Hoping to spur more sales, Intuit is dropping the price of Quicken Essentials for Mac. When the financial software launched in February, it was initially priced at $70. The cost has now been lowered to $50, and Intuit says it is offering $20 refunds to anyone who bought the program before April 19th. The money must be claimed by the end of May.
Having had to delay the software multiple times, Intuit has finally released an updated Quicken for the Mac, Quicken Essentials for Mac 2010. The software does not fully replace Quicken for Mac 2007, as it strips out options such as direct bill payment or exporting to TurboTax. It instead concentrates on basic finances, such as accounts, debts and limited investment functions.
A long-delayed update for the Mac version of Quicken has been delayed yet again, says Quicken PR manager Scott Gulbransen. The software is now expected in February 2010, having originally been announced for sometime in 2008. As recently as the last Macworld Expo, the company was forecasting a 2009 launch.
Everyone makes money and spends it, but not everyone bothers to track their income and expenses. To make managing your money simple, you can choose from a variety of programs, including Intuit's standard Quicken. The problem with most of these applications is that they come loaded with so many features, few people take the time to learn them all. As a result many people ignore these programs, and those that do use them can only understand a fraction of the available options. If you find traditional budgeting programs too complicated, then you might appreciate the simplicity of Squirrel.
CodeWeavers has released v7.0 of CrossOver Mac, its utility which lets users install Windows software on Macs without creating a Boot Camp partition. Once installed, these programs can then be launched from inside of Mac OS X without a Windows license. New to v7.0 is support for a number of extra applications, specifically Microsoft's Office 2007 suite, and Adobe's first two Creative Suites. Also supported are "newer versions" of Quicken applications.
Intuit today announced that it will be providing Quicken as an online software service for iPhone and mobile users by January 8th for $3 per month, which it hopes will expand its constantly-growing 14 million user-strong base. Reuters reports that with yearly sales of 1.7 million copies, Quicken has gained 8-percent marketshare, putting it at 80-percent for 2007. The service will be accessible through web browsers on most mobile devices, using the same encryption techniques used for internet banking to keep a user's data safe. The iPhone version, while having a lighter feature loadout than for other devices, will be completely optimized for on-the-go financials on the iPhone's crisp screen.
ProVUE Development recently unveiled Panorama 5.5, a new version to its high performance RAM-based database program. The new version brings a bevy of new features, such as the Enhanced Live Clairvoyance search wizard, which allows users to search through bookmarks and formulas, in a style similar to that of Spotlight. Panorama can now interface directly with Microsoft Excel spreadsheets, as well as Quicken QIF, OFX, and QFX formats, enabling the application to directly exchange data with the databases. New users can purchase Panorama 5.5 for $300, directly from ProVUE's web site.
