I posted that as info, not because I believe any of the Mint guy's
assertions. Nor am I interested in trying his product. Personally, I would
rather have my apps on my PC. I don't want to be dependent on a web
connection, nor in trust to some server operator's claims of security. I
rue the day that keeps being predicted of universal dependence on the
internet for computing.

In a perfect world, this would be great for many of the reasons cited. But
it's not a perfect world. Many people are very concerned about online
providers ability to secure their data and/or provide 100% availability.
Look what happens here every time Microsoft does most anything to their
servers for MSN Money.

"XB77" <XB77[at]My-Deja.com> wrote in message
news:IouTi.11164$_64.9937[at]trnddc02...
- quote -

Financial Software
Makes Move to Web
By LEE GOMES
October 23, 2007; Page B3

The Web is slowly but relentlessly changing the way people use computers,
including the use of everyday pieces of software. Personal-finance software,
such as Quicken or Money, has long been a mainstay for home computers, but
it's another example of something you can now do online.

At a Web developer's conference last month, attendees selected Mint.com1 as
best new company at the event. Mint lets users track items such as their
credit-card expenses online by using just a browser. The service is free;
Mint takes in revenue when users act on its suggestions for ways to save
money. Aaron Patzer, Mint's founder, talked about some of the differences
between online and offline software.

* * *
What's the advantage of a program living online rather than on your desktop?

There are two big advantages. One of them is that you can leverage the power
of the Web. You can pull in data sources from everywhere. The second is that
you can continuously upgrade and improve your software. Desktop packages are
usually put out once a year. And if they have bugs, they have bugs for an
entire year. Or, the software may patch itself, but they don't put out new
features, except on an annual basis. They are locked. You never get any new
features in the interim. At Mint, we push out new features on a weekly
basis -- minor features on a weekly basis, and major features once a month.

What's wrong with packaged software makers' upgrading their products
regularly?

What they want to do for their business model is to get their customers to
upgrade every year. Quicken and Microsoft Money sunset their products; they
actually force you to upgrade every three or so years. To force an upgrade,
you have to justify it somehow. So they end up in feature warfare, where
they put in endless amounts of trivial or pointless features. But that
diverts focus away from the core features. You see that in some Microsoft
products. Word or Excel 95 or 97 were just fine. But in order to force the
upgrade, they add 100 different features that no one ends up using.

Instead, you want to do your core features in an elegant, simple,
user-friendly way. And I think the Web is more geared for that. You aren't
pressured into trying to sell boxed software once a year.

Google is making word-processing and spreadsheet software that runs online;
even Microsoft is moving in that direction. What do you think the future
holds?

Three or five years from now all your core applications will be
online...your finances, your word processing, your spreadsheets. The only
kind of software you would ever want on a desktop is something that requires
a lot of processing power and bandwidth, like video editing or gaming.

Personal-finance software had been around almost as long as personal
computers have. What was it like designing a personal-finance program new
and from the ground up?

It allowed us to think about what problems people have. Instead of being
trapped in an old framework, like an electronic checkbook, we were able to
allow people to get all the information about their finances in one place.
And it allowed us to question some fundamental assumptions, such as, do you
really even need to balance your checkbook any more? I don't think so. I
think software can do it for you. And I don't think banks make the mistakes
they would have 20 or 25 years ago. At least for people like me: the
Internet generation. We are comfortable with doing things online.

Write to Lee Gomes at lee.gomes[at]wsj.com2

URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119309281593867637.html


Hyperlinks in this Article:
(1) http://Mint.com
(2) mailto:lee.gomes[at]wsj.com