Works OK but the software nagging you to register is a pain (Creative Webcam Live!)

Member Name: Mr. Davis

Product:	Creative Webcam Live!
Date:	11/02/08 (575 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: None over other web cams that don't have nagging software bundled with them

Disadvantages: Nagging, idiotic, registration software that assumes you have a constant, good internet connection

Creative stuff generally works fine, is easy to install and update drivers via their web page. Unfortunately, the software that comes with them can hardly be described as glitch free. I'll guide you through what's running on my PC right now despite no Creative product being attached to it and me never instigating any product registration process.

1. "Gentle Reminder. Register your Creative Products now to enjoy a host of benefits" then there's an "OK" for you to click
2. Click on the button and you get
3. "If you are registering portable products, please make sure they are connected and switched on before clicking the OK button"
4. Click the OK.
5. then you get "The product registration program is currently detecting your Creative product(s). This may take a few seconds. Please wait ......"
6. then comes "Welcome to our Product Registration Program. No unregistered product detected. Do you wish to proceed to update your particulars?"
7. You can choose "Yes" or "No". You choose "No" because you have nothing you want to register and may not even have an internet connection. So the program closes?
8. No. You are returned to stage 1 again and so it goes on, round and round ad nauseum.

If you press "Yes" in stage 7. Then you get an option to get out of the program. Why would anyone press "Yes" when they have no internet connection and nothing to register?

If you want to have your time wasted like this, have Creative decide when it's convenient for you to have their registration software running on your PC then go and buy some of their stuff.

Creative stuff is worse value for money than similar products I've bought at places like Lidl using the Silver Crest or Targa brand and you don't get the annoying, information gathering nag screens with these products that you get with Creative.

By putting up this review, Creative may see it and change their ways. If you were to buy 30 web cams for your employees to use, can you imagine how much of your workers' time would be wasted messing about helping Creative with their information gathering and what that time would be worth?

Web cams are hardly hi tech products these days. There's not much point making them higher resolution than they were years ago because PC screens can't show much resolution anyway so often, you can get by with a cheap one of any brand. The only time you might want to pay more is for one with a microphone built into it since some PCs' fans are so noisy they can make such thinks as VOIP (Skype, Yahoo etc.) calls impossible and using a microphone some way away from the PC can make all the difference.

Summary: I have at least 2 Creative web cams. I won't buy more. The software puts me off.

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