Comments on: Microsoft to discontinue MS Money

The software maker has notified financial institutions that it plans to stop selling its long-running personal finance program, CNET News has learned.

[dbloyd]

For people that don't like Quicken, the Mac version of Quicken makes the Windows version of Quicken look like Mac OS X Leopard compared to Windows 95.

[Seaspray0]

Aside from "looks", can you be specific on the differences in what the program will or will not do on either platform?

[homercles82]

That's just it. It looks better therefore it is better.

[fazalmajid]

I am still using Money 2001 inside VMware Fusion. It's the only reason I run Windows virtualized on my Mac at all. It still works fine downloading e-statements from BofA. When I chose a personal finance package in 2000, I didn't like Quicken's checkbook approach at all, I doubt I would find the current version more palatable. I also don't trust startup online services like Mint or Wesabe - what happens if they go bust and get bought by unsavory types?

I guess I will just have to stop procrastinating on that self-hosted web-based personal finance app I have been sort-of-working on.

[L0A3W3cw]

I used MS Money for years. However, I was not happy with the budgeting features in Money. I switched to YNAB (You Need a Budget). This is excellent software for creating a budget and tracking accounts.

[Brian]

Finally, Microsoft is going to discontinue their Windows franchise and give in to the Mac.

Next to go, Microsoft Office.

It looks like Apple will finally take over the industry now.

[Seaspray0]

Especially since apple is going to support communicating with exchange in their next OS update and since they use microsoft's activesynch on the iphone to get corporate email. I think you have it wrong, brian. Apple won't take over. I bet you're going to see more of what's happening now... more compatibility between apple and microsoft.

[Brian]

@Seaspray0

Exactly!

Apple execs have this plan to integrate the best of Microsoft technologies into Snow Leopard and this is just the beginning!

There are more technologies on the way.

I predict in 5 years from now (probably less), the entire lineup of Macs and the operating system will be completely different.

We may see touch screen iMacs or some other new input technology similar to Microsoft Surface.
We may see a new mouse design unthinkable by todays standards.

Remember how Apple reinvented the trackpad for the Macbook lineup?

This is truly going to be a very innovative 5 year growth for Apple.

As for Microsoft, we will have to see what becomes of Windows 7 and the direction that Microsoft decides to take.

[monkeyfun14]

Whats the point of trading one monopoly with another? Companies don't waste money on R&D when they don't have to.

[Methuss]

Seaspray0:

"Especially since apple is going to support communicating with exchange in their next OS update and since they use microsoft's activesynch on the iphone to get corporate email."

Clearly you're not an Exchange admin. If you were, you'd know that this is a load of snake oil. Apple has been touting the ability to interact with Active Directory for years (a requirement for direct Exchange connectivity). And it works...If you DISABLE nearly all the security features and let Exchange run over unsecured IMAP4 with an unsecured LDS database. As soon as you start locking down the security OSX can't connect to AD DS or Exchange.

If your corporate admin is willing to do that you should just get it over with, publish their name on the net and let it get hacked.

For the record, I am an enterprise admin and I have tried to make it work. OSX and iPhone connectivity is a security FUBAR and the make-it-work mentality is a fast track to getting hacked.

[jequeen1]

I have been hearing variations on that mantra since the late 80's: "Just wait, Apple will take over the PC business within the next few years".
Apple almost died out completely but it's 'toys' keep them alive. For many years now, the MAC has been morphing into nothing more than an Intel box running a Linux look alike OS.

Your sentance should read as "Looks like a commodity x86 based system running Linux will finally take over the industry now"

[dsfgdfgdfgfdgdfgdf]

Re Mint - All your personal finance information, credit limits, credit card numbers, account numbers, account login information, and net wealth entrusted to a small startup in the valley run by a bunch of geeks? That's beyond stupid.

[t8]

They should ditch office. You get the same functionality with other free products and online suites are catching up fast.

[Seaspray0]

Those free products are available and yet office is selling very well. The public is disagreeing with you.

[Brian]

@Seaspray0

You have a valid point.

When I switched to the Mac, I tried the open source for a while, but the moment Apple upgraded iWork, I ditched the open source in favor of boxed software from Apple.

The quality of the product speaks for itself.

[monkeyfun14]

LMFAO really?

I haven't used a Office Suite that has came close to the amount of functionality Office Pro provides.

[t8]

Listen guys there is no such thing as an Office power user. It is just an Office Suite. A power user of computers is a programmer. Google Docs and Open Office can do most of what all Office users need and they are free. People upgrade Office because they know no better. We have upgrades at work, and these same people ask me if I can copy and paste an image into a presentation.

If you want to create something truly spectacular, do it in HTML5 and quit with the "I am a power user of Office".

[BigGuns149]

@t8: I agree with that nobody using just office applications is a power user, but there are some features present in MS Office that still don't have equivalent features in OpenOffice.org or other competing products. I will agree that the vast majority of users don't use such features that are unique to MS Office, but even as an acolyte of OpenOffice going back to 1.0 I must say that OpenOffice.org is a 100% replacement for MS Office.

[t8]

I think boxed software in general is slowly disappearing. As the Web becomes richer, it can do what much paid for software does. The Web is also accessible from any browser whereas licensed software has the disadvantage of being resident on the licensed PC. This idea is not 21st century innovation, rather it comes from another decade, the 80s & 90s. Boxed software is the classic hits of computer productivity.

[BigGuns149]

I think the bigger reason for the decline of boxed software has less to do with the web being "richer," which is a lot of Web 2.0 mobojumbo, but rather that software distribution is a lot cheaper via online downloads. As bandwidth declines in costs the distribution cost for save for some really LARGE applications or an operating system are pennies compared to a few dollars for making a shrink wrapped box and shipping it. The vendor can either charge what they used to and pocket the difference or they can sell it for a few bucks less and make it up in volume. Either way the vendor is making more money by bypassing the older shrinkwrap distribution method.

Especially outside rural areas most people have fast enough connections that downloading most applications is FAR faster than driving to your local BestBuy or Fry's. How does a retail store compete with that? Considering that most software boxes have eliminated printed manuals the only thing you are buying is a cardboard box and a DVD.(ie. very little added value over downloading the same application)

[dennisl59]

They'll keep supporting it though...from overseas. American Jobs Lost. Thanks for NOTHING!

[jtjt145]

Well, a start has been made! Next in line ... Micro$oft Office and Micro$oft Windows O/S.
Inclusion for prayers: ... and protect us from their daily crap

[ArtInvent]

Basically packaged proprietary software is never going to be the cash cow it once was, thankfully. Stopped using Quicken three years ago when I switched to Linux, precisely because Quicken and Adobe and Corel and MS and others were constantly wanting me to pay for upgrades to bloatware. If you use enough software, you will constantly get dinged, and the upgrades almost never are worth it. Quicken was definitely one of the worst: basically no improvements that I could use in any of their upgrades. Sometimes you just have to do it though because, for instance, your computer comes with a new v. of Windows and the old version of Photoshop is NOT SUPPORTED! What a godawful racket. And what a relief to get out of it.

So I used GnuCash for a while, though Mint is pretty darn awesome - no more entering or importing transactions AT ALL, they just get sucked in from all your various accounts. That is pretty cool. But for that matter, these days I can just log in to my bank and see my statements and pay bill etc. so in future, if they added some report generators, your bank website would do pretty much everything you needed Money or Quicken or Mint for.

[girishnv]

Microsoft knows all too well the fate of desktop apps. Why do you think they "cut air" of so many companies to get browser Market? Why do you think Justice Department slammed such a big case? It was inevitable, recession helped.

[luke_marsh]

I wouldn't scrap it myself. Here's what I would do. I would set up groups accross the US to investigate the issues of service practicality and then integrate the MS money project into this so that all deemed good and practical financing types were able to work with the users well via a flexible finance management product.
This would allow User communities to home in on cost cutting for their home better and more developed long term wealth building exercises. Something the Us has been showing a greater need for long before major economic bumps recently kicked in a gear.
The fact is the US Economy won't Crash over night and the worse each problem along the way to possible ruins is managed the worse and later what will have to be long term recovery will be.
I predicted that the Economy in the US back in 2003 would go down and then back up kicking in 2008.
Actually there is good reason for this prediction which has not been mentioned well.
It's about not Kasian or Marxist economics but more about the Nash Equilibrium. Where by you hit points where growth becomes of a far higher problematic and need could well managed economic bufferage to get you past these expansion cycle issues and instead the right people to put practical measures in place were ignored and still are today to quite a high degree.
One thing to note is that it's not all about how much money but more about development cycles and market extensibility.
When man went to the moon any more funding still wouldn't likely have made the issues much better or faster to implement. Man can only adapt,innovate and externalise well at certain rates.
Anyway point being this all means there Is a place for making better use of collaborative use of popularization with regards to unified personal ect computerised finance mangement.
If fact the use of computing in finance is actually helping prevent at least in the sort term for now what could be a faster economic melt down and to make better use of it with regards to interpersonal involvement could unify industrial effort better to meet more diverse economic needs as to aid man progression of economics itself.
Stopping MSN and moving into a more future mashable model for microsoft is good, Encarta again in an already dominated more commons based zone of the internet is also wise in saving costs and focusing more directly on user wishes but personally I would have done something different with money.

[LoudHeart]

I heard of MS Money like 10 years ago. I forgot MS even has a product called Money until I came across this article.

[E Petey]

I will miss MS Money... I tried Quicken a few years ago but found Money more intuitive and powerful for what I was looking for. Personal finance software was one of the few things keeping me on a windows pc.... it is really too bad.

[richwiss]

I agree some of the previous posters -- the only reason I use VMWare Fusion on the Mac is to run Microsoft Money. I'm scrambling now since my subscription ends in September. I saw some positive reviews for iBank -- anyone have anything good or bad to say about that?

Boo effing hoo. Microsoft's the prototypical example of groupthink. The company whips themselves into internal affirmations yet doesn't consider variant preferences so we're forced to work with their mediocre result.

Thank God MS Money's gone and there's an alternative to that crappy product. Microsoft earned that one and hopefully they'll use that mistake to rework the next version of Office before that goes south too. Reworking 17+ years of convention and navigation on the its users is lost on me how that was a good idea.

They've created a language that needs relearning to remain fluent. To paraphrase that oft-quoted genius Adam Sandler: "Who are the wizards that came up with that one?"

I hope this current economy shakes things up and forces MS earn their customers again like the rest of us are doing.

[achernow]

I ditched Quicken (never used Money) for a good old spread sheet...in Open Office!

[ppgreat]

I thought for sure we were going to see an announcement for Bing Money.

[vikinzer]

If Microsoft were intelligent they would open source this product at this point, and let the community take it over.

I know, I know. I'm an OSS nut, but hear me out, my reasoning is very specific to Microsoft.

This product is officially becoming disposable to Microsoft. They will have no revenue from it, and it will not compete with any similar projects. They have open sourced some little things here and there, but this is a high profile product, and they could get some good miles out of the OSS licenses they had open source certified recently. It's automatic clout in the community. I'm not for them open sourcing Windows and Office like a lot of people. That would be a terrible business decision, but if they are cutting fat they should look at what PR and overall good they can get on a second round of these products. Who knows it might just start converting some of the less rabid OSS fans to a "Maybe MS isn't COMPLETELY evil" standpoint. That's got to be good for their cause. It will certainly earn them brownie points with their current customers.

[lafleurh]

I use GNUCash (http://www.gnucash.org/) on Linux and am perfectly happy. I've used it for over 5 years. Double entry accounting may take some getting used to for some users, but it provides a wealth of reporting options later. You can even back end onto a database (PostgreSQL) or use XML files and sync up with your bank(s). Oh, and it's free and besides Linux it runs on Windows, MacOS X, and Solaris also.