"Am I correct in interpreting this to mean that if I downloaded, say,
version 1 of some application and wanted to update it when version 2
came out that I would be unable to so do because I had run this
utility?"

Correct, sort of, presuming that v.1 used the Windows Installer and v.1
can be upgraded to v.2. The Windows Installer objects have to remain on
your hard disk in order to upgrade. OTOH if v.2 works better as a clean
install - let's say you're "upgrading" from Office 2003 to Office 2007 -
you'll do better to remove the old installer packages with WICU.

Windows Installer objects live primarily in C:\Windows\Installer, which
is, of course, a hidden file that is often a gigabyte or more in size.

Steve Jobs would not put up with it.

"Should I just keep it on my HD and use it only if some Windows
Installer package became corrupted and I am unable to uninstall,
reinstall, or update it?"

Correct.

"...get rid of those 11 games that M/S installs and that I will never use"

Easy...when you know how. Go to Control Panel Add or Remove Programs
Add/Remove Windows Components.
---
Leonard Grey
Errare humanum est

Carl wrote:
Thanks, Leonard. On your advice, I installed the Windows Installer
Cleanup Utility.

I note you stated that this utility will uninstall "objects (that)
contain the logic and data needed to install and /update/ applications
installed using the Windows Installer"

Am I correct in interpreting this to mean that if I downloaded, say,
version 1 of some application and wanted to update it when version 2
came out that I would be unable to so do because I had run this
utility?

Should I just keep it on my HD and use it only if some Windows
Installer package became corrupted and I am unable to uninstall,
reinstall, or update it?

One last question: how the devil do I get rid of those 11 games that
M/S installs and that I will never use?

Thanks,
Carl