An example of how to keep users unhappy --- The Live Mesh beta is coming to an end

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Windows Live Team
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 2010 19:13:43 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: The Live Mesh beta is coming to an end
To: me

You're receiving this message because you used the Live Mesh
beta from Microsoft. On March 31, 2011, the beta of Live Mesh will
end,
and the Live Mesh beta will stop working. After March 31,
you won't be able to access any files stored online in your Live
Desktop
or connect to your PCs remotely using the Live Mesh software.
Your files will also stop syncing between your computers and your
Live Mesh online storage. Please read below for actions we
recommend you take.

With the new release of Windows Live services, we've made a
series of changes and improvements across the products. We realize
they will have an impact on you and we want to make that as
easy as possible for you. We thank you for your continued support
of Windows Live services.

Why is this happening?

To deliver a better product for all our customers, we combined
several services into a new product called Windows Live Mesh.
Windows Live Mesh has several performance and reliability
improvements compared to the Live Mesh beta, and with Windows Live
Mesh, you can also sync your program settings for Internet
Explorer and Microsoft Office.

What you need to do before Live Mesh beta shuts down
To prevent loss of any of your files, please sync all files
from your Live Desktop so that you have them on your
computer when the Live Mesh beta service is shutdown. To do
this, follow these steps:

On your Live Desktop, right-click any Live Mesh folders not
yet synced with your computer, and
then click Sync with this computer. Make sure all the
folders on your Live Desktop have desktop shortcuts.
Select where you want each folder to sync, and then click OK
If a folder has a lot of files,
this might take a while. Open each folder and make sure all
the files are downloaded.

What you can do moving forward

If you enjoyed the functionality of Live Mesh, we encourage
you to install the new Windows Live Mesh. You will first need to
uninstall the Live Mesh beta, and then go to
to get the latest version of Windows Live
Mesh. Before you do this, note the folders that you're
syncing on each computer and if they're shared with anyone.
After you download Windows Live Mesh, you can set up these
folders to sync again.
Learn more about how to upgrade

Thank you for participating in the Live Mesh beta. We hope
you choose to move to Windows Live Mesh.

Sincerely,

The Windows Live team


Why is this happening?
For the last couple of years, Microsoft has offered
two similar services for syncing your files:
Live Mesh beta and another service, called Windows Live Sync,
which let people sync large folders of files
between PCs. To deliver a better product for all our
customers, we decided to combine these sets of features
into a new product called Windows Live Mesh.

Note: Windows Live Mesh is available only for Windows 7,
Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, and Mac OS X version 10.5 or
later.

What can I expect between now and the date the beta
service shuts down?
The Live Mesh beta service will continue to run
until March 31, 2011. However, we will no longer
accept new beta participants. You won't be able to share Live
Mesh folders with someone unless they already
have Live Mesh installed. On March 31, 2011, you will no
longer be able to sign in to Live Mesh beta on
your PC, Mac, or on the web.