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Just to add one more piece of Microsoft-intentional-crippleware to the list - the free MSN Moneycentral Portfolio Manager, which MS likes to tout as the best on the Web, quoting independent sources for that evaluation.

At the end of 2006, MS made some major cosmetic upgrades to the portfolio manager, and it stopped working for thousands of users, both users of such ancient operating systems as Windows 98 and ME and users of Win2000. (I believe some users of XP were also affected.) Microsoft first posted a new SSL certificate for users of 98 and ME, and in response to my complaints - including one addressed to upper management - eventually posted yet another certificate which would also work on Win2000.

A few days ago, I had to reinstall Windows because of a major hardware failure. Once again, the portfolio manager stopped working. The symptoms were identical, but I could no longer find the site certificate. The explanation was simple, MS had actively removed it from the site, apparently for no other purpose than crippling yet another Win2000 application.

The final email from Microsoft support to me on the subject includes the following:

1. "I am sorry you feel this way about Microsoft not having the certificates online, I assure you this was not done intentionally. Since it is no longer helpful for our customers to resolve this specific issue, Microsoft has decided to remove it because there has been changes made and it is no longer receiving updates. By removing it, it will no longer cause confusion to our customer using Operating Systems that are no longer supported."
In other words, last year MS customers were intelligent and knowledgeable enough to find and install the certificate, but this year, having the possibility available to them would confuse them. I was under the impression that most people who knew enough about secure networking to find and install the certificates would be able to do so corrected, but apparently - since last year - that is no longer the case.

2. "We would love to keep you as a Customer and will try to do everything in our hands to keep you using Money."
Except for supplying me with a file containing last year's certificate, which they obviously still have somewhere.

3. 'I will close this case as "Not Resolved".'
This sentence almost makes the whole business worthwhile. 'CLOSING a case as "Not Resolved"' is such a lovely little piece of newspeak.

For anyone else having to make the transition from MS portfolio tracking software to Linux: I have not yet found any other program, free or paid, which displays as much useful information as conveniently as the full edition - only for NEW MS operating systems - as the old MSN Portfolio Manager. However, Moneydance is inexpensive, tolerably usable, and helpful for the Win-to-Linux transition since it has native Windows, Linux, and Mac versions which use the same data files.

Good luck.
H.