Mergers and Software Installers

Whenever major companies merge, or worse, dot.bomb, I find myself scrambling to make sure I've got the latest updates, patches, and any documentation I can grab just in case it disappears into the ether.  Many times I've seen code-rich forums simply vanish, updates and patches gone.  All those wonderful ON-LINE registration enabling technologies end up breaking and you can no longer install that expensive suite of software you purchased a couple of years ago.

Sometimes the older version is just fine and there's no reason to upgrade.  I used to hate the idea of the "Dongle", a hardware based enablement device that plugs into a serial port or usb.  Now I'm a proponent of Dongles.  I want to be able to run/install my software in perpetuity, regardless of whether the company I purchased it from still exists.