Quicken Finally Works With Lion But Is It Too Little, Too Late?

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Intuit finally releases a Lion-comatible version of Quicken
Intuit finally releases a Lion-compatible version of Quicken

When Lion was released last summer, there was a big outcry because Apple had decided to kill off Rosetta, the emulation engine that allowed Macs with Intel processors to run apps designed for Macs with Power PC processors. Apple’s position was that it had made the switch to Intel and stopped selling Power PC Macs five years earlier and it was time for users and developers to move on. Most developers did move on to releasing universal apps that could run on Macs with either processor or that were Intel-only.

One company that dragged its heals was Intuit, maker of the popular Quicken personal finance app. When Lion shipped, users of Quicken 2007, the most recent version, were faced with options that really weren’t that good: not upgrade to Lion, install a stripped down version called Quicken Essentials that was built for Intel Macs, run the Windows version of Quicken, or switch to a different app.

Obviously, this state of affairs didn’t make Quicken users particularly happy. Intuit tended to point the finger at Apple. Apple, which had given developers the tools to update their apps for Intel Macs five years earlier, didn’t change it’s position. Apple’s reasoning when it announced Lion wouldn’t support Rosetta was that developers had known this day was coming and should’ve been planning for it as soon as Apple announced the first Intel iMac and MacBook Pro in 2005.

If you’re a fan of the old adage “better late than never” and you’re a Quicken fan, you’ll be happy to know that Quicken has finally released a Lion-compatible version of Quicken 2007.

The new release doesn’t offer any new features. In fact, other than supporting Lion and Intel Macs, the release is essentially the same product that Intuit shipped five years ago – not something that bodes well for the future. As if to underscore that the product is rather out of date, users have the option to request it on a CD. It’s also available as a download for the same $14.99 price tag.

A statement on the company’s website says Intuit is committed to Mac and iOS as platforms but doesn’t indicate that it will be updating Quicken or creating an iOS version of it.

We are committed to supporting Apple products and our Mac customers. We are actively working on a personal finance solution for the iPad, as well as continuing to deliver the highly rated Mint.com iPhone application. In addition, we are evaluating options for Quicken Essentials for Mac.

That makes me think that Quicken users who haven’t already moved on to alternative finance apps may want to consider doing so.

 

 

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