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View Full Version : Creative Labs releases X-Fi specs to FOSS coders

safan80
02-12-2008, 02:33 AM
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/02/11/creative-labs-releases-specs

Took it long enough

By Egan Orion: Monday, 11 February 2008, 2:09 PM

CREATIVE LABS is finally releasing hardware data sheets and software driver specifications for its Sound Blaster X-Fi sound cards to open sauce developers.

First announced in late 2005, the Sound Blaster X-Fi sound cards are radically different in design than Creative's earlier Audigy family of PC audio subsystems.

The company had refused to provide FOSS coders with documentation for the X-Fi cards, instead saying that it would provide a proprietary software driver for Linux itself someday. Two years later, what it had managed to release was a half-crippled beta driver... for the X86-64 architecture only, compiled with a back level version of GCC.

However, in an Open Sound System (OSS) 4.0 build 1013 beta release, 4Front Technologies advertised limited support for Creative's Sound Blaster X-Fi cards.

But most Linux distributions use ALSA sound card drivers, which are included with the latest Linux kernel releases, instead of the older OSS driver software.

Thus, it's even better news for Linux users that ALSA Project developer James Courtier-Dutton revealed last week that he expects to receive documentation for the Sound Blaster X-Fi cards from Creative Labs "within the next few weeks."

Better late than never, we guess. µ

L'INQ
Heise (http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/103202)
Nanometer
02-12-2008, 03:11 AM
Creative will be coming out with their own home brewed sauce, apparently. Very nice that they finally are becoming open SOURCE
RPGWiZaRD
02-12-2008, 03:50 AM
kX Audio Project anyone? That's what comes first into mind when reading this. Using kX Audio drivers for my SoundBlaster Audigy and they're SOOOO much better than Creative's. In fact that's the reason I haven't changed to an X-Fi card.
SADS
02-12-2008, 05:11 AM
Creative will be coming out with their own home brewed sauce, apparently. Very nice that they finally are becoming open SOURCE

heh that was the first thing i noticed too :rolleyes:

if this is true i wonder how much it will help new releases come along?
Drunner611
02-12-2008, 05:30 AM
It's about freakin time they get some linux stuff going.
CJ145
02-12-2008, 05:37 AM
Thank god, I will finally be able to upgrade my sound card soon.
kuhla
02-12-2008, 12:49 PM
Sauce. *snicker*
Donnie27
02-12-2008, 01:47 PM
kX Audio Project anyone? That's what comes first into mind when reading this. Using kX Audio drivers for my SoundBlaster Audigy and they're SOOOO much better than Creative's. In fact that's the reason I haven't changed to an X-Fi card.

I thought the KX drivers REALLLYYYY sucked personally, killed all of my EAX games support BTW. No Thanks! Your fact is more of an opinion since I heard others complain about the KX drivers are well. KX were good if you listened to music. There are no KX X-Fi drivers last time I checked. Sorry but in the Tech Industry holding Grudges isn't smart *most of the time. Tell Pissed off Prescott, often called Presshot, owners Core 2 sucks;)

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=2043715917&sid=1
BrowncoatGR
02-12-2008, 02:32 PM
KX drivers are not meant for gaming. BTW Alsa is a mess. Im sick of it. Im not sure OSS will ever be relevant again though
DangeR!
02-12-2008, 03:10 PM
yay, maybe we get some decent drivers for XP now :D
GAR
02-12-2008, 04:07 PM
x-fi is great for me in vista 64, no complaints from a gamer and music developers, EAX and ASIO work fine, so does my mic :up:
Craftyman.
02-12-2008, 05:33 PM
EAX does not work in Vista (except in software mode). Also, does this news benefit those of us on Vista at all? I hope so :)
GAR
02-12-2008, 10:19 PM
EAX does not work in Vista (except in software mode). Also, does this news benefit those of us on Vista at all? I hope so :)

alchamy
Gig4moller
02-13-2008, 05:16 AM
I don't think this is relevant to windows users, since windows X-Fi drivers are perfectly fine. Linux however doesn't have ANY driver for the X-Fi at all, except for a 64-bit only buggy alpha release, that doesn't work properly. That's all creative has come up with.

Ah well I hope some decent ones come out soon.
Donnie27
02-13-2008, 12:49 PM
KX drivers are not meant for gaming. BTW Alsa is a mess. Im sick of it. Im not sure OSS will ever be relevant again though

Absolutely but that (Games) is 85% of the for buying a Creative Card in the first place, right? Why would anyone ruin the best reason to use a Creative card? M-Audio, EMU, Auzen and a crap load of others make very good cards for Music Playback and Recording.
Donnie27
02-13-2008, 12:53 PM
yay, maybe we get some decent drivers for XP now :D

Mine worked from the first day I stalled WinXP:) But I'm not overclocked, underpowered and etc............................;)
Donnie27
02-13-2008, 12:53 PM
I don't think this is relevant to windows users, since windows X-Fi drivers are perfectly fine. Linux however doesn't have ANY driver for the X-Fi at all, except for a 64-bit only buggy alpha release, that doesn't work properly. That's all creative has come up with.

Ah well I hope some decent ones come out soon.

QFT!
nfm
02-13-2008, 08:22 PM
GNU/Linux can run X-Fi cards http://www.4front-tech.com/
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=176484
Theli
02-14-2008, 09:50 AM
Then perhaps in the next version of Ubuntu (8.04), my X-Fi sound card will work out of the box. One can hope.
BrowncoatGR
02-14-2008, 09:55 AM
Well Ubuntu apparently intents to ship 8.04 with both OSS and ALSA so probably yes(or close to it)