You’d think at least Microsoft’s own products are compatible with Vista.  Well, sort of.  MS Money users who converted from Quicken may be out of luck.

I have a lot of financial data in Microsoft Money and prior to that in Quicken files. Both  applications used to recommend you keep the data files small by archiving earlier years. With today’s faster computers archiving is no longer an issue, but if you’re  a long-time user like I am, you probably have a few old archive files.

Every time you “upgrade” Money (hardly any new value, but if you use online services, MS forces you to upgrade every 2-3 years) your current data file is upgraded to the new formats, too. But what happens to the archive files?

I decided to convert all my older Quicken files to Money, just in case… after all, Money supports Quicken conversion.  Or not: crash.  Crash again.. and again.  I tried several data files, even rebooted the system, to no avail: Money consistently crashed at all conversion attempts.

This is where Vista’s Problem Reports and Solutions comes handy, and yes, a few days later it shows “solution found”. Hm… if they found it, they certainly are not sharing it.  Here’s the user-friendly stuff I found:

<?xml version=”1.0″ encoding=”UTF-16″?>
<DATABASE>
<EXE NAME=”MSMoney.EXE” FILTER=”GRABMI_FILTER_PRIVACY”>
<MATCHING_FILE NAME=”adapt.dll” SIZE=”109360″ CHECKSUM=”0×24BD92C0″ BIN_FILE_VERSION=”16.0.0.1303″ BIN_PRODUCT_VERSION=”16.0.0.1303″ PRODUCT_VERSION=”16.00.1303″ FILE_DESCRIPTION=”MSN Money Adaptation DLL” COMPANY_NAME=”Microsoft(R) Corporation” PRODUCT_NAME=”Microsoft(R) Money” FILE_VERSION=”16.00.1303″ ORIGINAL_FILENAME=”adapt.dll” INTERNAL_NAME=”adaptation” LEGAL_COPYRIGHT=”Copyright © Microsoft Corp. ” VERDATEHI=”0×0″ VERDATELO=”0×0″ VERFILEOS=”0×4″ VERFILETYPE=”0×2″ MODULE_TYPE=”WIN32″ PE_CHECKSUM=”0×25BFE” LINKER_VERSION=”0×60000″ UPTO_BIN_FILE_VERSION=”16.0.0.1303″ UPTO_BIN_PRODUCT_VERSION=”16.0.0.1303″ LINK_DATE=”01/04/2007 07:49:53″ UPTO_LINK_DATE=”01/04/2007 07:49:53″ EXPORT_NAME=”Adapt.DLL” VER_LANGUAGE=”English (United States) [0x409]” />
<MATCHING_FILE NAME=”adaptres.dll” SIZE=”13104″ CHECKSUM=”0xA99DDA54″ BIN_FILE_VERSION=”16.0.0.1303″ BIN_PRODUCT_VERSION=”16.0.0.1303″ PRODUCT_VERSION=”16.00.1303″ FILE_DESCRIPTION=”MSN Money Adaptation DLL” COMPANY_NAME=”Microsoft(R) Corporation” PRODUCT_NAME=”Microsoft(R) Money” FILE_VERSION=”16.00.1303″ ORIGINAL_FILENAME=”adapt.dll” INTERNAL_NAME=”adaptation” LEGAL_COPYRIGHT=”Copyright © Microsoft Corp. ” VERDATEHI=”0×0″ VERDATELO=”0×0″ VERFILEOS=”0×4″ VERFILETYPE=”0×2″ MODULE_TYPE=”WIN32″ PE_CHECKSUM=”0×4855″ LINKER_VERSION=”0×60000″ UPTO_BIN_FILE_VERSION=”16.0.0.1303″ UPTO_BIN_PRODUCT_VERSION=”16.0.0.1303″ LINK_DATE=”01/04/2007 07:00:04″ UPTO_LINK_DATE=”01/04/2007 07:00:04″ VER_LANGUAGE=”English (United States) [0x409]” />

This looks like the problem report sent to Microsoft, not the solution.  There’s one hint though: the filename is AppCompat.txt.  Perhaps it’s a Vista compatibility issue?   Luckily I still have an XP laptop around, the data files are there thanks to Foldershare sync (more on synchronization in the next post), all I have to do is install MS Money on the XP machine and try conversion there.

Voila!  Half an hour later I have the Quicken files converted to Money on the XP computer.  Money’s import/conversion routine is incompatible with Vista!   The whole exercise, including search on the Money Group took me about 2 hours, so dear Microsoft, here’s my invoice for lost productivity:

Oh, wait, we’re in the US, perhaps I should have presented a properly Americanized version.

My poor experience was with MS Money 2007, but with Money Plus, the 2008 version of the product line Microsoft shows true ignorance to users’ legacy data needs.  Money Plus comes in four editions: Essentials, Deluxe, Premium, and Home & Business.

Microsoft offers a nice comparison chart, which neglects to mention a small detail, available only at the footnotes:

* Important note – Microsoft Money Essentials will not be able to open previous Money or Quicken files. If you are upgrading from a previous version of Money or Quicken, Money Plus Deluxe may be the right solution for you.

Not opening Quicken … well, it’s their decision. But not opening data from their very own previous releases? And this is hidden in the small print?

I rest my case.

Tags: compatibility, data conversion, data portability, intuit, legacy data, microsoft, Microsoft Money, money plus, MS Money, ms money plus, quicken, virtualinvoice, vista, vistasucks, Windows, xp, zoho invoice

Over a year ago Paul Graham caused quite some uproar calling  Microsoft Dead.   Unlike in the 90’s, none of his startup Founders fear (or even respect) Microsoft.  They have their eyes on Google and other startups - so Microsoft must be dead.  Cash-rich, wildly successful - just not a future force to reckon with.

Today I read evidence that Paul Graham is right.  Todd Bishop produced a Bill Gates email from 2003, in which the Microsoft CEO complains about his own systems usability (or lack of).

—- Original Message —-

From: Bill Gates
Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2003 10:05 AM
To: Jim Allchin
Cc: Chris Jones (WINDOWS); Bharat Shah (NT); Joe Peterson; Will Poole; Brian Valentine; Anoop Gupta (RESEARCH)
Subject: Windows Usability Systematic degradation flame

I am quite disappointed at how Windows Usability has been going backwards and the program management groups don’t drive usability issues.

Let me give you my experience from yesterday.

I decided to download (Moviemaker) and buy the Digital Plus pack … so I went to Microsoft.com.

…

This site is so slow it is unusable.

…

Someone decided to trash the one part of Windows that was usable? The file system is no longer usable. The registry is not usable. This program listing was one sane place but now it is all crapped up.

…

So after more than an hour of craziness and making my programs list garbage and being scared and seeing that Microsoft.com is a terrible website I haven’t run Moviemaker and I haven’t got the plus package.

The lack of attention to usability represented by these experiences blows my mind. I thought we had reached a low with Windows Network places or the messages I get when I try to use 802.11

I tried to selectively quote from this email, but it’s impossible. This email is a goldmine, you have to read it in its entirety.

It sounds like John Doe Windows User spilling out all his frustration with a useless, unfriendly system.  Or like me, ranting about Vista.   Which brings me to my point: although we’re blinded by the sales success, a result of monopoly, nothing changes the fact that Vista is widely considered a fiasco.   If this is the best the world’s richest company could come up with 5 years after the CEO’s angry rant - well, that speaks for itself.  Microsoft is dead. Rich, powerful, but without a future.  A Walking Dead.

(And now you can call me crazy.)

Update (6/25):  Jeff Nolan feels sorry for Citizen Bill: Of course he’s right about the usability… too bad he can’t switch to a Mac.

Phil Wainewright is wondering whether Gates is “a secret cloud convert, or have I been drinking too much of my own Kool-Aid again?”

Michael Krigsman points to this PDF which shows some of the follow-up email correspondence - you’d think after the CEO /Chairman rants so explicitely, they rush to find a solution. Instead, what we find is fingerpointing, politics, total corporate inertia.  That’s what kills (formerly great) organizations.

Tags: microsoft, monopoly, paul graham, vista, walking dead, Windows

I often stated my preference for Copernic Desktop Search, fought Microsoft’s sneaky plan to install Windows Search on XP systems without the owners consent, yet I find myself using Windows Search by default. Only on my Vista PC though, where it’s easier to keep the default than switch to third-party products. On the XP machines I’m still running Copernic.

And now it’s time to admit my title is misleading: Windows Search actually works - at least half-way. It can add files to the index. It just doesn’t remove them. Not when they are deleted, not when they are moved.

I’m not kidding, try it yourself: move a file to another directory or delete it, then see the multiple, redundant pointers to it in Windows Search. No way to tell which entries are dead until you click them.

Today Microsoft released Windows Search 4; let’s hope they learned the basics of updating an index. (Oh, yes, I know I can force a total rebuild of the index, but this should happen automatically, in the background). I’m not going to find out for a while: I learned the hard way not to touch Vista components and wait till it becomes part of Windows Update.

Tags: cds, copernic, copernic desktop search, microsoft, Windows, windows search

Today the world is raving (not really) about Windows 7’s multi-touch capabilities. Yet the overwhelming feeling I have about the latest Bill & Steve show is disappointment. I feel betrayed…abandoned. They created this turd Vista, then instead of fixing it they move on to the next thing. I’m left behind with this piece of junk. Incidentally, here’s another telling Vista screen, captured today:

You know, the famous Vista copy problem supposedly fixed in SP1. (OK, I realize this is deletion rather than copy, but it’s file manipulation nevertheless … I assume it’s the same problem)

I really wasn’t kidding when I said:

Windows 7, whenever it comes, should be released as “Vista Final”, free to all Vista victims along with Microsoft’s letter of apology.

Read more here: Between the Lines, ParisLemon, CNET News.com, All about Microsoft, InfoWorld, InformationWeek, Gizmodo, GottaBeMobile, VentureBeat, Outside the Lines, WinExtra, Scobleizer, TechCrunch, The Inquisitr, The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs …etc…etc.

Tags: microsoft, multi-touch, vista, vistasucks, Windows, windows 7, windows vista

I like Jason Hiner’s prediction @ TechRepublik: Microsoft will leapfrog Vista, release Windows 7 early, and change its OS business:

And that’s why Microsoft will ultimately try to quell the embarrassing Windows Vista debacle by making a bold move with Windows 7 to win back customer loyalty and generate positive spin for its most important product.

What will happen next?

My prognosis is that Microsoft will use smoke and mirrors to conjure up an early release of Windows 7, the next edition of the world’s most widely-used operating system. Then they will quietly and unofficially allow IT departments to migrate straight from Windows XP to Windows 7.

Yes, we’re almost there. Except that it doesn’t take care of customers (including yours truly) royally sc***ed by Vista. I wasn’t kidding when I said:

Windows 7, whenever it comes, should be released as “Vista Final”, free to all Vista victims along with Microsoft’s letter of apology.

Tags: microsoft, vista, vistasucks, Windows, windows 7, windows vista

Pardon my French.. it’s not exactly my style, especially not in the title, but enough is enough. I’ve long given up detailing Vista’s countless failures, but somehow, unconsciously I still hoped things would get better after installing SP1.

Not that I could get it - I was one of the “few” who had an offending Intel graphics chip in my HP PC, so I could not get it for a while. Then today it showed up on Windows Update, so off I went to a spare laptop (XP) since I knew the update would take about an hour or so.

Checking it an hour later:

Service Pack did not install. Reverting Changes. Do not turn off your computer.

WTF? So now it’s gonna spend another hour, a total cost of two hours to get back to where I was in the first place? And they wonder (?) why everyone says Vista Sucks.

P.S. Windows 7, whenever it comes, should be released as “Vista Final”, free to all Vista victims along with Microsoft’s letter of apology.

Tags: sp1, vista, vista sp1, vistasucks, Windows

Windows Vista’s file copy performance is actually faster than that of XP - tells us Jeff Atwood at Coding Horror. He cites Mark Russinovich’s extensive analysis of Vista’s file copy algorithm, and comes to the conclusion that “perceived performance is more important than actual performance.”

…perception is reality: if users see file copying as slower, it is slower. Despite all the algorithmic improvements, in spite of the superior file copy benchmark results, Vista’s file copy performance is worse than Windows XP.

I can’t dispute the quoted analysis, am simply not competent enough, but here’s a key part:

…for copies involving a large group of files between 256KB and tens of MB in size, the perceived performance of the copy can be significantly worse than on Windows XP.

So the problem is with large number of files. My question: how large? Is two considered large? As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words:

Yes, I know, this is “delete”, not copy, but it’s a file operation nevertheless, and I suspect the same problem. Perception *is* indeed reality… and I suspect we have more than just perception here.

Tags: Vindows Vista, vista, vistasucks, Windows, winxp

Via Todd Bishop’s Microsoft Blog.

Update (2/1): It’s on Engadget now.

Tags: Humor, vista, Windows, winxp, xp

No comment.

Tags: Vindows Vista, vista, vistasucks, Windows

Watch the video here in case the embedded player does not work.

(hat tip: TechCrunch)

Related: If You Crash, Crash BIG

Tags: autos, cars, microsoft, Windows