Well, this isn't really an offer of business services but a rant against software that many of you may use, particularly to manage your business. It is meant to alert you to shady practices by software makers.
I've been a loyal Quicken user since 1993 or there about. For those that don't know, Quicken is financial management software made Intuit, who also makes Turbotax.
Anyway, a couple of months ago, the ability to download transactions from my financial institution became disabled by Quicken saying that they no longer supported my version.
WTF?
I was not experiencing any kind of issue with the software other than I could no longer download transactions. I contacted my bank and they told me that they were still capable of creating the necessary file. The inability to download my transaction occurred at Intuit's servers where they intercepted my download request. Apparently, this is a preemptive move on the part of Intuit to force customers to upgrade perfectly functional and working software.
OK, so I've been limping along manually updating my accounts. Today I decided to go get the new version.
Mind you, my version of Quicken was the Basic version. I have no need for all the bells and whistles, and especially the added-value products they include in the Deluxe and Premier versions. I quickly saw that the basic version is no longer sold. Hmmmm. But there is something called the "Starter edition". So that's what I bought.
Went home, slipped in the DVD, and "This version of Quicken is not capable of importing data from previous versions of Quicken. If you choose to continue, all of your Quicken data will be lost."
WTF? WTF? WTF? WTF? WTF? WTF? WTF? WTF?
So, not only do they force you to upgrade, they force you to purchase the pricier versions in order to keep your data.
At the very least, they should have put on the outside of the box in big red letters: "NOT COMPATIBLE WITH PREVIOUS VERSIONS".
What the fuck kind of business plan is that?