Comments on: Microsoft yanks Money off retail shelves

The software maker shifts its personal finance product to online-only sales with less frequent updates. Could it be a canary in the coal mine?

[Mr. Dee]

@ Penguinisto:

Microsoft's premise is around building software for the microprocessor. As long as we use devices in addition to the fact that more of them are becoming computers with traditional components such as a CPU/Memory built in. Microsoft can target these devices. Not because everything might one day go to the web means that Microsoft is out of the game, just that the land scape has change and they will eventually adopt. Just how fast they do it will depends, they seem to be making an admirable effort at the moment with the Windows Live and Office Live initiatives. Rumor is Office 14 will tightly embrace the web, with even some core traditional apps following in the foot steps of OWA. If that happens, its end game for Google Docs, Zimbra and any other web based productivity suite. Microsoft has committed to the web on certain fronts, if you look at how well adopted SharePoint Server is, OWA/Exchange, these are core services that drive most businesses infrastructure through browser, power ironically enough by Microsoft software.

[Penguinisto]

"Microsoft can target these devices."

So can anyone else. Including folks who have done so long before Gates had even gotten out of High School. (AAMOF, Unix was originally conceived on this premise).

"Not because everything might one day go to the web means that Microsoft is out of the game, just that the land scape has change and they will eventually adopt."

If one can get to the WWW with any device they want, what would an expensive top-to-bottom-proprietary OS stack offer that the others do not? If it's all the same WWW (and thanks to open protocols and open standards, it is), then what benefits would MSFT's pricey top-down-demanding approach offer?

As for Exchange, SharePoint(read: glorified Wiki/CMS), and the rest, they're built for internal business use, and are useless outside of that sphere.

"Office14" can grasp the web as tightly as it wants, but if no one can use the content it produces, then very soon after release, no one will bother with it.

Unless MSFT literally forces all Windows users to install whatever proprietary and closed-standard clients are required to connect to the proprietary scheme they're looking to execute (heh - good luck with that one - the EU and US would both obliterate MSFT as a corporation if they tried), then MSFT will obviously fail due to lack of use.

[benjaminstraight]

Bye bye.

[i_am_still_wade]

No, Microsoft. What is probably happening is people are not willing to pay $60 for only minor improvements. If Intuit didn't force you to upgrade at least once every 3 years, nobody would upgrade QuickBooks either.

The sad part is that Money is far far better than QuickBooks. At least Money works, you have to pray QuickBooks works, and even then I'm not sure God could help. The sad thing is Money is the best financial software, and Money is really really bad. Which makes everything else, like Peachtree, even worse. I just wish someone would make a decent financial software that works well and you are not forced into upgrading.

[brettasnell]

Weird i was just at best buy trying to buy it and they claimed they were sold out. I would like to continue using quicken but with their download format of the last few years not being picked up by many banks or credit unions it makes it very hard to use. Oh well off to download money.

[Renegade Knight]

The only reason I buy software via download is that more and more companies offer no choice. I'd rather have the CD on my bookshelf. It's an automatic backup.

[gary85739]

Wonder how long it will be before a Chinese company buys Microsoft?

Don't think it can happen eh...thats what IBM thought too...

[bowacl]

All this online only going on right at the time when broadband companies want to start metering plans.

I personally would much rather have a physical copy of my main software installs - if not I would at least like the option of downloading it once and putting it on a CD. If you skim thru the Quicken forums you can see how many people have problems with their purchased online software. I don't seem to have that problem when I am installing anything from my CD ROM drive.

I expect to download Open Office, Ubuntu, Irfanview, GIMP, Thunderbird, Firefox, GimpShop etc. - but these too I put on CD or other back up so that I don't have to download them again until there is a newer version. Granted I probably would only need the actual CD of these other programs once or maybe twice in three years but at least I have the option to not spend who knows how long online retrieving them, also the option to resell this not real software is probably fazed out also.

[wheelzup]

That stinks especially for those who are stuck with dial-up out in the rural areas. To switch to satellite is expensive with slower download speeds even compared to the inexpensive high-speed options you can get with cable or DSl. Then you add to that providers charging extra for those using large amounts of bandwidth downloading programs and games would be a headache for many in more ways than one.

[ole99]

How could you write this story without checking with Intuit to see 1) what are their plans for Quicken, 2) what do they think of Microsoft's decision?

Seems like one phone call to a product manager could have added a lot to this story...

[iconoclastt]

People are SSSSSSSSSSSSSoooooooooooooo IGNORANT!!!
It is all about trying marketing ploys that will allow software giants to remain giants, by inserting an "IV" into our bank accounts( and Microsoft is not the only guilty party); where we never own anything, and keep paying, and paying, and paying, and paying, and paying, and paying, and paying........................................Don't you people GET IT????? Barely usuable programs that don't need middle men to sell, no media discs, and packaging costs, make'em pay for every incremental improvement (LOL)...etc, etc, etc. = Eternal Profits.

[alan2021]

I used to use Quicken. I setup a home network & wanted to have my spouse enter/update data. Quicken didnt offer this so I moved over to MS Money. It works great over a network & works better than Q!! I purchased the software on eBay to have the CD, so I could reinstall if needed.