The people at Creative send along word that a beta version of the Creative ALchemy software is now available for Sound Blaster X-Fi owners. Microsoft's new Vista OS removes the hardware audio abstraction layer, resulting in issues with some EAX and DirectSound3D games ("usually resulting in stereo output without any effects"). ALchemy takes DS3D and EAX calls and translates them into OpenAL calls.

There's a Creative Q&A on Digit-Life, talking to Creative Europe brand manager Darragh O'Toole. Topics include the X-Fi lineup, tech demos, EAX enabled games and its future, and the upcoming Vista release.