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Barbara Krasnoff

The Interesting Bits ... and Bytes

Watching as desktop software disappears

14 comments

TAGS:Quicken, Web-based applications
IT TOPICS:Desktop Applications, SOA & Web Services

The idea of working with online apps rather with locally-installed software is no longer revolutionary. In fact, it's slowly becoming a fact of life -- so much so, that it may not be long before you won't have much of a choice as to whether you work online or not.

Take, for example, personal financial management software. You know, applications that help you track your expenses, balance your checkbook and try to figure out what's going on with your 401K. Want to install a package onto your computer? Unwilling to use one of the new Web-based personal financial management sites such as Mint, Thrive or Quicken Online?

Fine. These days, outside of a few obscure shareware apps, your choices now essentially number... one.

Microsoft recently decided to abandon its ailing 18-year-old Money application, apparently because, according to a spokesperson, its customers have switched to "full-service offerings provided by banks and brokerages."

What does that leave for those of us who aren't interested in depending on our banks to help balance our checkbooks (especially considering the uneasy relationship many of us have with our banks these days)? Well, there's Intuit's Quicken. And there's...uh....Quicken.

And Intuit knows it. The company is trying to lure Money users by offering $20 to $50 off its products -- through July 31st, so think quick, folks.

Unfortunately, not everybody actually likes Quicken. I used it for years, but eventually became disillusioned with the insistent promotions and the constant urging to upgrade (and the occasional news that those who didn't upgrade would no longer be able to use Quicken's online service). I'm probably not the only one.

I realize I have other options. There are some interesting independently-authored applications swimming around out there; however, all the ones I've tried are either very limited or difficult to navigate. I can always bite the bullet and return to Quicken.

But I have the feeling my best option is to start investigating one of the online applications. Because no market can survive forever with only one choice. Sooner or later, it's likely that they will be the only choices left.

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There will be more Desktop Software

Submitted by Jeremie on June 28, 2009 - 3:48 A.M.

There will be more to follow

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Nonsense

Submitted by Anonymous on June 25, 2009 - 9:53 A.M.

The only web-based software I use is for email (gmail) and that's as far as I'll ever take it. Additionally, my real name and actual IP and MAC address is NOT associated with that account. As another commenter below says, the open-source community will always provide excellent free apps to run locally. No one will ever force me into the world of "cloud computing". Software-As-A-Service is only a "service" to those who control it. When I buy software I want those bits on MY hard drive, not someone else's. I will retain control, not some server run by a company with ulterior motives.

If you like spam and having adware hackers rummaging around your personal files, go ahead and pay to get yourself violated by these scoundrels.

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you have no choice

Submitted by rich97 on June 23, 2009 - 1:29 P.M.

Is there any other industry which constantly informs the customer base that they will have no choice about this that and the other thing?

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Good Point

Submitted by Anonymous on June 25, 2009 - 10:21 A.M.

It's easy enough to reverse this situation if enough people vote with their dollars. Don't buy, don't subscribe, don't participate and above all, don't pay for anything you really don't want or don't know enough about.

I never buy anything from big monopolistic companies like M$FT, WorstBuy or Mall*Wart -- I vote with my dollars and never buy computers with "windoze" pre-installed because every time you do, you're giving money to the evil empire that likes to control your life. Don't be a clone, be a person.

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There's always a choice.

Submitted by Mike (too) on June 17, 2009 - 11:14 A.M.

Our friends in the Open Source world will make sure of that.

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Desktop software won't disappear...

Submitted by Anonymous on June 16, 2009 - 6:43 P.M.

The personal financial management software situation is just a niche issue, not an indication of a near-term trend.

At a time when personal computers have massive amounts of computing power, it's silly to use them as Dumb Internet Terminals.

Web applications bring with them performance, reliability, security, control, privacy, and other issues. No thanks.

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Wintel Treadmill

Submitted by Robert Pogson on June 17, 2009 - 6:11 A.M.

Anonymous wrote:"At a time when personal computers have massive amounts of computing power, it's silly to use them as Dumb Internet Terminals."

I disagree. At a time when Moore's Law permits producing very inexpensive PCs with adequate power to use the web, it is silly to buy and to operate machines costing several times as much to host a super-computer on our desks.

Instead of a box weighing 30 pounds adding white noise and heat to my office, I can use a tiny fanless box bolted on the back of my monitor that costs less than $100. Why should I do things that other way when for less I get more?

Server-centric computing works. I can keep a server very busy while my thin client or netbook idles. Performance for desktop computing is actually higher this way as the server has almost everything I need cached in RAM. I can boot faster and load applications faster. With adequate bandwidth, a thin client can work to my server or something on the web. It is all the same.

The issues of security are real but the hokum about needing thick clients is not. I can set up my own servers to deal with all the applications and data of a large organization for about $30 per client and avoid many of the security issues. It is still cheaper than using powerful thick clients.

I can do server-centric computing much better and cheaper using GNU/Linux and thin clients than I can using that other OS and thick clients.

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Gatekeepers...

Submitted by Anonymous on June 17, 2009 - 11:57 A.M.

Be careful what you wish for. No Internet access? Tough luck for you.
I think that when you NEED to have a network to get a job done then you are at the mercy of the network, he who controls the network (or access thereto) controls you and your business. If you simply CAN use the network (but do not NEED to) then you have more independence, more say over how you work and what you do.

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I agree with you. Middlemen

Submitted by Anonymous on June 18, 2009 - 10:32 P.M.

I agree with you. Middlemen tend to yank your chain when they gain control over you.

For example, some large internet access providers have proposed a two-tier internet, where customers would have to pay more for faster service. "Tough luck for you," if you can't pay the piper.

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Two sets of customers

Submitted by Anonymous on June 17, 2009 - 11:10 A.M.

Your example is fine in a corporate environment, where you have local servers that service the requests and thin clients. But as a home user, there is no way I would trust any of the institutions to keep my information secure. Passport anyone, credit card fraud/theft. Now, playing a game online is fine, as I don't have anything really riding on the data being around long term. Anything else, forget it. Security includes physical security. Anytime data leaves my machine, I want to know what it is and where it is going.

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