Creative Labs explains new driver policies

CREATIVE LABS has made some major changes to its drivers, with the Liveware program now discontinued.

But in a statement to the INQUIRER, the company said that support for the Live "range" will continue.

Creative said the LiveDrvPack.exe file is available from its European support site, here, which is a 25MB download.

But all of the applications are available as single file downloads - or as a 45MB download including the Live! DriverPack, PlayCenter 3 (Version 3.02.52), Recorder (Version no. 2.00.31), MiniDisc Center (Version no. 1.01.15) and Remote Center (Version no. 1.40.26).

Creative said that the latest Windows XP drivers for Sound Blaster Live! and Sound Blaster Audigy were only available on CD, and offered at a nominal charge including postage and handling.

It offered these drivers on a CD because, it said, it didn't want customers to wait until they were prepared in Web format, and also were provided in that form because non-broadband Internet users might have spent many hours downloading the whole caboodle.

But, the company added: "All of our drivers for Sound Blaster Live! and Sound Blaster Audigy are now up to date and available on our site for free download as well as continuing to be made available from our online store for those who wish to purchase the software and drivers on CD".

Creative has no plans to charge for Audigy driver updates and it said that the latest Audigy 2 updates have just been released, at no charge. µ