July 17, 2007

Roxio Takes Vista Compatibility to New Level

Since we've just seen how some hardware manufacturers might be dragging their feet on Vista compatibility, it's only right we take a look at application software as well. And if there's one third party application you might assume is as compatible as can be with Microsoft's latest OS, it would be Roxio's Easy Media Creator 9. Yet readers s

Since we've just seen how some hardware manufacturers might be dragging their feet on Vista compatibility, it's only right we take a look at application software as well. And if there's one third party application you might assume is as compatible as can be with Microsoft's latest OS, it would be Roxio's Easy Media Creator 9. Yet readers say that not only does the program have many problems working with Vista, the fixes promised by Roxio are beginning to look like so much vaporware.

From the day Easy Media Creator 9.0 was introduced last September, Vista compatibility has been a point of emphasis for Roxio and parent company Sonic Solutions. Roxio was touted as a "Windows Vista Premier Launch Partner" during the Vista rollout, and Sonic even bragged that its DVD burning technology was being incorporated by Microsoft in Vista itself. Then in early May Roxio announced that the presumably already Vista-compatible program had received the Windows Vista Certification logo from Microsoft and that the "Windows Vista Certified version of Easy Media Creator 9 is now shipping to major retailers and e-stores and is available direct from Roxio."

In spite of the Microsoft certification, however, readers report that Easy CD Creator 9.0's Vista compatibility has left much to be desired. "I've used Roxio products in the past, so when I saw 9.0 was Vista certified, I ran out and bought it for my new PC," writes one reader. "When I next go to boot up my system, I get an error from Vista saying there's a conflict with an incompatible driver -- Roxio's DLA driver. This is Vista compatibility?"

The reader was in for a bigger shock when he contacted Roxio tech support. "They told me the version I have isn't the one that's certified for Vista," the reader wrote. "This is in spite of the fact that on the package I just purchased it says it's Easy Media Creator 9 and that it is Vista compatible. But, no, they say the real Vista compatible version is 9.1. If I want, I can go online right away and 'upgrade' -- pay them more money, in other words -- to get the 9.1 version. Or I can wait for a free patch that will make 9.0 Vista compatible. This is unbelievable! What does Vista certification mean if it can be this bad?"

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