Blog: Pete Loshin

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Personal Finance, Open Source Style

Check out this article 8 Free Personal Finance Management Programs at one of my new favorite websites, the Consumerist.

The thing for me about financial software is that you've got to have a lot more discipline, know-how and ambition than I've got (apparently) to get all your data loaded in. So even though I once actually bought a copy (years ago) of Quicken, I save a lot more money by not using one of the open source solutions than I do by buying, and not using, a commercial one.

I know this hasn't much to do with enterprise computing or business intelligence, but it does have a lot to do with the reason so many people can't migrate away from Windows: they're locked into using Quicken, MS Money or some other proprietary application that hasn't yet attracted an open source alternative.

When adequate open source alternatives for personal finances and tax preparation become widely usable, the potential for widespread migration to Linux is huge.

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