Microsoft Money
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Developer(s) | Microsoft |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows |
| Type | Personal finance |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | http://www.microsoft.com/money/ |
Microsoft Money was Microsoft's personal finance software. It is designed for computers using the Microsoft Windows operating system, though versions for Windows Mobile are also available (available for Money 2000 - 2006 on select versions of Windows Mobile, up to, but not including, Windows Mobile 5.0).
The latest version, released in August 2007, is called Microsoft Money Plus and comes in four editions: Essentials, Deluxe, Premium and Home & Business.
On 10 June 2009, Microsoft announced that it would discontinue sales of the software from 30 June 2009.[1]
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[edit] Localization
There are versions of Microsoft Money for the U.S., U.K., France, Japan, Canada and an International English edition for other English speaking countries. However, Microsoft has not updated the U.K., French and international editions since Money 2005. The last Canadian version was Money 2006.
In the past, there have been localized versions for other countries, such as Russia, Brazil, Germany and Italy. However, these versions were discontinued due to what was believed to be an insufficient user base to justify the expense of localization for more recent versions or the expense to integrate support for the national online-banking standard like HBCI in Germany.
[edit] History
The first version of Microsoft Money dates back to 1991 and was originally part of the Microsoft Home series. [2]
To celebrate Windows 95's release and to promote the advantages of a native Windows 95 application, Money 95 was available as a free web download from Microsoft's web site between 24 August 1995 and 31 October 1995. Users also had the option of paying $9.95 USD plus tax (for US residents) or $14.95 CAD plus tax (for Canadian residents) for CD-ROM or 3.5" floppy disk media along with a hard copy user's manual during that promotional period. This was requested either through a promotional mail-in card (was distributed in stores) or calling Microsoft directly. The freely downloaded (moneyweb.exe) version was the same as the paid 3.5" floppy disk version but no user's manual was available. The CD-ROM version included Multimedia Catalog (an electronic catalog of Microsoft products available at that time) and an online user's manual. Users who took advantage of this (media cost + freight cost) only version did not receive the retail box, but the contents were the same as the ones sold in stores. Windows NT 3.51 was also supported. [3]
[edit] Release history
| Marketed version | Actual version | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Money Plus (2008) | 17.0 | Final release. First and only version to require Product activation on those copies installed from CD. |
| Microsoft Money 2007 | 16.0 | First version to require Product activation for copies installed from downloaded installation files. |
| Microsoft Money 2006 | 15.0 | Last localized release for Canada. Last version for Windows 98 SE/ME, Windows 2000 SP3, [4] and for Windows Mobile platforms. |
| Microsoft Money 2005 | 14.0 | Last localized release for the U.K., French, and the International edition. |
| Microsoft Money 2004 | 12.0 | Last version to support original version of Windows 98 ("First Edition"). |
| Microsoft Money 2003 | 11.0 | |
| Microsoft Money 2002 | 10.0 | Last version to support Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 SP5. |
| Microsoft Money 2001 | 9.0 | |
| Microsoft Money 2000 | 8.0 | First edition for Windows Mobile platforms. |
| Microsoft Money 99 | 7.0 | Last localized release for Germany and Brazil. |
| Microsoft Money 98 | 6.0 | |
| Microsoft Money 97 | 5.0 | Last version to support Windows NT 3.51. |
| Microsoft Money 95 | 4.0, 4.0a | First Win32 version. Free promotional version (downloaded from Microsoft) was available for limited time after Windows 95's initial release. Version 4.0a corrected a file import bug. |
| Microsoft Money 3.0 | 3.0 | Final Win16 version. |
| Microsoft Money 2.0 | 2.0 | |
| Microsoft Money | 1.0 | Initial release for Windows 3.0. |
Due to Microsoft's propensity to market product versions using the year number rather than the actual version number, the version number reported in the Help dialogue may not actually reflect that of the packaging of the distribution media.
Note that a version 13.x was never created.
[edit] Discontinuation of Money
In August 2008, Microsoft announced that they would discontinue the practice of releasing a new version of the product each year, and as such had no version planned for 2009. Additionally, the company announced that they would be no longer shipping boxed versions of Microsoft Money to retail stores, instead selling the product only through online downloads. [5]
On 10 June 2009, Microsoft announced that they would be ending development of Money. The company plans to discontinue sales of Money by 30 June 2009, however will continue to support the product until 31 Jan 2011. [1] The company cited the changing needs of the marketplace as the reason for Money's demise. "Demand for a comprehensive personal finance toolset has declined" the company said on their website. [6]
Some Money products require activation and Microsoft has announced that these will not be able to be reactivated after Jan. 31, 2011. If you should buy a new computer or need to rebuild your existing computer after that date, you will not be able to reinstall Money and will thus lose access to all of your old data.[6] However, versions of Money prior to 2007 do not need activation and thus do not suffer from this limitation.
[edit] Notes and references
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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