Creative Puts X-Fi Drivers under GPL
It might have been in an inconspicuous place on their Forums page where Creative Labs announced a new version of the Linux drivers for the Sound Blaster X-Fi and X-Fi Titanium series, but for owners of these sound cards, this news created somewhat of a sensation. The source code is not only readily available, but it's licensed under GPL v2.
As some forum responses can attest to, the drivers are not without some oopses. Nevertheless, chances are good that the drivers will find their way into the Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA) project.
The drama surrounding the X-Fi drivers goes back to 2006 when Creative Labs promised Linux drivers with ALSA and their own OpenAL 1.1 API and environmental audio extensions (EAX) by the first quarter 2007. By May 2007 this promise was reduced to a whisper in view of the Windows Vista pendants release; the X-Fi cards would remain silent until September 2007. The Sound Blaster people then finally released an early version of their drivers as binaries, which unfortunately ran on 64-bit Linux only and had numerous bugs. Since no hardware documentation was at hand, ALSA developers couldn't provide any immediate help.
February 2008, the Creative folks gave 4Front Technologies a peek at parts of their sources and documentation, thereby allowing them to develop drivers for their Open Sound System (OSS). But even these drivers were less than perfect. In April Creative released a new binary beta driver, again missing many of the originally promised functions. It took the company yet another half year to release the XFiDr 1.00, which runs on both 32-bit and 64-bit systems and supports the sound cards listed on the Forums page.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Linux Sees Massive Performance Increase from a Single Line of Code
With one line of code, Intel was able to increase the performance of the Linux kernel by 4,000 percent.
-
Fedora KDE Approved as an Official Spin
If you prefer the Plasma desktop environment and the Fedora distribution, you're in luck because there's now an official spin that is listed on the same level as the Fedora Workstation edition.
-
New Steam Client Ups the Ante for Linux
The latest release from Steam has some pretty cool tricks up its sleeve.
-
Gnome OS Transitioning Toward a General-Purpose Distro
If you're looking for the perfectly vanilla take on the Gnome desktop, Gnome OS might be for you.
-
Fedora 41 Released with New Features
If you're a Fedora fan or just looking for a Linux distribution to help you migrate from Windows, Fedora 41 might be just the ticket.
-
AlmaLinux OS Kitten 10 Gives Power Users a Sneak Preview
If you're looking to kick the tires of AlmaLinux's upstream version, the developers have a purrfect solution.
-
Gnome 47.1 Released with a Few Fixes
The latest release of the Gnome desktop is all about fixing a few nagging issues and not about bringing new features into the mix.
-
System76 Unveils an Ampere-Powered Thelio Desktop
If you're looking for a new desktop system for developing autonomous driving and software-defined vehicle solutions. System76 has you covered.
-
VirtualBox 7.1.4 Includes Initial Support for Linux kernel 6.12
The latest version of VirtualBox has arrived and it not only adds initial support for kernel 6.12 but another feature that will make using the virtual machine tool much easier.
-
New Slimbook EVO with Raw AMD Ryzen Power
If you're looking for serious power in a 14" ultrabook that is powered by Linux, Slimbook has just the thing for you.