Well, this is pretty crummy treatment for a 2002 (old model) buyer.
The analogy would be that of a car manufacturer with a "known model defect"
that gets
magically fixed in the new model, but is left untouched in the old one,
because it is already "sold". However, unlike a car manufacturer that has to
announce a recall, get the buyer to come in and have the defect repaired at
great expense, all MS has to do is issue a "patch" from their site, a
"patch" already applied to their new model and would cost almost nothing.
This is infuriating because it is absolutely unfair. MS knew about the
defect on or before 2002's release. I, and I'm sure many others, reported it
to them very shortly after buying 2002.
