Problems using SharePoint Explorer View with IE 8, Windows XP and SSL

There is a known issue where you can't use Explorer View in SharePoint if all of the following conditions are true:

• You are accessing the site with SSL (https)
• You are running Windows XP
• You are running Internet Explorer 8

Apparently Microsoft is aware of the problem but there is no fix at this time. Workarounds include sticking with IE 7, accessing the document library through Network Places, upgrading to Vista, not using SSL, or not using Explorer View.

Some more discussion on this issue...