MoneyDance 2003 Reviewed 254
TheMadPenguin writes "For those of you who may not have heard, MoneyDance 2003 was released on March 28th, 2003 for general public consumption. It is available for Linux, MacOS X, and also Windows. Geared toward current Intuit Quicken and Microsoft Money users, MoneyDance 2003 is packed full of features. It's reviewed at MadPenguin.org."
MoneyDance is a good start... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:MoneyDance is a good start... (Score:5, Funny)
And soon after that (I hope) is MoneyShot!
Re:MoneyDance is a good start... (Score:2)
And soon after that (I hope) is MoneyShot!
Well, if you want MoneyComeBackAnotherTime then you want to make sure that the release of MoneyShot doesn't follow too closely after MoneyGoBackToMyPlace.
Re:MoneyDance is a good start... (Score:2)
Moneydance (Score:5, Informative)
However, GNUCash [gnucash.org] will run on all the platforms listed, and is free.
Re:Moneydance (Score:3, Insightful)
Because it will run on Linux, you assume it is? You know,, Linux will never become the de-facto OS if people are not willing to PAY for developers to make software for it.
The article didn't say it... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Moneydance (Score:2)
Who ever said they wanted Linux to become the de-facto OS?
I know I sure as hell don't. I just want to use it, and not have anyone try to prevent me from using it.
I pay for working programs. (Score:2)
I don't object to a product that costs money, but it should, at least, work!!!
Re:I pay for working programs. (Score:3, Funny)
So while you have the source code, this suggest to me that you've never looked at it.
saying it was free (Score:2)
I can forgive someone for thinking that the product might be free. This forum is not typically thought of as an advertising medium for commercial products; it's common for the topic to run in the vein of how to expand (or reclaim) dwindling rights, or to discuss a new technology (like a chip) that doesn't imply an immediate point of sale transaction between a company and a reader. It may not be illegitimate to have PR for a paid product here, but k
Re:Moneydance (Score:2)
Re:Moneydance (Score:2)
Not to mention that if you read the article it never gives a price. In fact, it states "I filled out the information on their free download link and that took me to the instruction page." It was not until I read the comments of the review that I first learned it was not a free product. I can easily forgive this person f
Re:Defacto Misunderstanding (Score:5, Insightful)
People like yourself, who want a free open source OS, but care very little for the general public. F%#k em, you think, because they dont know about Linux, just let em fry with DRM and big brother breathing down windows update and back doors. Because they dont know linux they are beneath me.
Then there is the second type. These linux users enjoy helping other people out, and introducing them to a wonderful open source operating system. These type of users help others out on message boards, even when they are asked the same newbie question over and over, because they realize that there is a learning curve to a new OS.
Lets try and be a type 2 man, there are a lot of people out there who dont know anything about linux, or dont know enough to actually start USING it for everyday purposes. You flaming the boards just makes them want to stick with windows just to avoid your elitist bullshit attitude.
Grow up.
Re:Defacto Misunderstanding (Score:2)
Who said anything about that??
Linux isn't for everyone. If they want to use Windows, that's cool with me. I want to use Linux. I hope that's cool with you.
Can't I just like my OS without giving a shit if it becomes the "de facto" OS? My worry is that once Linux becomes useable by the masses, it will cease to be useable by me. If I wanted a consumer UNIX OS that's pretty, I'd use Mac OS X.
But you know what? I don't like Mac OS X. If you do, guess w
Re:Moneydance :: WRONG (Score:2, Informative)
How can you sleep at night when you tell us such lies? No where on the site do I see anything about running on Windows. If you are trying to move people from away from MS software, you have to do it slowly to give them a chance to cope.
GNUcash doesn't run on windows (Score:3, Informative)
Re:GNUcash doesn't run on windows (Score:5, Informative)
True. Actually, it isn't portable beyond systems that have GNOME 1.4 and a plethora of other libraries installed. It's also GTK-based. The huge number of dependencies in GNUCash are its greatest portability weakness, IMO. I doubt it would ever run on Windows without substantial re-engineering.
Re:GNUcash doesn't run on windows (Score:2)
About the GTK base. If I remember correctly the GIMP is also GTK based. And it has been ported [gimp.org] to Windows. Not to say that this would make
Re:Moneydance (Score:5, Insightful)
First of all, GNUcash does not run on Windows without much frobbing. Yes, I know we don't like Windows 'round these parts, but there are plenty of folks who do. Secondly, GNUcash is not designed to be a drop-in replacement for Quicken. This program clearly is. I just downloaded the Windows version, and I'm happy with it. I'll never use MS Money or Quicken again.
If we want Linux to succeed, we have to acknowledge that there is room for proprietary software. (Linus has the right idea - leave it up to the users to decide what they want to use it for). If you don't like proprietary software, don't use it. But Free Software is about Freedom. Kind of like the Freedom to run whatever programs you want. If GNUcash is a better program than Moneydance, then Moneydance will die, without any assistance from the zealots. If, OTOH, Moneydance fills another niche, then both will survive.
Like it or not, software like this is vital to getting Linux on the desktop. If people want to pay, let them pay. But let them decide which they like better - don't presume to dictate their software choice to them. GNUcash takes effort to set up, especially on some MacOS X and Windows. Sure, it's not a _LOT_ of effort, but it's more than the standard "double click install.exe" that folks are used to.
I'm getting tired of seeing responses to every non-free Linux program mentioned on /. along the lines of "Boo, it's proprietary, use $bar instead". If you know of and use a better, l33ter program to accomplish the same task, then maybe, just maybe, you're not the intended audience of the new piece of software. In that case, don't use it. But why disparage it in front of potential users? Sure, there are some things to be worried about. Like when MS releases Office and Windows Media Player for Linux, I'll start to get nervous, and recommened OpenOffice and Mplayer instead. But when a company comes along with a good product, and sells it for a reasonable price, don't bitch just for the sake of bitching.
Lastly, let's not forget the goal of this program. A drop in replacement for Quicken, available for Linux, OS X, and Windows. The last platform is perhaps the MOST important. The installation on Windows is as easy as any other Windows program. And it reads QIF files. And it has most Quicken features. But it's not Quicken. And this is excellent. Because guess who makes Quicken? Our good friends at Intuit, makers of the wonderful TurboTax with activiation that we were all bitching about a while back. If Intuit can lose some market share because of this program, it's still a good thing. Because it's taking people away from a company that treats their customers like criminals.
Re:Moneydance (Score:2)
GNUCash is a wonderful program to use, IF you can get it running. Unfortunately, installing it, due to RPM dependancy hell, is a nightmare - I don't know if it still says this, but their website used to say "Unless version 1.6 came with your distribution, it's most likely better to use 1.4 since there's so many dependancies."
I'm willing to pay the $40 or whatever Moneydance costs in return for a program that actually works. GNUcash worked great for me, for awhile, but they keep coming out w
Re:Moneydance (Score:2, Insightful)
Assuming you live in America, the product costs $70 for the Premier SKU. You mean to tell me that this program, which has features to save you money, hasn't been able to save you the $1.95 per month for the last few years to be able to buy it?
Something doesn't seem quite right with what you're telling us...
Oh, and just ou
Re:Moneydance (Score:2)
Re:Moneydance (Score:2)
Re:Moneydance (Score:2)
Second hand macs are cheap, ever thought of buying one ? And no people, I'm not trying to sell one to him
Gnucash is just fine (Score:5, Insightful)
I've been using GnuCash for my personal accounting for a year and a half now, and I must say that it's absolutely enough for all that I need (I'm a freelance consultant), and lots of interesting new features are on the horizon.
conrad on gnucash (Score:5, Informative)
Re:conrad on gnucash (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Gnucash is just fine (Score:3, Interesting)
Great program when running, but horrible to get it there.
Re:Gnucash is just fine (Score:2, Informative)
I used to dual boot solely for Quicken, but that stopped years ago when they made internet explorer an integrated part of their product. I have been using Gnucash since, and with the new feat
Re:Gnucash is just fine (Score:2)
Gotta love Gentoo [gentoo.org] ;-)
apt-get install gnucash (Score:2)
Re:Gnucash is just fine (Score:2)
Hmmm... Maybe its time for you to try a new Linux distribution. Or you can continue to suffer if you prefer. As some others have pointed out:
In Gentoo:
In Debian:
Furthermore, in Gentoo (and possibly in Debian as well), you
Re:Gnucash is just fine (Score:3, Informative)
All the other responses to this post say "just use apt-get" or "up2date" or "emerge this or that". That's all nice and dandy, but part of the freedom of Open Source is being able to compile from the source from the authors! Getting GNUCash to compile on Solaris, for example, is absolute torture. I don't want to know how much pain and suffering the people at Debian, Red Hat, and Gentoo had to go through to make their one-shot commands actually wor
Re:Gnucash is just fine (Score:3, Insightful)
Just imagine.
Re:Gnucash is just fine (Score:2)
Delete protection (Score:5, Insightful)
But these are my accounts! I want to be protected against accidently deleting things. To take a random example, suppose I think I've clicked into a text field to start typing, whereas what I've really done is just highlighted the whole transation. I press delete and...
Oops. Hope I still have the bank statements for that one. I'll enjoy tracking the discrepency down, I'm sure...
Sometimes, it's good to have confirmation required before performing a destructive task. Imagine a similar review saying "And better still, no pesky usage screen or prompt - just typing the command name instantly low-level formats your SCSI RAID array...".
Cheers,
Ian
Re:Delete protection (Score:5, Insightful)
You just deleted a transaction. Oops, didn't mean to do that. Undo. Viola! Everything is back the way it was and no stupid "Are you really sure you want to do what you just said you wanted to do" prompts.
wait a minute! (Score:2, Funny)
Re:wait a minute! (Score:2)
MonkeyDance? (Score:5, Funny)
Warning - (Score:5, Funny)
This site is NOTHING like Hampster Dance [hampsterdance2.com]!!
Re:Warning - (Score:3, Funny)
Just type in the damn URL, mkay? (Score:5, Insightful)
Again for all the "free software people" and the million and one "JUST USE GNUCASH!" folks, here is something for you:
Free software may be fine and dandy, but some of us don't actually mind *paying* for software if said software does the job well. Shocking, isn't it? Free is not the end all, all encompassing criteria for a great majority of computer users out there. I know, you're trying to change that, but face it: Commercial software is not inherently evil, Proprietary software is not evil, RMS be damned.
Here's something to ponder: With OpenSource software, I get the source and I can tweak the software any which way I want! Yay! So, after I spend a few weeks poking my way around the source code and finally figuring out where and how to make the changes I need, I could've just gone down to BestBuy and bought another copy of Money or Quicken and have been done with it. What I'm buying is *convenience*. Ever notice that the QuickEMart on the corner sells stuff at quite a premium over the grocery store down the street? Convenience. Sometimes convenience costs money, and I'm willing to pay the "tax" to get something now, not 3 weeks from now.
Re:Just type in the damn URL, mkay? (Score:5, Insightful)
Sadly you've missed the point of Free Software.
Re:Just type in the damn URL, mkay? (Score:2)
Second, Just because Free Software can be charged for, just about every post here criticizing MoneyDance will be based on "It's not Free (in beer)" and "it's java! Java sux0r5!". I chose to provide an alternative viewpoint to the first (and let someone else handle the java part).
Third, I'm a desktop user. If I were running a business, GnuCash may or may not meet my needs. Can you tell the IRS to
Re:Just type in the damn URL, mkay? (Score:2)
The question of whether GnuCash *works* is important. If it doesn't do what you need it to do, you can either choose not to use it, or modify it until it does what you need. Nobody would expect you to make your business rely upon any piece of software before it works the way you need it to.
On the other hand, relying on a proprietary product means that features you want or require depend upon the developer. If it doesn't meet your
Re:Just type in the damn URL, mkay? (Score:2, Insightful)
Why, back when I was young first posts meant somethin'...oh well...anyway...
Sometimes the best solution may be to use a proprietary product for awhile, while you work on a longer term free software solution.
But let's say you pay some geek $1000 to hack GnuCash to do exactly what you need. You've basically branched out a tree for yourself. Now a new GnuCash release comes out that fixes, say, a few critical bugs and has a few
Re:Just type in the damn URL, mkay? (Score:2, Insightful)
You're pretty new here yourself, Mr. 6869.
On the other hand, relying on a proprietary product means that features you want or require depend upon the developer. If it doesn't meet your needs today, you have no way to ensure it ever will. If your needs change over time, you don't have the ability to adapt the software to your new requirements.
Although in the case of Moneydance, there's an open AP [moneydance.com]
You pay for convenience (Score:3, Insightful)
Sometimes I want software that just works, and I need it right now. I don't want to have to download some open source program, get that working on whatever machine I have, then find out the X feature is not implemented yet or has a few bugs in it.
For the most part, commercial software will pass this test. You can normally just read the back of the box and it will tell you the features it has, an
Re:Just type in the damn URL, mkay? (Score:2)
It's called being a VAR. Most proprietary software have partnership agreements that you can enter into to build customized solutions which integrate with their products.
"See point one again. If you want stuff from Free Software, you might have to pay for it. But I assure you that people exist that will cater to your whims for a price.
The only difference is with the VAR, they can make the custom changes and then spread the cost o
Re:Just type in the damn URL, mkay? (Score:4, Insightful)
Of course you are, but you are assuming that you absolutely will be able to buy the feature you want by swinging on down to the store and buying your copy of whatever. Simply because you're in the store waving your credit card around doesn't make the feature you want magically appear.
You see, if the vendor doesn't think the feature you want is worth implementing, it won't get implemented; proprietary software developers are generally paranoid about giving you the means to implement it or pay someone else to implement it.
Perhaps it is you who should ponder (Score:2)
What you are buying is a hostage situation for your data. What do you do if MoneyDance goes out of business? (No need to belabor all of the underhanded tactics software vendors can and do use to coerce upgrades by holding one's data hostage: MoneyDance isn't Sun Microsystems or Microsoft, but the end user's vulnerability is the same, and
Re:Just type in the damn URL, mkay? (Score:3, Insightful)
I can't help but get the feeling that you're confusing the ability to modify the source code with some kind of necessity to do so. Most of the open source software I use does what I want without me having to change a single line of code, as does most of the equivalent closed source. The difference is that if a program doesn't do something I want and it's open source I can do something more constructive about it than submit feature requests, wait and hope not to get fobbed off.
Re:Just type in the damn URL, mkay? (Score:2, Redundant)
I feel you should read the writings of Stallman, in particular the article about the early days of the GNU project. In particular, I'd note that Stallman made a living for many years by selling tapes with emacs on for $150 - it's free software, but people paid for it.
The issue of free software has very little to do with "cheapness", and everything to do w
Mirrors (Score:5, Informative)
Dupe-o-rama (Score:2)
Yes, those of us who don't read Slashdot [slashdot.org].
Boy, did I read THAT wrong! (Score:2)
Re:Boy, did I read THAT wrong! (Score:2)
Steve Ballamer? Funny, I was reading an interview on News.com with Stevie and the came to Slashdot, and I read it as "MonkeyDance" as well.
How well does online banking work? (Score:2)
And what about mortgage tracking (Score:2)
(And, of course, there is a difference in the way interest is calculated on Canadian mortgages, compared to US ones, so that would be something else
Also, why doesn't someone just build a bunch of Perl/PHP scripts that hook into a database, and make financial tracking a web-based application? People could install it on their box and access it from anywhere they wanted
Article (seems to be /.'ed) (Score:2, Informative)
For those of you who may not have heard, MoneyDance 2003 was released on March 28th, 2003 for general public consumption. It is available for Linux, Mac OSX, and also Windows. Geared toward current Intuit Quicken and Microsoft Money users, MoneyDance 2003 is packed full of features.
This is more than a software release to the Linux world. It is a step forward. Until now, Linux had a fairly large hole which was void of proper personal finance software (aside from the obvious gnucash), but MoneyDance seems
Real Coup for MoneyDance and users (Score:5, Informative)
Unfortunately, when Apgen's fortunes started to fade with the end of the
Like many other zombie probjects, the MoneyDance web page was not taken down and Apgen was still selling it even though nobody was home. There was no support at all. The mailing list was a scary place then. It took months for people to figure out what was going on. Apgen didn't respond at all to help requests and the list turned to a big discussion on what the alternatives were.
Somehow, Sean managed to get the rights to MoneyDance back just a few months ago and started working on the new version that he just released.
Lots of good ideas have sunk in the last year or so of economic trouble in the software industry. Most will never resurface and have been lost forever. This is a real coup for Sean and the MoneyDance users that Sean was able to resurect this fine project and produce a new version in such a short time.
The Apgen folks have been very quiet about the whole thing for obvious reasons, but I think they are an example to follow. They made a valiant effort to promote MoneyDance, but when it didn't work out they set MoneyDance free instead of locking it up and throwing away the key. For some strange reason, this isn't the norm.
Kupo Kupo! (Score:4, Funny)
Palm version (Score:3, Informative)
Now, before I even consider looking at this program, does it have a similar attachment?
Re:Palm version (Score:2, Informative)
However, there is an extension mechanism developer's toolkit [moneydance.com], so you could add a synchronization mechanism.
Porting or creating a mini version might be difficult because Palm's Java support is somewhat lacking. It would probably be a lot of work to get a port of MoneyDance working on J2ME, MID Profile.
Re:Palm version (Score:2, Informative)
It will support a variety of palm checkbook apps, such as Pocket Money, Splash Money, and the Palm Expense app..
Works well...
Good Luck
From a 4 year MD user... (Score:3, Informative)
I have tried GNU Cash and while they have similar features, MD is *much* easer to use. MD has *way* better reporting and IMHO continue to have better support for on-line banking.
Hard-core Linux users may like GNU Cash. I certainly support the GNU project and I am grateful that GNU Cash is a viable alternative. But, if you have been using MS Money or Quicken, you probably will feel more comfortable using MD, especially 2003.
Another bonus for MD is that it is a Java application, so it will run on *any* platform. So, if you are still a dual-boot Linux/Windows user (why?), you can run MD on either one and not have to reboot simply to balance your checkbook.
BTW - $30 is a small price to pay for organized finances.
Jeff
Re:From a 4 year MD user... (Score:2)
QIF importing not good enough (Score:2, Informative)
It appears that
Another alternative (at least for Macs) (Score:3, Informative)
Let's face it... if you just want to balance your checkbook, you can do that in a spreadsheet.
Take a look at Jgnash (it is GPL) (Score:2)
After a month of parallel testing, I switched on January 1 of this year to Jgnash [sourceforge.net].
It is also a java program, so it will run on Windows or Linux (I use it on Linux with the Sun JDK). It can supposedly import GnuCash data but I haven't tried. The code is open, the file format is XML.
Jgnash is not as mature as moneydance, and doesn't have all the features (yet), but it is sta
I haven't figured out how to do this in Quicken... (Score:2)
I get paid a variable amount every week depending on how many hours I work. In order to plan ahead, I have Quicken automatically enter a number that's a conservative estimate of how much is going to come in every Friday for a few weeks in advance. But when that Friday is past and I hit "Download online transactions", it can't match up the estimated entry with the real entry, even though they have the exact same name, because the amounts are different.
Re:I haven't figured out how to do this in Quicken (Score:2)
I'll say it a million times... (Score:5, Insightful)
If anyone in the linux community wants to make millions of dollars, they need to create an accounting package that is designed for small businesses, AND as easy to use as quickbooks, AND can support an high number of simultaneous users (50 or so). I've looked at NOLA, ARIA, Compiere, Lazy8, SQL Ledger, and a ton of others, but no one even comes close to the interface and ease of installation in QuickBooks. You could even create an entire linux distro around the package, since many *many* small businesses don't have sales people doing anything but selling, writing e-mails, and looking up phone numbers.
The application can't be cobbled together between open source projects. It needs an integrated and have a consistent, intuitive interface. It needs to have in-depth reporting, with the ability to drill down inside the reports to locate specific information. It needs to have inventory control - in short, support for everything that the big boys do. And you don't have to even sell the program - just sell the support. This is, and has been, one of the biggest gaps in software that everyone knows about, but no one has tried to fix.
Re:I'll say it a million times... (Score:3, Informative)
Um, the previous owner of MoneyDance, Appgen [appgen.com], has such a program. It's called MyBooks.
$99 for a 5 user license. You can use it standalone on one machine, of course, but to get the most bang for your $99, you need to install the server version on a Linux box, and the clients on your choice of Linux, MacOSX, or Windows.
I've been running it for a year, and it's been fantastic.
Windows Server 2003? (Score:2)
Yet Another GnuCash post (Score:3, Informative)
I started using GnuCash a couple of weeks ago. I'm running it on a PowerMac G4 350MHz with Mac OS X 10.2.5. I used MoneyDance for about one year in 2001-2002. Then it was discontinued. With some annoying file corruption bugs unfixed and apparently unlikely to be fixed I switched back to Quicken. The current release happened after the original programmer finally got rights to the code he wrote for Appgen.
Now that I have it compiled, I am happier with GnuCash than I was with MoneyDance. One big advantage of GnuCash over MoneyDance for someone leaving Quicken? GnuCash is very good with QIF imports. MoneyDance produces way too many duplicate entries after a QIF import.
On the other hand, the lack of a GnuCash binary distribution for some platforms will push some people to MoneyDance. It took my computer over 12 hours to compile GnuCash and all of its dependencies. Loading MoneyDance took a minute or two.
I don't want my money to dance. (Score:2)
$G
Ask for it in stores (Score:2)
Why not use PerkBook? (Score:2)
It's actually kinda basic, but it's all I wanted at the time. Try the demo [fperkins.com]
Quicken for Mac (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Quicken for Mac (Score:2)
Re:one of (Score:2, Informative)
Re:one of (Score:4, Informative)
The lack of a UK Quicken version is the one thing stopping me getting a Mac. Seriously. I had other gripes before, but they've all been resolved one by one. I'm at the point where I'm considering getting one anyway and then running Quicken under VPC.
In the meantime, please email Intuit and tell them you want a version. I've done that, and got a polite response back saying that if there's enough interest it will be done. Of course, they won't know if there's any interest if nobody tells 'em...
Cheers,
Ian
Page formatter you're not you're not.... (Score:2)
Re:Does it import Gnucash files? (Score:2)
You could be a Wine user. I run Quicken 2002 Basic in Linux.
But it probably doesn't import Gnucash files...
gnucash is a ho to get working anyway, at least from source
Re:MoneyDance on Linux -- Huh? (Score:4, Informative)
You must be thinking of something else or using a really bad JVM on Linux. Some older linuxen use Kafe as their default JVM and Kafe has lots of bugs. Perhaps that's your problem. Try it with Blackdown's JVM instead.
Re:MoneyDance on Linux -- Huh? (Score:2)
Re:MoneyDance on Linux -- Huh? (Score:2, Insightful)
I'm kind of dissapointed about this MoneyDance program though. It looks like it's really cool and simple. Which is just what I need because I don't do complicated things with my money. But it's a java program, and it isn't free as in b
Re:MoneyDance on Linux -- Huh? (Score:2)
Not to rant on, but i
Re:MoneyDance on Linux (Score:2, Funny)
Re:mad whaoo ? (Score:2, Offtopic)
apache@localhost' (Using password: NO)
All the evil crackers out there are plotting already... passwordless sql.
Re:Password in error message ??? (Score:2, Informative)
Huh? (Score:2)
MUCH better than using a paper register and spending an hour or two reconciling your paper statement. I now reconcile in about 2 seconds and still catch all e
Re:A couple thoughts... (Score:2)
Re:A couple thoughts... (Score:2)
Compared to what passes as naming conventions in Open Source, MoneyDance sounds positively Redmondian.
It could easily have been called "The gtkFooGnuTklDough" and we'd all be congratulating ourselves on our cleverness.
Re:A couple thoughts... (Score:2)
Open Source Money Program for the Mac: "Apple pyDough"
How about "MING?" ("MoneyDance Is Not GNUCash"?)
A Deluxe Money Program for really, really rich people: "xCESS"
Re:Why would I need this? (Score:2)
I've got online banking with autopay too, works great. But it doesn't tell me what's going on with my mortgage (except when I make payments) because that's at a different bank. My car loan is with yet another financial institution. My 2 credit cards, 1 with my online bank, 1 with someone else....
And Moneydance goes back a
Re:Why would I need this? (Score:2)
Just a nit pick, but this last point is bollocks.