Chances are that if you do your duties on Vista and rely on one of Creative's sound cards to get your dance on, you may have become frustrated by the firm's inability to offer up a driver package that lived up to those loosed for Windows XP. 'Course, if that rings a bell, you're probably not too concerned -- you know, thanks to those unofficial (but totally functional) drivers brought to you by Daniel_K. Unfortunately for users suddenly excited to gain some extra utility from their device, Creative has hopped on the offensive and is forbidding said compiler from distributing the firm's technology / IP (not to mention collecting donations), and it's also scouring the 'net to remove other links to the software. Granted, we fully understand Creative's desire to disallow the distribution of untested, potentially harmful third-party drivers, but until they release the drivers customers expect they should be a little more cautious about shutting down third party patches.

[Via Slashdot, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: It seems Creative has decided to allow Daniel_K to continue with one particular endeavor at least, noting that "as long as no intellectual property of Creative is distributed, [it] will have no problem with it." Thanks, Aaron!

Merely days after Stu Reed racked up as he waltzed out of Motorola's doors for the final time, and nary a fortnight after the same firm's chief marketing officer did the same, along comes word that two more bigwigs have now left the building. Effective immediately, Larry R. Raymond has replaced Steve Strobel as treasurer, while Stephen Nolan "is taking over as the head of mobile devices in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)" -- a position that was held by Mike Fenger just last week. According to a company spokeswoman, the "leadership changes are part of an overall plan to swiftly transform the senior executive team." Hey, if it's lookin' for turnover, it's certainly doing something right. [Warning: Read link requires subscription]

[Via PhoneScoop]

We've been inundated with e-mails from Alienware m15x owners who have shelled out thousands of bucks in order to take home a serious piece of gaming hardware, only to find that their machine is overheating and / or developing cracks in the frame for no apparent reason. If you'll recall, this isn't the first time the laptop aficionados over at Notebook Review got all worked up over an issue with the m15x, but it seems the latest round of quirks have pushed the community over the edge. So, have any of you out there awoke to see your machine slightly more damaged than it was the night before? Are things getting way too heated for anyone's comfort? Let us know what's up in comments below.

Update: Alienware pinged us to say that the linked response below is in fact authentic, and that the company is "aware of the issue and working hard to figure out what's going on."

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read - Area-51 m15x owners experience overheating and cracking issues
Read - Alienware's reply to the issue (confirmed as authentic by Alienware)

Is that an exodus we smell, or what? Nary 24 hours after Motorola's chief marketing officer decided to start his weekend early by parting ways with the company, along comes word that the (now-former) president of Motorola's Mobile Devices business is doing the same. According to a breaking release from Moto, Stu Reed's departure is "effective immediately," and Greg Brown, company president and CEO, made mention that the outfit "appreciates [his] many contributions and wishes him the best in the future." As of now, there's no word on who's lined up fill Mr. Reed's shoes, but it seems the pool of choices could be dwindling.

It's no secret that Rock Band hardware has experienced its fair share of failures, and while the kick pedal has caused the lion's share of grief on the drums, we're pretty sure at least some of you out there have thoroughly ruined those heads. If so, the similarly bummed folks over at Official Xbox Magazine have a possible solution. We'll be honest -- the "fix" described in the read link below isn't for the faint of heart, but if you're too impatient to take your problems up with Harmonix, find the smallest screwdriver you can and have at it.

[Via MAKE]

We're nearly nauseous from all the spinning on the Xbox Live carousel. One minute we're in, the next we're out. Now, Microsoft is confirming that the issues are back via Xbox.com, and as if that weren't enough in and of itself, the outfit is also informing Zune owners that they "may experience intermittent issues logging onto Zune Marketplace." From what we can tell, there's no definitive ETA on a resolution that will actually stick for more than ten minutes, but if we were you, we'd lock down that Hotmail account, pronto.

[Thanks, Robert S. and everyone who sent this in]
Read - Xbox.com Support
Read - Zune.net Support

Though not what we'd deem "common," outages extending beyond a few hours have been known to happen to the services we love so dearly, and it seems that some Rhapsody users have become the latest to fall victim to an inexplicable lapse in service. Over at the Real forums, a number of customers have been unable to sign into their accounts for up to two days, and no amount of chicanery has solved the quandary. To make matters even more frightening, many are getting a message that their account simply is nowhere to be found, and customer service doesn't seem to be getting anyone very far. Also curious is the fact that new accounts (as in, ones created while current customers are unable to login) seem to be working just fine, but we here haven't personally experienced any of the login difficulties. What gives? Any of you out there pulling your hair out over this? Got a secret for getting logged in that you'd like to share?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: This in from Real: "Our engineer and support staff became aware of a login issue affecting a small number of users yesterday. They're hard at work to fix the problem for the folks being affected." No ETA for the fix though, and it definitely sounds like more than just a few users, but your mileage may vary.

We know, we know, it may be difficult to understand how companies that lock you in the moment you decide on a phone / plan -- only to be about as helpful as a bottomless bucket the moment turmoil arises -- could be hated. Nevertheless, we can't say we're shocked at all to hear that cellphone providers are among the least liked in all of the service industries. In a recent report released by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, it was found that "fewer than half of respondents were completely or very satisfied with their cellphone service," and sadly, that's hardly different than in years past. Among the biggest gripes were high prices and mandatory contract extensions, and while pro-rated ETFs are fine and dandy, there's still a few less notable carriers that haven't swallowed that pill just yet. As for internal rankings, Verizon and Alltel each scored higher than the rest, and Sprint was found bringing up the rear.

[Via Wired]
Read - InformationWeek
Read - NYDailyNews

Although it was but a week ago that we first caught wind of potential Rock Band hardware issues, it seems the problems are more than just a figment of our imagination. We know, living that rock 'n roll lifestyle can certainly cloud your judgment, but if you're certain your axe is experiencing some issues -- particularly with the strum bar -- EA's here to help. The company has affirmed that certain guitars in initial shipments may have left the warehouse with "an imperfection [in] the strum bar," and if you're one of the afflicted, EA is offering a brand new replacement gratis. So go on, hit the link below to get the process started, and while you're waiting to get a shiny new Strat, why not brush up on those drum rolls?

[Via Joystiq]
Read - EA confirms guitar issues
Read - Replacement website

We're no QA experts here, but if your product is called the "Slide," isn't the slide mechanism the one thing you'd test the dickens out of? Alas, folks are discovering that Motorola's Sidekick Slide for T-Mobile has shipped with a devil of a flaw: actuating the display's slide periodically causes the phone to spontaneously reboot or to simply turn off and stay off. We've tested the claim on our own Slide, and yeah, it happens. Granted, it only happened twice out of thirty or so slides of the screen, but by standards of modern electronics engineering, we're pretty sure that's two times too many. As Boy Genius Report points out, to make matters even worse the power cycle is a hard reset, meaning your data's kaput unless you're within range of a T-Mobile signal to download everything from Danger's servers again. An ever-so-slightly loose battery seems to be the culprit here, but seriously, Moto, how did this defect ever leave a factory floor en masse?

One of our readers dropped us a note to tell us that his new 24-inch iMac was exhibiting condensation build up behind the screen: he's not the only one, with a few people on the Apple Support forums and elsewhere also reporting the problem. Our tipster says that condensation builds up in the lower corners, goes away, and then comes back when the surrounding environment drops in temperature. Moisture plus computers doesn't compute, so make sure to report the issue to Applecare if you're seeing the same issues. Hopefully Apple will step up and publicly recognize this as a fault sometime soon.

[Thanks, Lee B.]

Read - New iMac condensation inside screen (Apple Support)
Read - Condensation behind iMac glass (DPreview)
Read - iMac Aluminium Condensation (MacInTouch)

Although this doesn't seem to relate to the janky LCDs that some users were seeing on their 20-inch iMacs, Apple has admitted that at least some of the newest machines do have an issue. Reportedly, an Apple spokesperson stated that a "small number of iMac users have made us aware that a recent software update can sometimes cause their iMacs to freeze, requiring them to restart." Apparently, the machines become "unusable, requiring a hard reset in order to recover," and Cupertino is currently "tracking down the root cause of the bug." So, if you just so happen to be moments away from chucking your new iMac through the nearest window over this, restrain yourself -- a software update with the cure should be coming "later this month."

If you were considering picking up one of Apple's capacious new iPod classics whilst casually snickering at those poor saps dealing with faulty screens on the iPod touch, you could be in for problems of your own. According to a number of reports around the web, users are experience a myriad issues with the new player, including high processor utilization, excruciatingly long connect / disconnect times, and random crashes that seemed to occur when the device attempted to "display preview images taken from album cover art." Some users are also reporting that iTunes will actually "freeze up and stop responding" after the classic is plugged in, and attempts to install firmware updates have apparently not remedied the issues. So, dear readers, how's your iPod classic faring? Are these quibbles legit, or is the intarweb working itself into an unsubstantiated frenzy?

[Thanks, Rahul B.]
Read - One new iPod classic, two new iPod bugs
Read - Mysterious problems with new iPod classic
Read - Discussions about iPod classic troubles

We aren't saying that this is a widespread issue just yet, but a (rightfully) annoyed tipster has informed and shown us that his "refurbished" 8GB iPhone seems to have the same "negative black issue" that some iPod touch owners are currently grumbling about. Granted, he admits that the photo makes things look a little worse than they do in person, but the problem is still apparent. So, dear readers, are any of you experiencing iPod touch-like display issues on your iPhone?

[Thanks, Jason G.]

It seems like this one's been building steam for quite some time, but it's reached a point where "user error" just seems unlikely. Judging by the seemingly widespread outcry on a variety of forums and review sites, a substantial amount of Xbox 360 Wireless Receiver for Windows customers have essentially ended up with an unexpected paperweight. Put simply, it seems that a number of customers have found this very device to suck the life out of their USB ports, meaning that all other USB peripherals kick the bucket when this power-hungry gizmo gets plugged in. To make matters worse, these same users are also reporting that Microsoft's tech support has been anything but helpful in solving the issue, and while you can always shell out even more dough for a powered USB hub, where's the fun (or justice) in that? So, what's the deal here, folks? Has anyone else been pulling their hair (and subsequently, their other USB devices) out over this thing?

[Thanks, Jamie P.]
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