They kept arguing with me So for a few months I used a computer that was slower than a P4. Well I got a new one. Now keep in mind each time its replaced I have to pay cash. For the warranty. I had spent another couple of thousand on warranty issues when these idiots screwed up. Granted a couple of times for the spill were my fault but gluing a darnkey on my mac??? I had to pay almost 300 to insure it!!! CUZ THEY GLUED A KEY ON. BULL CRAP. Well when I got the new one it took 2 days to reload my software, welp wouldn’t you know it was defected? Wife brought it back sent it off nothing wrong. They JUNKED IT AGAIN. ANOTHER almost $300 BUCKS FOR A WARRENTY!!!! But you know what, it was my darn fault for not realizing they were stealing and using my wifes lack of knowledge. Perhaps for me it was all the pain killers, I don’t know. But what I can say, I got MAD and had My wife put me on speaker phone as I lost my composure. Well 3 more ASUS same model, same store, all within a DAY had defects, I was so darn angryI told my wife to get our money back wed go buy elsewhere. Well they didn’t want to do that!!!!! They wanted to give me less than what my aleinware cost!!! I already took a loss with the friggin ASUS 3 computer in a matter of days, wouldn’t work. Which brings us to today. Computer sucks, wont run new games. I got screwed by best buy. Yes it is my fault I was stuck in bed after surgery. But that’s why I paid an extra $300 for that reason and knowing with 4 kids and a clutz I needed to buy that protection. So I am thankful for it. But I know Geeksquad and best buy took advantage of my wife who is not computer literate. I haven’t been able to get up for long. But soon I will take this asus back to the store AGAIN. Once I get it replaced I will sell it on amazon or craigslist in its sealed state!
So this is why I will never shop best buy again. Dell offers the same warranty. Not only is it cheaper, but they send our parts next day and a tech come to you next day and fixes it at your home. So hopefully by weeks end ill have the strength to go into best buy I will ne returning 2 wireless a routers and any other things I can. Then I will terminate my business with them. I can’t even believe that the 3 months I was under hospital care that best buy would use a pregnant women as such. But now they have lost a lifetime customer. I am

Greetings cm6pack,
Welcome to the forum! After reading through this debacle with your Alienware and ASUS laptops, I can understand why you would be frustrated with the outcome. After having so many exchanges, who wouldn't be disappointed in the experience you have described? I am truly sorry for any inconvenience or discouragement these exchanges may have caused you.
When a device is exchanged under the manufacturer’s warranty, the Geek Squad Protection plan may carry over to the new device under some circumstances. However, if it is exchanged under the Geek Squad Protection plan for accidental damage, per the terms and conditions of the Geek Squad Protection plan, the plan is considered fulfilled and a new plan must be purchased to cover the new device. That being said, unfortunately it seems that the store would have been correct in fulfilling your some of the previous plans if the device was exchanged due to accidental damage, requiring a new one be purchased.
I was able to locate the receipts form these exchanges using the email address you registered on the forum, and I am sending you a private message with some further information in regards to this issue. You can check your private messages by signing into the forum and clicking the envelope icon in the top right corner of the page.
Sincerely,
Tasha|Social Media Specialist | Best Buy® Corporate
Private Message

TS2755 When will Apple ever make it convenient for the customer, I just bought an iPad Air and I'm very upset that I can only use iMessage, iPads are the biggest mistake to buy. I'll never buy another if I can text using SMS or MMS

When will Apple ever make it convenient for the customer, I just bought an iPad Air and I'm very upset that I can only use iMessage, iPads are the biggest mistake to buy if you like texting family and friends. I'll never buy another one if I can't text using SMS or MMS. Is there any hope for a patch or new operating system to fix this issue, or an app to use with iPad Air

To send messages to non-Apple devices, check out the TextFree app https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/text-free-textfree-sms-real/id399355755?mt=8
How to Send SMS from iPad
http://www.iskysoft.com/apple-ipad/send-sms-from-ipad.html
How to Receive SMS Messages on an iPad
http://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/receive-sms-messages-ipad-16776.html
Apps for Texting http://appadvice.com/appguides/show/apps-for-texting
 Cheers, Tom

Why I will never buy another Creative product ever again....

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