quicken 2010 starter

Hello,

I have been using quicken since the 90's and have been quite dismayed by how the software quality gets worse every version. I have Quicken Basic

2007 which is about to expire. I don't see a basic 2010 version now. I do see a 2010 starter but everything I read about this new version says is sucks horribly and does not even have the functionality the basic version I have does.

on amazon it is rated 2 stars and would be lower accept for some inuit home town reviews. Average Customer Review

2.1 out of 5 stars (27 customer reviews)

Is there really a version 2010 basic hidden somewhere on there site that I can't find or is everything I am hearing true ?

Reply to
no name no spam
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no name no spam wrote in news:ApWdnTrnxZvTTyrWnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@posted.isomediainc:

The basic version is what some compaanies put on the compter when you buy it. It is useless for anyone who wants to use it, but it is a "teaser" that gets some people involved in it, and they then buy one of the higher versions. It has been like that for quite a few years now (?how many, I don't know).

Go on Ebay and get the cheapest version (but higher than basic) that you want. Keep in mind that the features of Quicken of Quicken that require Quicken to go on the net will expire, as forced by Quicken, in 3 years after the year of the version. There are some helpful and many annoying features thrown in every year. You are required to get used to them, or give up . I have little problems with it, and I am >65. .

Reply to
Han

They eliminated the "Basic" version a few years ago. The lowest level of Quicken for existing Intuit users is the Deluxe version.

According to the Intuit website: "Note: Quicken Starter Edition 2010 imports data from Quicken Starter Edition 2008 and 2009 products only." Given that footnote the Quicken starter program is not an option if you want to update your current Quicken file to a 2010 version. You could buy the Starter edition if you wanted to start a new file.

Reply to
Laura

I hate to disagree, but you're wrong.

Quicken "Basic" has been discontinued, but it was never the "teaser" version of Quicken. The "teaser" version of Quicken was originally called the "New User" version, and its name was subsequently changed to the "Starter Edition" version. Both names should have been seen as a clue to their long term value ... especially since their cost was negligible ... and often zero.

[I would not say that the "New User" or "Starter Edition" versions of Quicken were/are useless ... their usefullness was limited, intentionally. They provided a dirt cheap way to find out whether a user "might" like Quicken.]

The most limited version of Quicken today - other than the "Starter Edition" is "Deluxe". I suspect that the vast majority of Quicken users will find Deluxe can handle their needs. Those that don't can upgrade.

Reply to
John Pollard

"John Pollard" wrote in news:hp8p9u$qmh$ snipped-for-privacy@news.eternal-september.org:

Thanks John for pointing that out! Sorry for my wrong use of names for the useless edition of Quicken ... I uess that points out the error of Intuits ways. They basically (pun intended) discarded name recognition in their promotions.

What remains is that most people are served quite well by the most inexpensive version of Quicken, certainly since Q2008.

Reply to
Han

Hi, No Name.

To ratify what the others have said: The Basic version disappeared a few years ago. I've been using Quicken since about 1990. At first, I bought the most expensive version; after all, I'm a CPA (now retired), so I need the most sophisticated version, right? But I learned after a few years that all the basic (not a pun, just the facts) functionality is in the lowest-priced version. The higher versions offer little more than advice and "tips": tutorials, planners, reports, etc. There are a few exceptions that are very important to SOME users, such as employment taxes and depreciation calculations that can be very valuable to a small business. But since I no longer was in practice, these features were useless to me. The Basic version handled my stocks, CDs and other investments, along with my checkbooks, which was the main reason for such an application in the first place, and produced the numbers I needed for my tax returns. As time went on and computing generally became more capable, the Basic edition became able to handle online transactions, just like the more expensive packages.

So I began buying only the Basic version when updating Quicken every couple of years, and I never felt the need for a higher version. I don't recall exactly when the Basic version was discontinued - I thought it was earlier than 2008 - but I've used Deluxe ever since.

There is a chart on the back of each retail box that shows the bells and whistles added to each version; for 2010 those versions are Deluxe, Premier and Home & Business - in addition to the Starter version. I wouldn't call Starter "useless", but it is intended for those who have never used Quicken before. One of its major weaknesses is that it will not import your data file from your prior year's Quicken, since you have no prior files to import, of course.

One trick that I've noticed is that retailers often HIDE the Deluxe version! Best Buy, Office Depot, Office Max...and all the others, I suppose, will have a large display of Quicken Premier and H&B Editions. But you will have to ask someone or look behind the counter or lower on the shelf to find the almost-hidden boxes of Deluxe. Even on Quicken's website, the Deluxe version was hard to find the last time I looked (not recently). But it was there.

Oh, Intuit uses the same tactics to sell more-expensive versions of TurboTax, too, but the Basic version of that is all you need - at least, if you live in Texas, which has no state income tax. ;^}

RC

Reply to
R. C. White

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