Folks--
Trying to keep up with the comments on Lion, which are helpful; generally I switch to the latest version pretty quickly, but I am wary of this one, which is so large a change that it worries me. I do plan to move there eventually (I went to the Apple Store and tried it out, and my family's familiarity with iPhones means I'm the only slow one on using gestures), but not until I think I can port over all my files! One huge factor is the loss of Quicken. Because Intuit is apparently run by Mac-hating people, Quicken is unlikely to come over at all. I don't blame Apple for this; Intuit has made no changes since 2007, and their recommendations for dealing with this are among the most idiotic I have seen in a long time. For those who use Quicken, the recommendations are:
1. Use Quicken Essentials. Problem with that is: "This option is ideal if you do not track investment transactions and history, use online bill pay or rely on specific reports that might not be present in Quicken Essentials for Mac." Does anyone NOT track their transactions or not want to use online bill pay these days?
2. Try
Mint.com. "This option is ideal if maintaining your transaction history is not important to you." Again, what? Also, it means you are putting your finances online. Not me.
3. Move to Quicken Windows. Yes, you saw that right. TWO issues here, apart from the obvious: "You will need to either re-download your investment transactions or manually enter them," and "This option is ideal if you use Quicken to track investments."
That last sentence pretty well sums it up for me. It is "ideal" to move to Quicken Windows if you are on a Mac, meaning you should buy a PC or install a virtual environment AND Windows, and even then you have to re-enter all investment transactions, because they can't be bothered to create a translator. The utter contempt for the Mac and Mac users revealed in that last statement (if we didn't already know from the fact that they have not made a change in four years) is quite remarkable for a message aimed specifically at those customers! Supposedly they are working to put Quicken on iPad, but they're trying to maintain an antiquated file and memory structure, as I understand it, which reminds me of how Microsoft felt compelled to maintain MS-DOS code decades after it was pointless. Even if Intuit pulls it off, I wouldn't trust such a kludged piece of crap with my finances. Plus, if they are this far behind on implementing iOS, let alone OSX, I wouldn't hold my breath.
Fortunately, the nice people at the Apple Store had a suggestion: iBank (
http://www.iggsoftware.com/ibank/). My wife has downloaded the 30-day free trial and is trying it out; it imports Quicken files better than Quicken, looks much more "Maclike," seems generally nice, and is available at the App Store. I thought I'd let people know, and also ask for other suggestions if anyone has them.
Best,
Steve
--
Stephen P. Kelner, Jr., Ph.D
Motivate Your Writing! available from the University Press of New England (www.upne.com)