We have been asked to post the following by the MS Money Team.
Annual Release Change . Microsoft Money Plus continues to be a valuable tool for our customers; however the feedback we are hearing is that the incremental updates to the software don't merit a new product every year. Given this, we have decided against releasing a 2009 version of Money Plus. . We are moving off of an annual release cycle for Microsoft Money Plus (no Money 2009 version in the fall), with future release dates TBD. Money Plus continues to be a valuable tool for our customers, however the feedback we are hearing loud and clear is that, after 17 years in the market, the incremental updates to the software don't merit a new product release every year. Given this, we have decided against releasing a 2009 version of Money Plus. 100% Online distribution (out of the packaging business and physical retail store shelves) . More and more retail consumers are going online to shop the endless rows of digital shelves. In response to our retail partners' needs, consumer behavior and business efficiencies, Microsoft is focusing distribution efforts for Microsoft Money Plus software online via download and discontinuing traditional box sales of the software at retail. . Microsoft Money Plus will continue to be available at retail outlets while supplies last. We have stopped shipping new product to retail outlets. . We have been listening to our customers and analyzing market trends and business dynamics and feel that distribution the software product online will provide our customers with the right mix of products and services that will meet their needs. . The combination of Money Plus and MSN Money will continue to provide a comprehensive source for our customer's money and personal finance needs. Through the various tools and tight integration with the site, Money Plus customers can get a complete view of their finances, understand what bills have been paid and which are due, access stock information and tap into the extensive list of financial experts on MSN Money for tips and guidance.
Overall . Is this a sign that you are getting out of the packaged PC consumer software business overall? o Microsoft does not see shrink wrapped software going away anytime soon and we are always talking to customers about different ways to price and package our software offerings. The company is evolving its strategy and product solutions to meet customer demand and optimize business efficiencies.
. What is your goal with moving to this download-only model? How have retail partners responded? o Our goal is to deliver products the way our retail partners and consumers are demanding. Retailers are asking for more ways to work with us on the digital distribution of Microsoft Money, so many are excited about the additional flexibility the Web offers. This move means that our retailers can provide more inventory of our products, but require less physical space to manage inventory.
Note that the most hopeful and insightful thing they said about future versions of the standalone software application we all know as Microsoft Money is "with future release dates TBD". Bob, is that more or less what they said in the UK when M05 was, uhh, passed over?
Re. "incremental updates to the software don't merit a new product release every year"--I think what they are willfully missing is that the customer feedback was as much or more a comment on the nature of the "incremental updates" on offer as on the release schedule for these "updates". But then we get back to the business case for investing more than they've been investing in the "incremental updates" they've been doing.
If Money had even 1/1,000th of the annual revenue of Office and anywhere near 1/1,000th the new development budget, they just might develop a serious "update" that wasn't so marginally incremental.
Can someone please translate the Microsoft announcement! Is there a new version or not, will it be able to carry out the background banking just stopped on 2004?
What is Money Plus? is that a UK edition?
Why is this piece of brilliant software managed in such a muddled way?
Money Plus is the version that came out about a year ago this time. It is available in the US but has limited or no availability outside the US. Prior trends would have suggested they'd name it Money 2008. But they didn't. Perhaps today's indirect announcement indicates why.
There is no new software at this time and the best they offer for new software at some point in the future is "TBD".
Money Plus will continue to support the online interfaces until, IIRC, around this time next year. What will happen then is TBD but the "Online Services Policy" added in M+ suggests the possibility of a service offering at some point in the future. This would suggest a pay subscription model to continue M+ online functionality. Nothing like this has been announced.
I'm not sure I'd call it a brilliant piece of software, but it beats the alternatives. Why is it managed the way it is? I think the short answer is because Microsoft doesn't see a business case (translation: profitability) to do otherwise.
"sugna" wrote: > Can someone please translate the Microsoft announcement! Is there a new > version or not, will it be able to carry out the background banking just > stopped on 2004?
> What is Money Plus? is that a UK edition?
> Why is this piece of brilliant software managed in such a muddled way?
Any thoughts on whether there is any future or if it is time to reluctantly switch to Quicken? I wouldn't be concerned except that there is no language suggesting future support. I realize no one can answer definitively but would be interested in what the MVPs or other longtime users would bet if pressed on the matter.
UK Money 2000 is a perfectly robust program that does not 'report home'.
At present it is possible to download share and fund prices. This information comes off an M$ / MSN / Morningstar server and the server could be switched off at any time. That won't stop Money 2000 working but would mean that users would have to update share and fund prices manually - they will always be able to do this.
Some people download their bank statements directly into Money - I don't and would not do so even if I could. Development and regression in this area does not concern me.
I get the impression more recent versions of Money could be crippled by M$ because they do 'report home'. Certainly useful features like 'budgeting have been 'dummed down' in the newer versions. You can read more about the 'Passport' saga in this newsgroup.
Comparing concurrent versions of Money and Quicken, I believe the M$ product has usually been marginally superior.
If you can bear the pain (old Money programs can't read *.mny files made by newer versions, so data transfer would be difficult) buy a second-hand copy of UK Money 2000 on eBay, there is one available right now for 99p.
> Any thoughts on whether there is any future or if it is time to > reluctantly switch to Quicken? I wouldn't be concerned except that > there is no language suggesting future support. I realize no one > can answer definitively but would be interested in what the MVPs or > other longtime users would bet if pressed on the matter.
As it stands TODAY, Money is hardly as broken as you'd be going to Quicken. The real question is what happens going forward. Will MS offer some service offering to extend online services? Do you care about online services? Will MS continue support? Will MS continue updates for things like tax law changes? Will MS do more new versions, just not on the annual schedule? I don't think any of those things are knowable here on the outside just yet. I think this question is one that can be kicked down the road at a minimum one year.
> Any thoughts on whether there is any future or if it is time to > reluctantly switch to Quicken? I wouldn't be concerned except that > there is no language suggesting future support. I realize no one > can answer definitively but would be interested in what the MVPs or > other longtime users would bet if pressed on the matter.
I have Money Premium 2006 and I expect that Microsoft is testing the concept of subscription software. If I can either pay a nominal fee to continue to download stock prices I will avoid hassle of switching to a new program or if it is possible maintain my historical data on Money Essential otherwise I will probably move on. I do however expect to see one of the following 1. A yearly or bi annual fee. 2. A deal with one or more of the brokerage firms. 3. An Advertisement supported version.
This said if Microsoft screws it it up a very fat Intuit and Yahoo getting some pay back.
Coming Soon to a computer connection near you... Money Live... Seriously, with the advent of online money management (free) services such as Mint, Geezeo, Wesabe, etc - I expect to see Microsoft to go online - but for a fee. With a TBD out there from Microsoft, I am concerned that it's all going to go away. I was looking forward to beta testing the new version too.
>I have Money Premium 2006 and I expect that Microsoft is testing the >concept of subscription software. If I can either pay a nominal fee to >continue to download stock prices I will avoid hassle of switching to a new >program or if it is possible maintain my historical data on Money Essential >otherwise I will probably move on. I do however expect to see one of the >following > 1. A yearly or bi annual fee. > 2. A deal with one or more of the brokerage firms. > 3. An Advertisement supported version.
> This said if Microsoft screws it it up a very fat Intuit and Yahoo > getting some pay back.
I agree. I'm re-reading and wondering about that statement 'with future release dates TBD'. I really hope this does not mean they may discontinue the product at some point in the future. And I truly hope we're not reading too much into it.
There may be some insightful ways to get a better read on this, such as what are they telling their Financial Institution Partners and their Affiliates in their marketing programs. http://www.microsoft.com/money/fi.mspx
Dick Watson wrote: > Note that the most hopeful and insightful thing they said about future > versions of the standalone software application we all know as Microsoft > Money is "with future release dates TBD". Bob, is that more or less what they > said in the UK when M05 was, uhh, passed over?
> Re. "incremental updates to the software don't merit a new product release > every > year"--I think what they are willfully missing is that the customer feedback > was as much or more a comment on the nature of the "incremental updates" on > offer as on the release schedule for these "updates". But then we get back to > the business case for investing more than they've been investing in the > "incremental updates" they've been doing.
> If Money had even 1/1,000th of the annual revenue of Office and anywhere > near 1/1,000th the new development budget, they just might develop a serious > "update" that wasn't so marginally incremental.
> And so it goes...
> "Bob Peel, MVP" wrote:
>> We have been asked to post the following by the MS Money Team.
Interesting to note that Information Week picked up on this "non-announcement" from the Money team, forwarded through an MVP rather than posted by them directly, as though Bob were a spokesmouth for Microsoft and this were a company blog rather than a glorified Usenet newsgroup.
> Interesting to note that Information Week picked up on this > "non-announcement" from the Money team, forwarded through an MVP rather > than > posted by them directly, as though Bob were a spokesmouth for Microsoft > and > this were a company blog rather than a glorified Usenet newsgroup.
>I always wondered if the MVP's were connected to Microsoft.
> Information Leak has now let the cat out of the bag..
> MVP is Money Vice President! :>}
> Congratulation Bob on your promotion.
> "Dick Watson" <littlegreenge...@mind-enufalready-spring.com> wrote in > message news:E159FCD3-9302-4BF6-B43D-377AE0DE12DC@microsoft.com... >> Interesting to note that Information Week picked up on this >> "non-announcement" from the Money team, forwarded through an MVP rather >> than >> posted by them directly, as though Bob were a spokesmouth for Microsoft >> and >> this were a company blog rather than a glorified Usenet newsgroup.
> >I always wondered if the MVP's were connected to Microsoft.
> > Information Leak has now let the cat out of the bag..
> > MVP is Money Vice President! :>}
> > Congratulation Bob on your promotion.
> > "Dick Watson" <littlegreenge...@mind-enufalready-spring.com> wrote in > > messagenews:E159FCD3-9302-4BF6-B43D-377AE0DE12DC@microsoft.com... > >> Interesting to note that Information Week picked up on this > >> "non-announcement" from the Money team, forwarded through an MVP rather > >> than > >> posted by them directly, as though Bob were a spokesmouth for Microsoft > >> and > >> this were a company blog rather than a glorified Usenet newsgroup.
> >I always wondered if the MVP's were connected to Microsoft.
> > Information Leak has now let the cat out of the bag..
> > MVP is Money Vice President! :>}
> > Congratulation Bob on your promotion.
> > "Dick Watson" <littlegreenge...@mind-enufalready-spring.com> wrote in > > messagenews:E159FCD3-9302-4BF6-B43D-377AE0DE12DC@microsoft.com... > >> Interesting to note that Information Week picked up on this > >> "non-announcement" from the Money team, forwarded through an MVP rather > >> than > >> posted by them directly, as though Bob were a spokesmouth for Microsoft > >> and > >> this were a company blog rather than a glorified Usenet newsgroup.
If you have no intention of using the on line features, then an older, expired version will do. You can get one at very low cost from various sources such as Ebay.
"Kevin Campbell" <kcamp...@nospam.midmaine.com> wrote in message
> And since they are not going to distribute Money to retailers how does one > get a copy when you do not have online access or have a dialup connection?
Well, that doesn't really answer my question, does it! I have dial-up, I do use the online features (some of them anyway). How do I get the newest version? It would take hours if not even days to download from my connection.
> If you have no intention of using the on line features, then an older, > expired version will do. You can get one at very low cost from various > sources such as Ebay.
> "Kevin Campbell" <kcamp...@nospam.midmaine.com> wrote in message > news:uXevuVt$IHA.5048@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... >> And since they are not going to distribute Money to retailers how does >> one get a copy when you do not have online access or have a dialup >> connection?
> Well, that doesn't really answer my question, does it! I have dial-up, I > do use the online features (some of them anyway). How do I get the newest > version? It would take hours if not even days to download from my > connection.
> Well, that doesn't really answer my question, does it! I have dial-up, I > do use the online features (some of them anyway). How do I get the newest > version? It would take hours if not even days to download from my > connection.
> Kevin > "ScottW" <scottw2...@gmail.com> wrote in message > news:%23IyA$Xv$IHA.5896@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... >> If you have no intention of using the on line features, then an older, >> expired version will do. You can get one at very low cost from various >> sources such as Ebay.
>> "Kevin Campbell" <kcamp...@nospam.midmaine.com> wrote in message >> news:uXevuVt$IHA.5048@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... >>> And since they are not going to distribute Money to retailers how does >>> one get a copy when you do not have online access or have a dialup >>> connection?
Do you want to pay the $17000 (actual quote from cable company) to run the cable to my house!! It's not available in my area! Neither is DSL. I could, maybe do satellite but that's too expensive.
> "Kevin Campbell" <kcamp...@nospam.midmaine.com> wrote in message > news:OIAWfpSAJHA.3936@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl... >> Well, that doesn't really answer my question, does it! I have dial-up, I >> do use the online features (some of them anyway). How do I get the >> newest version? It would take hours if not even days to download from my >> connection.
>> Kevin >> "ScottW" <scottw2...@gmail.com> wrote in message >> news:%23IyA$Xv$IHA.5896@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... >>> If you have no intention of using the on line features, then an older, >>> expired version will do. You can get one at very low cost from various >>> sources such as Ebay.
>>> "Kevin Campbell" <kcamp...@nospam.midmaine.com> wrote in message >>> news:uXevuVt$IHA.5048@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... >>>> And since they are not going to distribute Money to retailers how does >>>> one get a copy when you do not have online access or have a dialup >>>> connection?
> Do you want to pay the $17000 (actual quote from cable company) to run the > cable to my house!! It's not available in my area! Neither is DSL. I > could, maybe do satellite but that's too expensive.
>Well, that doesn't really answer my question, does it! I have dial-up, I do >use the online features (some of them anyway). How do I get the newest >version? It would take hours if not even days to download from my >connection.
When you buy, AFAIK, there is still an option to have them mail a backup disk of the install file for an extra fee.
Alternatively, you could do the file download at work or at a friend's house, and burn a copy onto a CD, or a USB flash drive, of the downloaded install file.
> Do you want to pay the $17000 (actual quote from cable company) to run the > cable to my house!! It's not available in my area! Neither is DSL. I > could, maybe do satellite but that's too expensive.
>> "Kevin Campbell" <kcamp...@nospam.midmaine.com> wrote in message >> news:OIAWfpSAJHA.3936@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl... >>> Well, that doesn't really answer my question, does it! I have dial-up, >>> I do use the online features (some of them anyway). How do I get the >>> newest version? It would take hours if not even days to download from >>> my connection.
>>> Kevin >>> "ScottW" <scottw2...@gmail.com> wrote in message >>> news:%23IyA$Xv$IHA.5896@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... >>>> If you have no intention of using the on line features, then an older, >>>> expired version will do. You can get one at very low cost from various >>>> sources such as Ebay.
>>>> "Kevin Campbell" <kcamp...@nospam.midmaine.com> wrote in message >>>> news:uXevuVt$IHA.5048@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... >>>>> And since they are not going to distribute Money to retailers how does >>>>> one get a copy when you do not have online access or have a dialup >>>>> connection?
> "Kevin Campbell" <kcamp...@nospam.midmaine.com> wrote in message > news:u2vAZoEBJHA.2292@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl... >> Do you want to pay the $17000 (actual quote from cable company) to run >> the cable to my house!! It's not available in my area! Neither is DSL. >> I could, maybe do satellite but that's too expensive.
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