GnuCash vs. Quicken

[Matthew Vanecek]

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Dear Karl,
I've sat by and watched your comments pop up on this list for quite a
while now.  In general I find you comments to be misinformed,
destructive, and occasionally insulting.  I would expect someone with
your self-asserted experience in Linux to be able to solve simple
directory permissions problems and to be able to install packages from a
distribution disk.  Everyone on this list has been able to do so on a
variety of distributions, including different versions of RedHat,
Debian, SuSe, Mandrake, and Gentoo.

You have commented that you have this or that problem, but you are not
specific about the problems.  You mutter about bugs, but you won't file
bug reports, nor do you seek solutions for what you consider bugs.  When
you do post a question, you apparently ignore requests for more
information which would help diagnose your problems.

No one here can help you at all if you don't provide specific
information regarding issues you have.  This includes such things as
file and directory permissions, versions of software, any error
messages, and related information.  You do not provide such
information.  Indeed, the information you do provide is badly worded and
hard to understand.  I get the impression that English is not your
primary language, in which case we all need to be more careful with
wording and semantics so that we understand each other.  If English is
your first language, please take the time to re-read your posts, and
word them carefully.  Also, spell check them.  All these steps will help
others understand your questions better.

I've been using Gnucash since 1.4.0, and I have used it in concert with
Moneydance, MS Money, and simple spreadsheets.  I have found Gnucash to
be a very stable and mostly bug-free application.  Most of the bugs I
have seen have been in the reports.  Gnucash is currently the only
financial application I use, and I trust it as much as I trust any
software package.

The Gnucash team has worked very hard on this application for a number
of years.  They are aware of most of the pitfalls in getting this up and
running; indeed, there is a notice about it on the Gnucash Web site.=20
How you can possibly assert that the unpaid writers were in error by
designing a professional-level package is simply amazing.  Your
assertion is made even more ridiculous by your succeeding statement
about equipping your 2 bookkeppers with it.  The developers have worked
out most of the bugs in Gnucash, and I know from experience that it is
very stable.  From the beginning Gnucash has been designed as a package
that would compete with the likes of Quicken and Peachtree.  That may
not fit your philosophy, but your philosophy is not the only way to do
things, nor is it necessarily the best way.

You are free to state you opinions, of course, but they would be better
received were they based on fact and backed up by references and
examples.  I'm sure you are a very nice person, and I truly understand
the frustration that comes with software that doesn't behave as
expected.  If you want help, you should be clear, concise, and
responsive to requests for more information.  Otherwise, nobody will be
able to respond, and you'll be left spluttering about broken software
(which really isn't) full of bugs (which really aren't), and passing on
misleading advice to others based on your frustration.

Lastly, double-entry accounting is fairly easy, and a wonderful way of
tracking cash flow and liabilities.  If all you want is to track the
balance of your checking/saving accounts and credit cards, then a simple
spreadsheet would do.  But I would still recommend Gnucash, because it
can do a simple checkbook just as well as complicated net worth
management.  Think of it this way: if Quicken, or MS Money, or
Peachtree, or Moneydance are too much for you, then Gnucash is too much
for you, and you should probably just use the register book that came
with your checks.

Please don't attack the developers--they do a wonderful, wonderful job
and deserve better.

On Sat, 2002-12-07 at 13:34, Karl F. Larsen wrote:
> On Wed, 4 Dec 2002, Henrik Ahlgren wrote:
>=20
>=20
> Hi Thomas, your accountant friend is correct. Double book keeping is a=20
> royal pain in the ass, and not required for a personal checking account=
=20
> and credit card system. But the unpaid writers of gnucash decided, in=20
> error I think, to make the software complex enough to do professional=20
> Double Entry Book Keeping.=20
>=20
> 	Once they get a few more bugs out I will equip my 2 professional=20
> Book Keepers with both Linux and gnucash and see if it really works.
>=20
> 	Quickin knows who uses their software and will never force=20
> double entry on their customer base.
>=20

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Matthew Vanecek
perl -e 'print $i=3Dpack(c5,(41*2),sqrt(7056),(unpack(c,H)-2),oct(115),10);'
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*****
For 93 million miles, there is nothing between the sun and my shadow except=
 me.
I'm always getting in the way of something...

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