What Windows software is still in use?

On 10-Jun-2008, at 11:15, brian.hannon wrote:
> Why intuit can't get their act together and offer a single protocol
> for transaction download for both the mac and pc versions of their
> software is beyond me,


There's one main reason. They don't want to. Seriously, everything
I've ever seen from Intuit (and I dealt with them in some way or
another for over a decade) has shown me that the only reason they ever
produce Mac software is to try to migrate Mac users to Windows. Every
tech support call to then for Quickbooks I was made to feel like a
retard for not running the Windows version. Every contact with them
via email would result in boilerplate Windows responses even though
I'd clearly stated I was running a Mac. Their complete screw-job on
all their Mac customers caused me to completely and irrevocably give
up on them; nothing that I've ever seen has caused me to even
reëxamine that decision.

They are a horrible company that actively hates all their Mac (and
probably all their windows customers too) customers. I think their
primary reason for existence is to make Microsoft seem warm and fuzzy
by comparison.

I have to say, i knew it was going to go poorly when I called to
register Quickbooks and they insisted they had to know what my
business consisted of. I told them it was none of their business and
they told me they would not authorize my software unless I told them.
So I told them I produced pornography. :) There was a long pause
followed by my registration number.

I use the Windows version of QuickBooks. When Intuit abandoned the
Mac, I used used Virtual PC for several years. That was a pain. I
eventually bought a Windows XP machine just for using QuickBooks. The
current Mac Version is a pathetic imitation of the Windows version, so
I continue to use the Windows version of QuickBooks.

I am about to move Windows XP applications onto an iMac running
Bootcamp. So QuickBooks will be running under XP on a BootCamp Mac. I
will probably use Parallels on another Mac and buy a multi-user
QuickBooks license for that machine.

I also have a POS application that was developed for Windows. I used
to run the server functionality on the same Windows machine that I use
for QuickBooks. When I decided to move the POS Server to separate
platform, I chose a Mac mini running Windows under BootCamp.

I have decided that I am more comfortable running Windows XP on Mac
platforms. Those other alien boxes always made me nervous.

Apple is responsible for me buying 3 full Windows XP licenses to run
on Macs.

Nick Pappas

On 10-Jun-2008, at 16:04, Tomoharu Nishino wrote:
> And the following quote from their page certainly does not inspire
> confidence: "Mac Flight Planner is not meant to replace you're
> existing flight planning system."
>
> While I too would like to give the person high marks for trying, I
> have to have rock solid confidence in the software before I start
> relying on it to produce, among other things, fuel-burn/remaining-fuel
> calculations.


The misuse of "you're" instead of "your" would be enough for me to
look elsewhere. I am not a grammar/spelling nazi in general, but I do
expect competence from a company or someone trying to sell me something.

I didn't see the movie "Two Weeks Notice" largely because of the
glaring stupidity of the error in the title. Well, and the reviews
were nothing special.

I use Windows because Virtual Invisalign Practice for designing Invisalign orthodontic treatment won't run with Mac browsers. Actually the treatment plan forms and uploading photos and radiographs works, but not the treatment simulator)

I also use it for running neuromuscular diagnostic software from Myotronics. They wrote their original software for Apple II but switched to Windows and don't support Mac OS.

Hi, Just to let you know there is a comparable program to NVivo that does work on Mac and Windows platforms called HyperResearch. It is also more user-friendly than NVivo. Please contact me directly at asherasherconsult.com if you are interested in learning more about it. Thanks, Asher Beckwitt Doctoral Candidate in Anthropoloy American University

--On June 10, 2008 10:15:47 AM -0700 "brian.hannon"
<brian.hannonalum.dartmouth.org> wrote:

> I use quicken on Windows because it supports download from far more
> institutions than the Mac version.
>
> Why intuit can't get their act together and offer a single protocol for
> transaction download for both the mac and pc versions of their software
> is beyond me, but that's another discussion. --


>From discussions I've seen on the Internet Quicken actually charges banks a
second fee to support Quicken for Mac users. If Quicken supported OFX
instead of their own proprietary extensions they could do this.

Personally I use Moneydance. Same file format on Windows and Mac (and
Linux), many years ago when I imported from Quicken it did a decent job.
Not sure if your specific bank is supported for online transactions but the
list is pretty extensive. I use the online part with Sharebuilder but my
other banks don't offer any online interaction except manual downloads.
Moneydance imports those files just fine.

<http://moneydance.com/>

Partial list of banks that provide some level of online capability with
Moneydance. It lists banks that support both download only and interactive
downloads.

<http://moneydance.com/fi>

Kevin

--On June 11, 2008 9:31:40 AM -0700 Nick Pappas <ngpappasnii.net> wrote:

> I also have a POS application that was developed for Windows. I used
> to run the server functionality on the same Windows machine that I use
> for QuickBooks. When I decided to move the POS Server to separate
> platform, I chose a Mac mini running Windows under BootCamp.

I can't help here, but this paragraph is hilarious when you remember in the
tech world "POS" is short for "Piece Of S***" instead of "Point of Sale"

At 3:04 PM -0700 6/10/08, Tomoharu Nishino wrote:
>My sense is that
>broadly speaking, SAS is popular in professional schools (particularly
>business schools), and STATA is popular in social science departments,
>with Gauss bringing up the high-end (econ and stats departments).

This is the key point. If you hope to collaborate with others, you
need to use the same tools so that you can exchange files. (Not just
the data itself, but also the syntax files.)

So, in fields where STATA is widely used, STATA is a good option.
Where R is widely used, that is a great option.

But in other fields, where PC-SAS dominates, Parallels and Fusion are
really important.

(Education, by the way, is really about PC-SAS and SPSS.)

--
=Alex Hoffman
Leadership, Policy & Politics
Teachers College, Columbia University

>Hi, Just to let you know there is a comparable program to NVivo that
>does work on Mac and Windows platforms called HyperResearch. It is
>also more user-friendly than NVivo.

There are alternatives for virtually every class software for Mac OS
X. But whether or not they are comparable is a different question. I
know about HyperResearch, but that doesn't change the fact that NVivo
dominates my institution and Atlas.TI is used by my advisor and her
acolytes.

So long as different applications cannot open each others' files,
there is a huge cost to using an different application than one's
community, and that cost is often enough to keep it from really being
comparable.

In my view, such situations are perfect for Parallels or Fusion.

--
=Alex Hoffman
Leadership, Policy & Politics
Teachers College, Columbia University

On Jun 10, 2008, at 10:15 AM, brian.hannon wrote:

> Why intuit can't get their act together and offer a single protocol
> for transaction download for both the mac and pc versions of their
> software is beyond me, but that's another discussion.

They don't want to. They want to continue getting two license fees
from the institutions.

   --John

On Jun 11, 2008, at 9:31 AM, LewisGmail wrote:

> There's one main reason. They don't want to. Seriously, everything
> I've ever seen from Intuit (and I dealt with them in some way or
> another for over a decade) has shown me that the only reason they ever
> produce Mac software is to try to migrate Mac users to Windows.

Speaking with Apple insiders, it is apparent to me that Apple had to
offer considerable financial incentives to Intuit to influence them
to bring back QuickBooks for the Macintosh at all.

QuickBooks is one of those pivotal applications that countless users
feel that they must have an OS X-native version of, or they could not
begin to consider using a Macintosh. At this point, with the
emergence of NeoOffice and iWork, QuickBooks is probably even more
important to the Mac's success than Microsoft Office. I'm surprised
that Apple hasn't created their own competitor to QuickBooks, as they
have for most Microsoft and Adobe applications, to get out from under
Intuit's thumb.

My personal feeling is that Intuit as much as spat on Mac users when
they withdrew QuickBooks from the Mac platform, and I don't feel that
their attitude towards Mac users has really improved since, even
though QuickBooks is available for the Mac again. If I can convince
anyone to use any product other than QuickBooks, it makes me happy to
do so. Fortunately there are quite a few accounting programs for the
Macintosh other than QuickBooks, many of which are excellent . If
anyone would like a list of them, I'd be happy to send them one if
they contact me via private e-mail. (The list is probably too long
to post to this discussion group.)

A short taste:

- MYOB's AccountEdge
<http://www.myob.com/us/>

- Appgen's MyBooks
<http://www.unrealstudio.com/appgen/index.html>

- MoneyWorks (4 different versions are available for different sizes
and types of organizations)
<http://cognito.co.nz/product.range.php>
<http://www.cognito.co.nz/index.php>


Randy B. Singer • Mac OS X Routine Maintenance • http://www.macattorney.com/ts.html

While we're on the subject of Intuit, are there Mac software products that are the rough equivalents to Quicken? If so could someone tell me of one they have tried and liked? I was a longtime Quicken user on Windows and liked the product but I wasn't too fond of the aggressive marketing / upsell behavior of the company. Since we switched to all Macs in the house earlier this year it's on my to-do list to find a replacement for Quicken.

Thanks,
Chris

Re: What Windows software is still in use?

Windows-only websites

Aside from specific Windows programs, perhaps this TidBITS Talk topic should be broadened to deal with websites that work only with Windows PCs, refusing to communicate with Mac OS X or Linux or Unix computers.

To be specific, I will mention the Medtronics CareLink website,

<carelink.minimed.com>.

This site allows an insulin-dependent diabetic using a Medtronics insulin pump to upload a personal history of blood-glucose measurements, carbohydrates eaten, and insulin delivered by the pump. The data for the past 90 days are uploaded from the pump's memory by means of the Medtronics-furnished CareLink USB device, and are held in the user's own password-protected account at the CareLink website. The website can then generate, on request, a variety of reports (tables and graphs) based on these data for the user and his endocrinologist to view and/or download as pdf documents. Such information is very useful, in some cases even life-saving, for planning lifestyle changes and adjusting insulin treatment.

However, any Mac OS or Linux or Unix user who tries to sign on to that web address is stopped at a page saying that he cannot proceed unless his computer is running under Windows 2000, XP, or Vista, and is using Internet Explorer 5.5 or later. As I own one of the last of the G5 iMacs and am not now in need of a new Intel Mac, I am shut out of the CareLink service on my Mac. (I don't know if Virtual PC, available on eBay for $50-100, will support all the features I would need, so I have not pursued that option.)

Around Aug. 2007, I emailed Medtronics about this and mentioned the increasing fraction of home computers running Mac OS. I pointed out that diabetics who happen to work in Windows-only offices would probably prefer not to upload their personal data and study the CareLink reports while at work. Moreover, some security-conscious IT departments do not allow installation of the driver for the CareLink USB device needed for the data uploads. Medtronics responded that they were reviewing the situation. Six months later, I followed up with another email inquiry, but there was no response. I made several telephone inquiries at Medtronics without positive result, and in January spoke with the regional Medtronics representative, but never heard from him again.

My solution so far has been to rent time on a public Windows PC whose owner allowed installation of the USB driver, and then copy the CareLink reports to a flash drive for study at home. For the future, I may buy (or perhaps inherit) a cast-off Windows machine.

Ultimately the best thing would be for Medtronics to accomodate non-Windows computers -- it shouldn't be terribly difficult as all the programs are on their own computers and all communication is via the web browser.

On 13-Jun-2008, at 04:25, halbert wrote:
> Moreover, some security-conscious IT departments do not allow
> installation of the driver for the CareLink USB device needed for
> the data uploads. Medtronics responded that they were reviewing the
> situation. Six months later, I followed up with another email
> inquiry, but there was no response. I made several telephone
> inquiries at Medtronics without positive result, and in January
> spoke with the regional Medtronics representative, but never heard
> from him again.

Do diabetics fall under the terms of the ADA? Perhaps a certified
letter explaining your intent to file an ADA lawsuit against them if
it does. Are there any diabetic groups that might be willing to weigh
in? Part of the ADA specifies that websites must be accessible.
Restricting them to a specific browser on Windows is not 'accessible'.

For the longest time the Joint Typhoon Warning Center Products went
Windows only: their area is from the Eastern Pacific to the Indian
Ocean. I found it worked with the CrossOver beta and Windows
Explorer combination: like frozen treacle. The Mac browsers could
not be configured to cheat and connect.

Finally, just as typhoon season is about to open this year, <http://
metocph.nmci.navy.mil/jtwc.php> has started to accept connections
from Safari 3.1.1 running on my Intel Mini: with a swift, crisp,
response. Please don't everyone try the link. It is for timely
forecast broadcasting to people who need it. But patience and many
requests must have won out. It seemed to go Windows only from 2001 or
'02 till sometime in May this year. I used it before I could read
some Japanese to help safeguard our house and friend's yachts in
Japan. My friends were all working Japanese hours.

Also the Asian typhoon forecasts use Asian logic. It was fascinating
to watch the difference.

George

At 7:11 AM -0700 6/13/08, LewisGmail wrote:
>Part of the ADA specifies that websites must be accessible.
>Restricting them to a specific browser on Windows is not 'accessible'.

That's not what "accessible" means, for ADA purposes, unless you
count use of a Mac a disability. ]

--
=Alex Hoffman
Leadership, Policy & Politics
Teachers College, Columbia University

--On 6/13/2008 7:11 AM -0700 LewisGmail wrote:

> On 13-Jun-2008, at 04:25, halbert wrote:
>> Moreover, some security-conscious IT departments do not allow
>> installation of the driver for the CareLink USB device needed for
>> the data uploads. Medtronics responded that they were reviewing the
>> situation. Six months later, I followed up with another email
>> inquiry, but there was no response.
[...]
> Do diabetics fall under the terms of the ADA? Perhaps a certified
> letter explaining your intent to file an ADA lawsuit against them if
> it does. Are there any diabetic groups that might be willing to weigh
> in? Part of the ADA specifies that websites must be accessible.
> Restricting them to a specific browser on Windows is not 'accessible'.

Actually, it's likely a different part of federal law/regulation involved
working in the opposite direction.

That is, the pump is a "medical device", and there are very stringent
validation requirements ("21CFR11") for all associated software and
operating environments. I would bet that Medtronics has BOXES of
validation paperwork for EACH supported Windows variation and IE version,
likely representing hundreds of person-hours for each validated
configuration.

I would further bet that legal/validation specialists at Medtronics
sincerely believe that they could face serious FDA sanctions if anything
went wrong in a case where a user had an untested browser or OS and their
site permitted the user to connect.

It may well be the case that allowing access from Safari/FireFox and/or Mac
OS X does not really present any significant risk. However, until there is
a legal precedent established or a specific FDA guidance that explicitly
permits more general validation of web applications, I doubt any device
manufacturer will be willing to test the agency's flexibility by not
locking their application down to a handful of known browser/OS
combinations.

Dave Scocca

On Jun 12, 2008, at 3:09 PM, chrisesposito4comcast.net wrote:
> Since we switched to all Macs in the house earlier this year it's
> on my to-do list to find a replacement for Quicken.

I swear by Moneydance
http://moneydance.com/

Dick

If I had an Intel Mac, I'd be using Boot Camp or Parallels, etc. to run a program called ComicBase. It is a comic book cataloging program that went PC only several years ago because the developer could not continue to develop the program for the Mac and PC since the tools he used were not longer Mac compatible.

If you collect comics it is the best program to keep track of what you have and unfortunately it is PC only.

I also used to use ComicBase, which was built on HyperCard. I
exchanged a few e-mails with the developer and he said it was too
expensive to port to a Mac OS X HyperCard alternative because of the
need to rewrite XCMDs (sp?) for the small number of Mac customers.
I've seen a nice comic book collecting/selling program that was
integrated with a web site, but it was also Windows only.

Paul Chernoff
Director of Information Technology
Washingtonian Magazine