Why you'll see "Quicken for Linux" ...
Matthew at Mattshouse.com
mattshouse.com
I have no doubt that Intuit will port their Quicken product to Linux. If they are not working on it now, then they will break ground soon. Thanks to Microsoft there's a certain predictability to the software industry. Here's my theory: If you develop and market a Windows application, and Microsoft decides to create a competing product, then you will lose. You will either be controlled by the Behemoth, ala Citrix and Real, or you will be weakened and absorbed, ala Netscape and Lotus. The only exception to this rule seems to be Oracle, who is thriving in the Windows world despite Microsoft's best efforts. The only hope you have is to reach as many users as you possibly can, in the least amount of time, for the smallest amount of money. You have to create, no, force a critical mass.
There are two ways to create this critical mass, and neither has anything to do with creating a better product. You must either give your product away for free in a bundling deal, or fervently port to other operating systems. It's a given that Microsoft will not port Money to Linux, so Quicken would have the dominating product immediately. Most Linux users use Windows somewhere, be it at home, or at work. They will obviously choose Quicken for Windows for compatibility and ease-of-use reasons, since they already use it on their Linux machine.
There are several companies in the same boat as Intuit. The aforementioned Lotus, whose Notes and Smartsuite compete with Exchange and Office; Borland, whose C++ and Dbase compete with Visual C++ and Access; Allaire, whose Cold Fusion and HomeSite compete with Active Server Pages and Frontpage. The list is long and distinguished. All of the companies that fit into this category could really cash-in with a port to Linux. Allaire and Lotus have already started. I don't know what's holding Borland up, but they're dyeing a slow death. I think they even changed their name recently. If these companies would think for themselves, instead of hiring some high-priced consulting firm, then they would see that there is virtually nothing to lose. Many of them could be first-to-market with a Linux port, and would really clean up.
One thing that the consulting firm is telling these companies is that users of a free operating system won't pay for software. This is a bunch of bologna. These companies are players in the business market, not the home market. Leave the home market to Microsoft. Ma and Pa E-machine are a lot more forgiving of a system crash than the accountant working on an end-of-month report. Let's be real: We don't pay for business software, the company does. I'm not going to buy a copy of Borland C++, or Oracle Enterprise Server, for home use. If I use it at home, then it's going to be to work on company stuff. The company will pay for it. I don't need a massive word processor, or a spreadsheet at home unless I'm going to use it for company business.
I'm going to wrap this up by saying that there is already an acceptance of Linux in the IS departments. These are the people that choose Smartsuite over Office, or Cold Fusion over ASP. These are the people that you need to influence. The cost of a port is nearly nothing if you've written good code. If you port it, they will come...
Hey, I like that.
Another reason there will be Quicken for Linux. Linux lovers will make a product suggestion to Intuit on the website. Isn't the internet great? Tell 'em Rusty sent you.
altserv.intuit.com
Linux ... port it and they will come. |
