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Consider not buying this product In typical Microsoft fashion, my computer crashed four times while using Flight Simulator 2004. I have more than enough memory and processor speed, so that can not be the problem. All of the computer minimums to run the program have been exceeded, but alas it crashes every time I try to run the program...within the first three minutes. It has taken me all of a Friday night to try to figure this out. A night away from my family. Why does Microsoft continue to sell products that do not run on thier own platforms? This is not the first time I have had trouble trying to get a Microsoft aviation simulator to work. The last one, Air Combat, Battle for Europe, had the same shortcommings. I did not get that to work either. I guess I'm the sucker for buying into the second aviation product from Microsoft. But what really gets me is this: after downloading the four disks onto my computer (four disks of worthless, computer crashing code that lasts a mere 240 seconds) at a cost of more than thirty dollars, Mircosoft made it a condition that I sign-up for a .net address with them. This is wrong on so many levels. For those of you reading this too young to realize it, business has not always been conducted like this. Patrons of a particular product or company did not always have to perform, other than payment, for the vendors of the product being purchased. As a patron things were not demanded of you after purchasing the product as Microsoft is demanding of its customers who purchase Flight Simulator 2004. As a condition of use, AFTER the software was purchased, I was forced to sign-up for a .net address with Microsoft. I gave the company over $30 and was forced to perform for them by way of joining a service I do not want and answering a survey that I did not have the time to answer. All of this or my new game that I paid money for would not work. The game did not work anyway. It crashed my computer with fatel errors four times in a row. I got less than three minutes of flight time each time I started the program. It is important to note, again, that I have more than the minimums req. to run this program. My system is sound (or it was before I loaded this worthless program on it). Again, Microsoft has produced a program that sounds terrific and falls horribly short. With Flight Simulator 2004 Microsoft forces one to join where there is no desire or need to do so, creates instability on otherwise stable computers and charges over $30.00 to do it. As a private pilot, I could not wait to get this program loaded. I first heard about it while getting a "VFR Not Recomended" weather breifing. It was suggested that I download the latest weather, as I could not fly VFR, and fly to my destination on the Flight Simulator, 2004. I ran to buy it. What a mistake! If I added the $35.00 to the $55.00 I spent on the first flight sumulator program I purchased form Mircosoft, I would have a hour of flight time payed for in a Cessna 182. Save your money for flight lessons. Do not but this program. Gary Toler