Quicken Suite 2000 is the latest competition for MS Money 2000 and it matches Microsoft's offering virtually feature by feature. The verdict on which is the better product is somewhat like the Coke/Pespi debate. Quicken is fantastic and will effectively help you manage your finances. Is it better than MS Money 2000? If this were a photo-finish race, Quicken Suite 2000 would win by a nose. The suite offers many of the same features as its 1999 predecessor, with many of the account and investment tracking options fine-tuned for more comprehensive use. However, "fine-tuned" by Intuit's standards would constitute five revisions by other companies. While not earth shattering, the improvements are vast and considerable. First of all, the interface of Quicken Deluxe 2000 is noticeably improved. Last year's engine was intuitive, but on occasion this reviewer got stuck trying to navigate from one end of the program to another. This edition is easier to use, incorporating the oft-debated Internet Explorer navigation, which, admittedly is not everyone's favorite interface. The investment tracking options have improved considerably, as well. The program will provide key stock information about your investment holdings, as well as incisive examinations of mutual funds in your portfolio. The program actually monitors the individual stock holdings of your mutual funds, raising the depth bar for personal finance programs to come. The QuickWealth Planner is back, one of the most underrated components of Quicken Suite. What good is keeping track of your finances, if you cannot filter the information to project long-term outcomes? Once again, QuickWealth Planner provides great estate planning projections and retirement plan help that must be utilized to enjoy the full breadth of this program. These are interesting times for personal finance software. The options contained within the two leading programs are remarkably similar. Could it be that personal finance programs have taken us where we need to go and future improvements lie in the details of the software's features rather than in new components? Quicken Suite 2000 is a case in point. It is not so much a new version as a refinement of last year's program. Although new features are not bountiful, the added depth makes old features new. The price is right, and the utility endless. Reviewer's rating: 4.5 / 5 Comments: Quicken Suite 2000 deserves to be in your software library. It would have gotten a 5-point rating, but owners of the 1999 version may not need to upgrade. Bundled software: Quicken Deluxe 2000, TurboTax Deluxe 1999, Quicken Family Lawyer 2000 and QuickWealth Planner. System requirements: 486-66 MHz processor (Pentium recommended), 16 MB RAM, 145MB minimum hard drive space. More info: http://www.intuit.com Price: $89.95 US, $135 Canadian. ![]()
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