What is Digg?51 Comments
- wonderchemist, on 12/17/2007, -3/+29Should Mac users trust software from a company that calls a Mac a MAC?
- inactive, on 12/17/2007, -1/+27at least it is easy to write off said losses with Quickbooks
- UNL1M1T3D, on 12/17/2007, -3/+21I m N ur mac eatin ur desktop.
- Nicksname1, on 12/17/2007, -1/+16It's a feature, not a defect.
- sp1keNARF, on 12/17/2007, -3/+12isn't nerdy stuff like accounting supposed to be done on the "i'm a pc" guy anyway?
- Flashman, on 12/17/2007, -0/+9Thank God for Time Machine.
- exidor, on 12/17/2007, -3/+12Does this seem highly suspect to anyone else? Intuit has issued a support article saying they've resolved the "problem on the server":
http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/support/dosea ...
This so-called "update" sounds a lot more like an intentionally rogue program; what possible coding error would delete your desktop? It really does sound like someone hacked into the update server for a big-name financial management application and got it to deliver a malicious payload. I think Intuit has a lot more 'splainin to do about exactly how and what happened here if they want us to continue to trust them with our sensitive data! - Phusion, on 12/17/2007, -0/+5"it's not a bug, it's a feature!" -- yeah, maybe it selectively removes files that may incriminate you or your family. They're helping, really.
- EcoEric, on 12/17/2007, -3/+7Already happened to two of my coworkers. Do not open Quickbooks!
- rebotfc, on 12/17/2007, -0/+4This raises an important issue with regard to all OSs. Any executable wether run in userspace or root can have unintended consequences. As the industry moves towards relying on live updating of software trust and confidence becomes real currency.
In this case it appears Intuit have alot to answer for, why wasnt the update beta tested for instance? - PhillyMJS, on 12/17/2007, -0/+4A Quicken-killer is the next iApp Apple should put out. They got Adobe to straighten up and fly right by producing competing applications, maybe Intuit will stop half-assing it if Apple puts a shot across their bow, as well.
I think it's astonishing that Intuit's Mac products are in the state they're in, when Bill Campbell, the former CEO and current chairman of Intuit's board of directors, sits on Apple's board.
Compared to the Windows version, the Mac version of Quicken is a joke... it's missing a ton of features, and the data files still aren't cross-platform compatible (go read the forums on quickencommunity.com about how painful it is to migrate data). I don't know why Jobs hasn't done anything about this-- it's kind of hard to convince someone to switch when they can't easily take their years of financial data with them to the new platform. - rspeed, on 12/17/2007, -0/+4Indeed. People keep to much crap on their desktop. They're helping out... really!
- jordanisj, on 12/17/2007, -0/+3As someone who has to use and support Quickbooks regularly, let me just say that it is programmed by incompetent jerks and I hate them.
- rspeed, on 12/17/2007, -0/+3Unless you keep your Quickbooks data files in the Desktop folder.
- bbqribs, on 12/17/2007, -1/+4Sad to say, but this is what happens when you fire all of your decent programmers and outsource everything India. A programmer friend of mine noted that a while back, he started seeing a lot more basic "Objective C 101" type questions coming from obvious Indian names with intuit.com return address. Same thing happened with Quark. And both products have gone right down the *****.
- tangrams, on 12/18/2007, -0/+3I'm who reported the issue originally. Basically, Intuit screwed up placing an update on their server. The client got a confusing response back from the server about whether there was an update (it automatically checks), and it reacted by deleting the Desktop.
Remember what a Desktop is used for - sometimes it's things like imports from other media. Often times holds the most recent and most important data to a user. A backup procedure short of time machine would not have protected against many of these losses. That said, the fact that some people store almost their entire lives on the Desktop shouldn't reduce Intuit's liability here. You might not feel as bad for the victims, but Intuit is just as guilty. - superkendall, on 12/17/2007, -0/+2Hope people turned on Time Machine. Perhaps this was meant as an object lesson...
- superkendall, on 12/17/2007, -0/+2And this is exactly why good backups are so needed. It doesn't matter how much testing everyone has done, there will come the day when some well meaning application destroys something you value.
People, keep backups! - UNL1M1T3D, on 12/17/2007, -0/+2I heard about that. It's that new money laundering button.
- film_girl, on 12/18/2007, -0/+2Exactly! Should users always back-up, OF COURSE, but we all know the reality is that most people don't. Even in my days as a certified tech for Macs and PCs, it always amazed me how many fellow techs didn't have a good back-up plan (if they backed up at all), even though data recovery and back-ups were probably the most common service we provided -- but regardless of whether or not people should back-up, that doesn't change the fact that a piece of software that is so poorly coded that a weird message from the update server (an update message that never should have been sent out to begin with) should delete everything on the desktop. Users have a certain expectation that software is not going to eat their data - and that is a reasonable expectation if the software is supported, updated and running on a modern OS - the fact that this is an application directed at business users who rely on it to store lots of important information, you would think Intuit would make every effort to check their damn code to prevent somethign like this from happening. Unacceptable. Even more unacceptable has been the utter non-response by Intuit, the mis-leading and often WRONG information on their forum and the fact that more than 24 hours after you made us aware of this situation (and I posted it on TUAW), we have yet to get any concrete info on what this was - what their plan will be for users who were affected or even an basic press release on the front page.
- ultra_lime, on 12/18/2007, -0/+2You should check out MoneyDance. It's pretty good and cross platform. (just a user)
- nanzs, on 12/17/2007, -0/+2Bummer! I wish I saw this article before Quickbooks ate my files this morning.
- happyseamonster, on 12/17/2007, -1/+3The Quicken and the dead.
- aldenhg, on 12/17/2007, -0/+1All of Intuit's software should be used sparingly, at best. I've seen QuickBooks (on OSX and Windows) mess up in completely catastrophic ways without any help from Intuit. It can get so bad that you can't even reinstall the damn program without an OS reinstall. Well, that last one only happens on Windows so the true culprit is anyone's guess. The point that Intuit's products and technical support hover somewhere around the level of steaming ***** still stands.
- GregR, on 12/17/2007, -1/+2A fix has already been released.
- rspeed, on 12/17/2007, -1/+2Aaaaaand that settles it. No more Intuit software for me. I already stopped using Quicken, but now I'll be ditching Turbo Tax. What's a good alternative for OS X?
- Flavor, on 12/17/2007, -0/+1I never had a problem in the 5 years I've been using QB, I ran the command line recommended in the story and all is well.
- inactive, on 12/17/2007, -0/+1The "best thing to do" is not use Intuit software. The reliability of TurboTax online is suspect, and Quicken 2004 through present makes horrible flashes anytime you do anything.
- gregmetro, on 12/17/2007, -0/+1wow this sucks. Im glad i switch over to mint.com and tossed my qb stuff in the trash where it belongs.
- phaed, on 12/18/2007, -1/+2hehehe. very pertinent. and still funny.
- stix213, on 12/17/2007, -0/+1Quickbooks: A terrible program from a terrible company. I'm only surprised that their buggy program doesn't cause this type of problem more often. I can't count the number of times that Quickbooks has let me down.
- killtherebel, on 12/17/2007, -0/+1I tried it and it didnt crash
- jasz, on 12/18/2007, -0/+1more like
the quicken the dead - addictist, on 12/17/2007, -0/+1Intuit, Quicken, and Quickbooks all suck! I pray for the day when mint.com gets there act together and I can ditch this bloatware.
- fromonesource, on 12/17/2007, -0/+1haha... so this is why I got a frantic call from my fiance's design studio about missing desktop files today!
- masskurec, on 03/04/2009, -0/+0what a shock
http://xptweak.net - film_girl, on 12/17/2007, -0/+0Yeah, but while the fix thankfully prevents the issue from affecting any more systems, anyone already afflicted is kind of in a weird SOL place right now while Intuit tries to figure out data recovery solutions.
- Phlosten, on 12/17/2007, -1/+1Wow, very bad. My experience with QuickBooks users is that there are a lot who only barely know how to fly a computer. These users tend to be the ones who have a million and one different pieces of crap all over the Desktop.
The Intuit products are all pieces of crap. Their entry level product prints software logos all over the printed documents even though it is a paid for product. They work closely with the Microsoft method of selling. - ilgaz, on 12/17/2007, -1/+1It seems that Update code causes this issue which is very sad since Sparkle Framework is there, suits to commercial tools and multi million companies software such as Skype uses it.
Why not make a good donation and use it instead of trying to re-invent the wheel? Even Stuffit 12+ have moved to Sparkle framework. - 72meristems, on 12/18/2007, -0/+0I've researched Quickbooks alternatives and the best thing I could find was a $5k FileMaker Pro app, Yeah, $5k! It did everything. It was the IRS on your computer. Mint.com isn't going to fly because it's not a book-keeping app. Don't confuse Quickbooks with Quicken.
- quail20, on 12/18/2007, -0/+0I loathe Quickbooks and Intuit products in general. I use them only because they're about the only thing out there that my business accountant intergrates easily with. I'm a PC user and about 6 yrs ago QB update would delete it's own file. Thankfully I had backups and it was more of a hassle than anything. They fixed that problem but other issues have appeared off and on over the years. Why can't there be more business choices when it comes to this type of software? Something more robust like a true database?
- dime, on 12/18/2007, -1/+1That's odd. I've used Quickbooks exclusively for all my clients (after getting fed up with One Write Plus and Peachtree) for a few years now, and have yet to run into a single problem. Perhaps it's PBKAC?
- digindrivefast, on 12/18/2007, -0/+0Intuit cooked my books (on Windows) 2002...Escalate!Escalate! Could not understand a thing the TECH was saying...four hours on a cell phone to who the hell knows where...Intuit SUCKS!
- crossers, on 07/14/2008, -1/+0I never have this problem! but thanks for information!
http://www.leannrimes.info
http://www.shpe-sac.org
http://www.pmidsig.org - digindrivefast, on 12/18/2007, -2/+0From the MICRON VALLEY OUTSOURCING & INTUIT SUCK IN THE WORST WAY!
- plarp, on 12/17/2007, -5/+2a quickbook a day keeps the apple at bay?
- inactive, on 12/17/2007, -5/+3It just works.
- TucsonTessa, on 12/18/2007, -5/+0no simpathy for you dorks who insist on putting everything on your desktop and have never done a backup. If your stuff on the desktop is so almighty important you should take some responsibity.
- rodrigo74, on 12/17/2007, -7/+1Dugg down for the splainin..
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