Long ago, I found myself subscribed to various Microsoft mailing lists. They were silly and useless – as are most Microsoft products – but only today did they become annoying enough that I decided to unsubscribe.

This proved to be quite an adventure.

I tried to log in with my Windows Live ID, and couldn’t. It turns out I was using the wrong email address; with the right one, the login worked. I logged in, I unsubscribed.

Then I thought I should update my Windows Live ID to use my current email address. This used to be possible, back when Windows Live IDs were called Microsoft Passports; but how to do it now? A bit of poking around on the Microsoft web site didn’t find anything.

(For some reason, picking ‘Windows Live’ from the menu on Microsoft’s home page took me to the Mactopia page. Apparently, the ‘softies couldn’t conceive of a Mac user wanting to read about Windows Live. Way to go, ‘softies.)

So I thought I’d try Bing, Microsoft’s new search engine. The first page of results included a link to the Windows Live FAQ page; but when I clicked on it, I got a no-such-page error. Well done, ‘softies.

A bit more flailing around brought me to a Windows Live ID change-your-address page. I entered my new email address, and clicked Check Availability. Address available, quoth the ‘softies. I clicked Save. Address not available, quoth the ‘softies.

They’re both mine, you chimps.

I thought maybe I had two Windows Live IDs, one for each email address, so I tried to log in to the other one. My password didn’t work, so I went through the change-your-password process. I still can’t log in with that email address.

To summarize: I have one Windows Live ID, with the wrong email address; there’s no way to switch it to the right address. I might have a second Windows Live ID, with the right email address; but there’s no way to log in with that one.

I’d delete them both, if I could. Perhaps if I ignore them, they’ll go away.

One last bit of fun: Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 894020, You cannot sign in to Money 2002, Money 2003, or Money 2004 by using your Windows Live ID credentials:

This issue occurs because Money 2004 and earlier versions of Money use an earlier version of the Microsoft Passport Network that Money will no longer support as of July 31, 2008.

It’s dangerous to rely on Microsoft. They lose interest in their products so quickly.