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Why sneakerheads are leaving eBay for Detroit startup StockX
Buying a pair of new rare sneakers is harder than reselling them on StockX. To buy new, the Yeezy or Jordan gods have to smile upon you, giving you that winning raffle ticket at a local store or letting you beat the bots online. To resell, all you have to do is go to the StockX website and set a price. You don't take photos or haggle with potential buyers. Instead, you look at what price the shoes are selling for and list your pair at whatever amount you think someone will pay for them. Like a stock exchange, buyer and seller identities are kept from one another. StockX acts as a middleman, only releasing payment once it verifies that goods are authentic. It's this simplicity that has helped the company earn so many loyal users. StockX was founded in 2015 after Quicken Loans founder and CEO Dan Gilbert bought Campless -- an online repository for sneaker sales data -- from Josh Luber. As part of the purchase, Luber moved from his native Philadelphia to the Detroit metro area, taking up the mantle of StockX CEO and working from Gilbert's One Campus Martius building downtown. In a little under three years, the company has become the go-to source for buying rare high-end shoes and streetwear.
Intuit releases Quicken 2015 for Mac, with stock tracking
Loyal users of Quicken for Mac, Intuit's flagship personal finance manager, have not had the easiest road over the past few years. The product froze in amber with the Quicken 2007 release, which remained on its legacy PowerPC code base well past the best-if-used-by date; while Quicken Essentials, released in 2010 with input from the Mint.com team, delivered a shiny new money management experience, it also lacked many Q2007 features (integrated bill payments, investment management) that users counted on. Many unsuspecting Quickenians upgraded their Intel Macs from 10.6 Snow Leopard to 10.7 Lion without fully realizing that Apple's move to drop Rosetta support from the Mac's OS meant that Quicken 2007 would never launch again. To Intuit's credit, the wailing and gnashing of teeth of customers was heard and acknowledged; in March 2012 it released a Lion-compatible version of Quicken 2007 which remains on sale today. Still, the anxiety around Quicken for Mac created opportunity for competing apps to haul in some market share, including the capable iBank (now at v5, including bill pay and other marquee Quicken features plus QIF data import). Intuit is now aiming to turn those Mac personal finance users back into Quicken loyalists with the shiny, mobile-savvy release of Quicken 2015 for Mac. Never mind that 2015 is still months away; the US$74.99 rebuilt flagship app delivers some key functionality, including synchronized iOS and Android mobile apps that allow you to take receipt photos on the go; detailed investment tracking that can support tax reporting requirements; and a revived, Mint-y fresh user interface that makes it easy to see where your money is going. Quicken 2015 is built atop the Quicken Essentials codebase (rather than the PowerPC legacy of Quicken 2007), but it's decidedly its own, more capable product that was guided by customer input and lots of public beta testing. These new features are great, and Intuit says that additional features will be delivered as free upgrades to the base 2015 edition. Unfortunately, it isn't committing to which features will be added -- and there's a pretty long list to choose from, including a few crowd favorites (integrated bill payment, calendar/12-month view, loan amortization) that are in Quicken 2007 and/or Quicken for Windows, but still aren't part of Quicken 2015. Intuit has posted a comparison chart where users may vote for the features they would like to see sooner rather than later -- vote early and often. Personal financial management is a conservative corner of the software market, and adopters of a particular application are often resistant to change for change's sake (it's only your life savings, after all). Users who depend on a specific tool in Quicken 2007 that isn't yet implemented in Quicken 2015 will likely have the same reaction they did to Quicken Essentials -- a more or less polite "No thank you." But for those who don't need those particular pieces (or are willing to wait) and who haven't jumped to an alternative, it's certainly a cheerful bit of news that Intuit has renewed its commitment to the Mac market with Quicken 2015. You can buy Quicken 2015 online today as a download from Intuit, via the Mac App Store or via Amazon software delivery. Boxed availability at retail is scheduled for October 2014. There is no trial version of the $74.99 application, but there is a 60-day money back guarantee if you find that the new app does not suit your requirements.
Intuit releases Lion-compatible Quicken 2007, as promised
It was late last year that Intuit offered a Christmas olive branch to frustrated Quicken 2007 for Mac customers. The finance software giant promised that it would find a way to make Quicken work on the latest version of OS X; today, it looks like that promise has been kept. Quicken for Mac 2007 Lion Compatible is now available for purchase. While the company had built a ground-up Mac offering in Quicken Essentials that showed some spark and a new look, it lacked some of the key features that users of Q2007 had grown fond of (QIF export, direct bill pay, support for rental properties); unfortunately, the older app was never updated past its PowerPC roots and ceased working when Lion dropped support for the Rosetta compatibility layer. Q2007 users fumed, jumped ship to other finance products, stuck with Snow Leopard, or shrieked with frustration if they updated without realizing the issue. (We tried to warn you, people, really we did.) It's not easily found on the Intuit site, but the Lion-friendly version of Quicken 2007 can be bought online (it's US$14.99). Searching for it via Intuit's built-in tool doesn't work, and it's not listed in the full product rundown; it's possible that it's not officially announced/ready for prime time, but there it is. You can read about the data migration process back from Essentials on the company's support page. No data migration is needed for Q2007 or older versions post-2004. Intuit still recommends that new customers go with Essentials instead of Q2007. You can read our interview with Intuit's Aaron Patzer here, and an external perspective from Intuit's competitor IGG Software here. [via MacRumors]
Intuit to deliver Quicken update for Lion compatibility
Christmas from Quicken is coming pretty late, but it will be appreciated by many Mac users. The company has emailed users that it will finally offer a version of Quicken that runs under Lion and Snow Leopard. Intuit Personal Finance Group GM Aaron Forth wrote users today "I understand the frustration this may have caused you and have put a team in place to address this issue. I am happy to announce that we will have a solution that makes Quicken 2007 for Mac 'Lion-compatible' by early spring." The company has lost a lot of customers over the issue and much goodwill. The company has some more details about the update on its website, along with a link so customers can be notified when the new version ships. It's even a bit more aggravating because Bill Campbell, the former CEO of Quicken parent company Intuit, is a member of the Apple Board of Directors. After Lion was released, Intuit said it had no plans to release a Lion-friendly version of its application. It has been 5 years since Quicken has been updated. Intuit does offer Quicken Essentials for Mac, but it won't load Quicken 2007 files and can't do online bill paying.
VMware Fusion now virtualizes standard builds of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and 10.6 Snow Leopard
VMware released the latest dot update to its flagship Mac virtualization product today. The free update, Fusion 4.1, improves Lion full-screen compatibility, graphics performance and startup options; it can be downloaded immediately for all Fusion customers. While those changes are certainly nice, they aren't the big story in this build. Macworld's Jason Snell has discovered that alongside the acknowledged changes and improvements, a less obvious adjustment has appeared in Fusion 4.1 in the area of virtualizing Mac OS X itself. Unlike previous versions of Fusion (and other virtualization products for the Mac like Parallels and VirtualBox), which included a built-in limiter to prevent users from installing a non-server version of Mac OS X 10.5 or 10.6 in a virtual machine, the new Fusion build simply reminds you to respect Apple's licensing restrictions -- and then lets you go ahead and install vanilla Leopard or Snow Leopard anyway. Up until now, the only versions of 10.5 or 10.6 that were considered 'legal' for virtualization were the pricey Mac OS X Server versions. This may seem like a small difference, but it's a seismic shift in the Mac OS X virtualization landscape, and one that could have a major impact for specific 'abandonware' applications on the Mac platform. With the ability to virtualize Snow Leopard easily, VMware users can create a virtual machine that retains the Rosetta code translation stack Apple removed in Lion -- giving those people back the ability to run PowerPC applications. Quicken Deluxe is the most prominent app on the PPC roster, but older versions of Adobe's Creative Suite and QuarkXPress are also up for revitalization in a 10.6 VM. When I spoke to the Fusion product team during the Fusion 4 announcement, they were somewhat coy about the possibilities for virtualizing Rosetta-capable builds of Mac OS X other than the server versions; the decision on licensing was up to Apple, they said, while they would of course continue to explore their options and keep the lines of communication open to Cupertino. I don't know whether this move towards liberalizing the install was done with or without Apple's knowledge and consent, but I'll ask. In the meantime, if you're still holding off on your Lion upgrade because you've got PowerPC applications that aren't ready (or willing) to make the leap to Intel code, your options just got much more interesting.
Quicken users: Don't update to OS X Lion until you read this
IGG software, the folks who bring you the iBank personal finance application, sent out a reminder this morning via PR channels that bears repeating. If you use any version of Quicken prior to Quicken Essentials, be sure to export your data from the app before you update to Lion. You'll need that export file to get you up to speed in Quicken Essentials, iBank 4, or whatever other personal finance app you choose. If you don't export the data before jumping to Lion, you won't be able to run your old version of Quicken, meaning that your years of checking and savings account information are stuck. You won't be able to open the Quicken data file from a new app, nor will you be able to launch the old Quicken app to export your data. In other words, you're screwed. Take the words of the experts at IGG Software and please, please, PLEASE export your Quicken data before you update to OS X Lion. If you are looking for a Lion-compatible alternative to older versions of Quicken or Quicken Essentials for Mac, be sure to look at our report from earlier this month titled "Quicken won't run on Lion: 10 Mac finance apps that will." We'll have another look at financial software later this summer.
Quicken won't run on Lion: 10 Mac finance apps that will
OS X Lion isn't out yet, but it could be hitting the Mac App Store as soon as next week. For many Mac users, the decision on whether or not to upgrade to Lion is boiling down to one incompatible app -- Quicken for Mac. We've been hearing from our readers for several weeks that Quicken is the sticking point. In this post, I'll discuss what your options are to control your personal finances with a Lion-compatible Mac app. You'll be glad to know that Intuit's flagship app isn't the only game in town. Intuit sent out a note to "Valued Quicken Customers" over the last few days stating that Quicken for Mac 2005, 2006, and 2007 will not run on OS X Lion. Intuit offered some solutions that had TUAW readers steaming: Move to Quicken Essentials for Mac The slimmed-down, next-generation app will work on Lion, but it doesn't have all the features users of the standard Quicken are used to. Intuit is even offering a 50% discount, but points out that you need to make the move before you upgrade to Lion since the app won't import your old data under Lion... Move to Mint.com This is Intuit's replacement for the old Quicken Online, and it's a web-based personal finance site. However, there's no way to move your existing Quicken data to Mint.com. Great thinking there, Intuit. Move to Quicken Deluxe... on Windows Brilliant idea, Intuit, if you have a Windows machine handy. If you're in an all-Mac home, forget it. If you want to run Windows 7 under Boot Camp on your Mac just to run Quicken Deluxe, you have to get a license for Windows 7 ($188 for Windows 7 Home Premium Full Edition on Amazon) and Quicken Windows ($35 for Quicken Deluxe on Amazon). Running a virtual machine under Parallels or VMWare adds additional cost. Why not take this time to move away from Quicken altogether? Here are my suggestions for other apps that will take your existing financial data into the world of Lion. iBank 4 Probably the best solution for most Mac users moving to OS X Lion is iBank 4 (US$59.99). It's available on the Mac App Store, it imports files from Quicken for Mac or PC, and it even has a mobile companion (iBank Mobile, $4.99) for tracking expenses and monitoring account balances. Feeling anxious about moving your data from Quicken to iBank? Don't be -- they even have a set of online video tutorials to set your mind at ease. Money 4 Another personal finance application that is Lion-ready is Money 4 from Jumsoft ($18.99). It imports and exports Quicken QIF files, handles recurring payments, and does portfolio management. Reviews of the current version aren't exactly glowing, but many of the comments appear to be from people who don't understand even the basics of accounting, so your mileage may vary. iFinance for Mac Here's another finance app with a mobile companion. iFinance for Mac ($29.99) also imports Quicken QIF files, and the universal iFinance Mobile app ($1.99) is a good way to capture expenses on the go. MoneyWell One of the more higher-rated Mac personal finance apps is MoneyWell ($49.99). It supports importing financial transactions directly from many banks and other financial institutions, and imports a number of the Quicken formats that have been developed and then abandoned over the years. Anyone who purchases the current 1.6.8 version from the Mac App Store receives a free upgrade to the upcoming (Summer 2011) 2.0 release. Koku The Mac app that gets the award for the brightest page in the Mac App Store has to be Koku ($29.99). If you can make it past the purple background, there's some great information in the description. Like many of the other apps, Koku imports Quicken files and can directly pull transactions from many banks. Koku provides a "smart tagging technology" to label your spending and income with phrases that are familiar to you. PocketMoney To say that longtime developer Hardy Macia of Catamount Software is an Apple fan is putting it lightly -- he developed apps for the Newton platform for many years, including the first iterations of PocketMoney ($19.99). Now the app is available for Mac and PC, but the emphasis is on the iOS version of the app. Mac users may find the Mac flavor lacking in some features, and Macia admits that the current version is primarily for syncing the iOS app to the desktop. Still, the app has most of the features that users will want in a personal finance app, including one that I found fascinating -- the ability to affix photos of receipts and checks to transactions. Budget An interesting take on personal finance and budgeting is Budget ($39.99) from Snowmint Creative Solutions. This app does away with the traditional ledger format of most accounting applications and replaces it with envelopes. Envelopes represent different accounts, and you move money between envelopes to show where money is coming from and going to. It imports OFX and QIF files, but does not support direct bank connections. iCompta Yet another ledger-like Mac app for keeping those dollars, pounds, francs, or euros in line, iCompta ($18.99) also features a $4.99 iOS companion named iCompta 2. Import of existing Quicken data is a given with most of these apps, and iCompta is no exception. It'll also grab your transactions from many banks. Squirrel The winner in the cute logo competition has to go to Squirrel ($24.99), which features a squirrel stashing gold coins in a safe. The app imports existing transactions with ease, lets you define scheduled transactions and budgets, and even brings the Apple concept of Smart Folders to Mac finance for filtering transactions. Squirrel also has an iPhone companion that is highly rated and appears to be very easy to use. iCash SE At the end of the list is a powerful accounting app that has been localized for a number of different languages, including Catalan, Chinese, Dutch, Czech, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and English. Like many of the other apps listed here, iCash SE ($49.99) doesn't use double-entry bookkeeping so it's fairly easy to use. While it doesn't appear that iCash SE supports import of bank transactions, you can definitely get your Quicken data into the app. Conclusion Well, that's it for our roundup of Lion-compatible apps, all of which are available today in the Mac App Store. Don't let anyone tell you that there's no personal accounting solution except for Quicken. I'd love to hear from Mac users who are fans of these or other finance apps, as I'm sure you have good feedback on what the high and low points are for many of these applications. One thing is for sure -- if you're considering making the move to Lion in the very near future, taking care of your personal accounting software needs should be foremost in your mind.
Intuit's Aaron Patzer hints at Apple licensing Rosetta
One of the big changes coming next month with the release of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion is that apps that operate under Rosetta, the code libraries that allow PowerPC-based apps to run on Intel-based Mac hardware, may no longer work under the new operating system. Current developer previews of Lion do not include Rosetta, a gentle reminder from Apple to developers that they need to free their apps from any PPC-era code. For Intuit, the makers of Quicken for Mac 2007, rewriting their app from scratch was cost-prohibitive. Now it appears that Apple might license portions of the Rosetta code to developers who don't have the time or money to rewrite their apps. In an interview published today by The Mac Observer, Intuit vice president and general manager of the Personal Finance Group Aaron Patzer noted that his team has been working closely with Apple for several months to embed certain Rosetta libraries into Quicken for Mac 2007 just for the purpose of getting the app to run under Lion. According to Patzer, that project won't see fruition until the end of the summer, which means that folks who are enamored with Quicken 2007 might have to wait to upgrade to Lion. There are, of course, other personal finance solutions available for the Mac platform. Patzer is the man behind Mint.com, an highly-touted online personal finance site that was purchased by Intuit. Intuit's own Lion-friendly Quicken Essentials (screenshot above) is a possibility, although many Quicken 2007 users refuse to switch since Essentials lacks the bill paying and investment tracking functions that were in the earlier version of the software. TUAW readers often cite iBank as a much more capable Mac finance app. Patzer's comments should be welcome news to developers who are behind the proverbial eight-ball in terms of making their apps Lion-ready.
Intuit buys Cha-Ching after hiring developers
We've been pretty big fans of Cha-Ching, both the OS X app and the iOS version, over the years. Turns out Intuit liked the app a lot, too -- the financial juggernaut has acquired Cha-Ching and its code after hiring the app's developers a little while back. The website currently points to both Quicken for Mac and Mint.com, so presumably this is the end of the app -- its functionality will be brought into Intuit's other properties, used to smooth out Quicken for Windows, while Cha-Ching Touch's functionality will eventually show up in the Mint.com iPhone app. Too bad for users of the app currently -- I know the app was sold in at least one MacHeist sale, so it's definitely out there and fairly popular. There's no word on any upgrades at all. The Mint.com app is great (and free), but of course Quicken is $50 just to get started. Looks like if you depend on Cha-Ching for your financial planning but want upgrades in the future, you'll have to look elsewhere.
Chronicle: An elegant way of tracking your bills
Let's face it: paying bills is not fun. There's the $75-plus monthly AT&T bill (assuming $40 voice + $30 data + $5 text messages) for your iPhone, the $25-plus broadband bill that your iPhone, iPad, and Mac use, as well as a host of other recurring bills that make life that much more fun and, well, livable: gas, electricity, water, car payments, etc. While paying your bills and watching your bank account decrease at the same time may not necessarily be fun, LittleFin Software's Chronicle makes it a bit more enjoyable.
Quicken Essentials adds features, drops price
Intuit has added new features to Quicken Essentials for the Mac, dropped its price by twenty dollars, and is offering the difference as a refund to those who bought it at the original price of US$69.99. Two major new features will be added to the software by the end of April; users will be able to protect imported files and export data to the spreadsheet software of their choice. In addition, Intuit has listed several features it plans to add throughout 2010, including options to export tax-deductible items to software like TurboTax, to track budgets across several months, and accept investment holdings data from brokerages that do not provide downloadable data for Quicken. The new, lower price is live on the site right now. Customers who purchased Quicken Essentials before April 19th, 2010 are eligible for a $20 refund for a limited time. You'll find full details here. We took at good look at Quicken Essentials for the Mac and spoke with Aaron Patzer, the VP/GM of Intuit's Personal Finance Group, back in February.
Quicken Essentials for Mac now available
After a four year absence, the next version of Quicken for the Mac is here. It's called Quicken Essentials for Mac and is a ground up Cocoa rewrite. I've been using the program for a few weeks now. Is it worth the wait? Well that depends what you need in your financial software. When I interviewed Aaron Patzer, VP/GM of Intuit's Personal Finance Group, he was quick to point out that it's called Quicken Essentials for a reason: "It's called Essentials because it's what we consider to be essential for most users - about 80% of users. We went to people's homes and watched them use it. The majority of them just want to know: How much do I have? How much do I owe? How much do I spend on gas and food? How many times do I go to this restaurant? How many times do I go to Starbucks? What investments do I have? Let me set a budget to control my spending." If an easy overview of your financial life is the goal Intuit had in mind, they've outdone themselves. The first thing you'll notice is the completely redesigned interface. Gone is the horrible toolbar navigation with multiple windows. Quicken Essentials has got that familiar streamlined iTunes/iLife look and feel with all your accounts, reports, budgets, and tools nicely displayed in a source list. Its single window interface makes it easy for the user to get a complete snapshot of all their finances. The interactive pie charts are snappy and responsive, and the built-in reports make it easy to view your checking, savings, and investing accounts.
TUAW Exclusive: Aaron Patzer on the future of mobile finance, Mint.com, and Quicken on the Mac
To the dismay of many, Mint sold to Intuit in September 2009 for $170 million. I say dismay because many users of Quicken products had been less than thrilled with Intuit's offerings for some time, and some people were concerned what a twenty-year-old company that seemed stuck in its ways would do with a popular user-friendly Web 2.0 startup. Out of all the negative press, perhaps Mac users could be forgiven for having the most anxiety over the acquisition. Many had abandoned Quicken Mac 2007 in favor of Mint.com. Mac users wanted to move on from the stale Quicken ecosystem and go with something simple and easy. Now, that simple and easy solution had moved to where the users had escaped from. Luckily, Intuit wasn't like other companies who buy smaller start-ups just to eliminate a competitor. Intuit recognized that Patzer and his team possessed the much-needed original financial software ideas and UI design mojo to put a spark in their aging products. In November 2009, Intuit made Aaron Patzer VP/GM of Intuit's Personal Finance Group -- which left him in charge of Intuit's personal finance offerings, including Quicken for Mac.
Quicken Essentials for Mac available for pre-order
Quicken Essentials for Mac is finally available for pre-order. Too little, too late if you ask me. Its taken three years to get this next version of Quicken for Mac out the door. In that time, worthy alternatives have risen, like iBank and Mint.com. While I won't give it a review until I've tried it, it seems that Intuit should just give up until they want to make a financial software package that the Mac deserves. Here are just a few of my peeves from the Quicken Essentials for Mac FAQ (bold added): 1. Can I track my investments? Yes, Quicken Essentials for Mac allows you to track the overall value of your investment accounts and the value of your specific holdings. It will not, however, track investment buys and sells, nor will it provide some advanced investment performance reports. If you need more more advanced investment features, try Quicken Mac 2007. 2. Can I export my data to TurboTax? Quicken Essentials for Mac does not support that capability. If you'd like that functionality, we recommend trying Quicken Mac 2007. 3. Can I pay my bills within Quicken? While you cannot pay bills within the product itself ("direct bill pay"), you can track your bills and make sure you have enough cash to pay them when they're due. A few alternatives available include using Quicken Mac 2007 or using the bill pay functionality on Quicken Bill Pay. Did you see that? If you want to do anything useful, you have to buy their three year-old product. I ditched Quicken for Mac years ago, moved to iBank, then eventually quit that and moved entirely to Mint which has a great iPhone app [iTunes link]. How good is Mint? Good enough that Intuit has since purchased it. I can only hope they plan to leave it good enough alone. Thanks Gilbert
Moneydance 2010 for Mac arrives; another personal finance alternative
Whenever TUAW reports on personal finance applications for Mac, particularly if we're reporting about Quicken for Mac, we get a flurry of comments from readers who recommend one solution or another. Lately, many of those comments have been about Moneydance, a Java-based cross-platform personal finance manager from The Infinite Kind, LLC. Available in Windows, Linux, and Mac flavors, with an iPhone client on the way, Moneydance 2010 is the latest version of this US$39.99 application. This newest update, available now from the Moneydance website, includes these features: Sidebar for always-visible account status and navigation between accounts, budgets, reports and graphs Downloads transactions from all online connected accounts in the background Downloaded transactions are automatically merged, no manual confirmation required Improved automatic cleanup and categorization of downloaded transactions More reports and graphs including capital gains reporting More options for filtering reports and graphs by tags Account register filtering by date or cleared status Quick-search to find transactions right from the home page Budget bars on home page show budget status details at a glance Create, edit and record scheduled reminders and transactions right from the home page calendar A full-featured demo of the app can be downloaded at no cost from the Moneydance website and is good for up to 100 transactions. What's your favorite personal finance manager for the Mac? We'd like to know! Leave a comment below, and let us know what Mac application reigns supreme for keeping your checking, savings, investment, and credit card accounts up to speed.
TUAW Sunday snacks: Some tasty tidbits of random information
In between watching those Sunday NFL games, we're hoping that you're snacking on some TUAW goodness. For your munching pleasure I thought I'd cook up some of the interesting tidbits that have accumulated in our inbox this morning and present them to you for consumption.First, from TUAW reader Tom, is a fascinating look at a pre-Apple "Apple logo." Apparently in 1969, Piaggio Vespa, world-famous for their Vespa scooters, had an Italian ad campaign featuring apples with both sides missing a bite. The campaign used the Italian phrase "Chi Vespa mangia le mele," or "He who Vespas eats apples." Echoes of the campaign can still be found on various Vespa websites, including the USA site where you'll find many dingbats and buttons are apples with a bite or two taken out of them. Next, TUAW fan Keith pointed out something interesting. If you go into Settings > General > Usage, there's a list of your iPhone usage. Down near the bottom of the list of statistics is a section called Tethering Data. This shows up on 3G / 3GS models, since tethering is allowed by many carriers. Of course, as "Seth the Blogger Guy" notes in the AT&T video, American iPhone owners don't get the joy of using their iPhones as wireless data modems for laptops because the AT&T network has insufficient capacity. We've talked previously about AT&T's view on tethering; read here for more info. Of course, there's always the jailbreak option. Read on for more news tidbits.
iBank provides yet another reason to dump Quicken for Mac
If there's one software company and product line that can raise the ire of even the most mellow Mac user, it's Intuit and the Quicken line of accounting software. While the company rightfully owns the market for home and business accounting software in the Windows world, their Mac products are beset with bugs, delays, and incompatibility issues.IGG Software has announced a "Why wait another day?" rebate program to persuade frustrated Quicken Mac 2007 owners to switch to iBank 3.5 (US$59.99). If you're a Canadian or U.S. owner who purchased iBank after July 10th, 2009, and have proof of ownership (installation disc or receipt) for either the Mac or Windows versions of Quicken or Microsoft Money, sending in a mail-in rebate form will get you a $20 incentive to switch to iBank.iBank 3.5 requires Leopard, and has a number of features that take advantage of Apple technologies. For example, you can take a picture of a receipt using your iSight camera and include that with a transaction record. MobileMe users get the advantage of automatic backups of their financial data, as well as a way to enter transactions "on the road" with the companion iBank Mobile iPhone app (US$4.99, purchased separately).All in all, the rebate is a great way to start saving money and begin working with an accounting application that was designed from the ground up to work on Macs.
Linden Lab hires Michon from Intuit
Earlier today, Linden Lab announced the hiring of Brian Michon as Vice President of Core Development. Michon comes from Intuit, where he led software development of Web-service and platforms powering both hosted and desktop software including Quickbooks, TurboTax and Quicken as Vice President of Engineering. Michon is supposed to tackle "scaling Second Life to provide a high-quality user experience, supporting the growth in virtual worlds and evolving the platform to ignite a new wave of product innovation." Which appears to make the role indistinguishable from that of the Senior Vice President of Customer Applications, the new Chief Product Officer and the new Creative Director, all of whom are described as having broadly identical jobs. At least, Linden Lab has not thus-far been able to explain to us what distinguishes any of these positions from any of the others, so at the end of the day, it isn't clear what any of these positions might actually contribute to the Second Life platform or services and whether we or you should feel excited about them. Are you a part of the most widely-known collaborative virtual environment or keeping a close eye on it? Massively's Second Life coverage keeps you in the loop.
Yet more great apps coming for the iPhone
Yesterday we posted about the Apple press release announcing that the SDK had been downloaded more than 100,000 times in four days. It's also worth noting, however, that Apple basically confirmed that several well-known developers are officially supporting the iPhone and bringing some exciting applications to everyone's favorite handheld. In addition to the developers represented on stage at the SDK event, of particular interest are: Intuit (of Quicken fame) which wants "to create powerful iPhone applications." Namco, specifically mentioning Pac Man and, my favorite, Galaga. NetSuite, developer of SuitePhone (CRM software similar to salesforce.com). PopCap games, working on the extremely addicting Peggle as well as classics Bejeweled and Zuma. Six Apart, which is developing an iPhone native TypePad blogging client. In short, it's obvious that the App Store is going to be chock full 'o goodness once June rolls around. Personally, I'm slightly worried that with Peggle and Galaga on my iPhone I'll never get anything done.
iBank 3 to have iPhone support
A new beta of the personal finance management software iBank 3 has been released and it includes iPhone support. According the developers, you can use your iPhone or iPod touch to view historical transactions or create and edit new ones, but this requires a .Mac account. The download includes a small package that you have to upload to the root directory of your iDisk. You can then access a iBank file you've set to sync with .Mac by going to https://idisk.mac.com/dot-mac username/iBank/index.html on your iPhone. In addition to the iPhone integration, version three offers a large number of new features including direct download of transactions if your financial institution supports the OFX protocol, investment and loan management, as well as export to tax software and more. For those of you looking for a solid Quicken replacement, IGG Software may finally have done the trick. The iBank 3 beta is available for download now. It appears that it will cost $59.99 when released ($29.99 upgrade), but if you purchase iBank 2 now it will be a free upgrade. [via MacNN]
