I knew when I bought it that I'd have trouble with Microsoft Money 2006. And I did. Right after I bought it. Their download process is akin to trying to figure out The Big Sleep. From what I remember, this is what you have to do:

  1. Install the trial version. You can't get around this
  2. Purchase the full version
  3. Start the trial version and wait for it to figure out you have a full version and update itself

Sounds simple enough but I had no end of problems when I installed it about eight months ago. Problems that I've promptly forgotten but it wasn't a smooth process. I'll forego mentioning the little quirks with the product's functionality itself because I've already asked.

Now here we are eight months later and I need to get it installed on my new laptop. Unfortunately, there is a new version of Money so it ain't easy finding a trial version of Money 2006. I did end up following a trail of breadcrumbs to *a* version of Money so I installed it, opened it, then waited for the update process to take hold, which it did. I thought things were looking good because it didn't say I had a trial version.

When it was finished, it said I needed to restart Money. Now, it does say it's a trial version and that my trial period has expired and what the hell are you using a 2006 product for anyway when the 2007 version is out? Don't you realize how much the world of personal banking has changed in 365 days?

Anyway, it's odd that products like Acrobat Reader and Paint.NET can pull off something like this but Microsoft can't.

Man, they'd better fix these issues or else I'll...I'll...probably whinge about it some more then shell out $50 for version 2007. <sigh>