Quicken 2003 Deluxe [OLD VERSION]

by Intuit

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B000069IFB
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 25, 2002
• Average Customer Review: 1.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (89 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,561 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #56 in Software > Personal Finance > Money Management
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Quicken 2003 Deluxe makes it easier than ever to download information, keep your records up to date, and reduce data entry. Now it's simple to connect Quicken to your bank, credit card, or brokerage company, and then schedule when you want Quicken to download all your data for you. Improvements to the overall design help you accomplish what you want out of Quicken with speed and ease.

Quicken works with more than 1,900 banks, credit card, brokerage, and 401(k) companies (including Quicken Credit Card) to allow users to download their information and eliminate data entry. Download stock quotes, news headlines, investment alerts, and more to get the data you need to make better investing decisions. Quicken Guided Setup asks you your goals, suggests what to set up and track, and offers practical next steps to help you accomplish your financial objectives.

Based on extensive work with customers, the main areas of Quicken have been redesigned to provide quick access to your accounts. Quicken 2003 also provides extra guidance to help you easily convert your data files after upgrading. Plus, now you can subscribe to an integrated online service to back up your Quicken data, so you'll know your data is protected.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

231 of 235 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Less flexibility, more advertisements..., August 26, 2002

By 

Gadget Guy "electronics_fan" (Marblehead, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Quicken 2003 Deluxe [OLD VERSION] (CD-ROM)

I've faithfully upgraded my Quicken software every year. I've got to say that this year's 2003 release is NOT one of the better upgrades. Quicken has dummed-down the product so much that it's lost a lot of its great layout flexibility. Worse - if you don't like strong-arm advertising tactics you may want to look elsewhere.

Quicken 2003 is a lot easier to use, but it comes at a cost. Tasks/activities now open up in single pop-up windows (the browser type single window/navigation is gone). If you want to keep the pop-up task/activity around while you do something else, you have to first minimize it to get it out of the way (the task/activity is then stored at the bottom of the Quicken screen as a link). This is probably easier for your average user but makes more steps and is more cumbersome to experienced Quicken users. My least favorite change: You can't have Quicken "save" your current/favorite layout and open/launch Quicken to that same layout every time you start Quicken - instead, Quicken always goes back to the default layout on startup. Grrrr.

Probably most disappointing is the way Quicken forces their services down your throat. On-screen advertisements are sure to annoy IMMEDIATELY (They can't be removed from the default home page, but you can make your own custom home page sans advertisement if you spend some time reading the manual). The toolbar is by default cluttered/littered with links to "Quicken Brokerage", "Quicken On the Web" and "Quicken Services". All are removable but it's annoying to even have to shut them off in the first place.

If you want to use Quicken's on-line bill payment (via your own bank), get ready to be forcibly run through Quicken's registration program which basically makes you enroll in Quicken's own on-line services. The registration will hound you if you don't register, and once you do register Quicken insists that you upload your private bank account information (transactions et al) to their web server so you can "manage your accounts on-line" via the web (NO THANKS! I HAVE ENOUGH TROUBLE PROTECTING MY PRIVATE INFORMATION ON-LINE). Trying to figure out how to get through registration without uploading your checking and saving account transaction/history to Quicken's web site is not obvious (but it can be done).

You can work around Quicken's strong arm registration tactics and get rid of most of the in-your-face advertising and up-selling, but it will take up a lot of your time and guarantees to annoy even the most patient.

At the end of the day, with Quicken 2003, I can still do everything I could with Quicken 2002. Is it worth upgrading? I have not noticed anything (at all) that is new and useful.

New users will find Quicken 2003 to be VERY easy to use. Old users will be a little frustrated by the loss of flexibility caused by this tradeoff. Everyone will be unhappy with Quicken's in-your face approach to getting you to use more of their "services". If you can be patient - it's still probably the best personal financial software available.

90 of 91 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Quicken 2003 - A big step backward for the end-user., March 25, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Quicken 2003 Deluxe [OLD VERSION] (CD-ROM)

NOT RECOMMENDED!

I am a software professional and have been using Quicken since the first release. Years ago, I could honetly say that I was thrilled with Quicken, but I can no longer recommend the product after receiving the 2003 release. The software is buggy, the user interface is cumbersome, and the software constantly bugs the user with advertisements and sales piches for Intuit's online services.

It appears to me that the company is using its flagship product primarily as an advertising tool for more lucrative online service offerings. Intuit offers no way for the end user to disable the constant nagging and in-your-face advertising "features" of Quicken 2003.

The registration process is one of the most annoying things about the software. Intuit insists that the user register as a "member" of their online service, even if the user has zero interest in any of their online offerings. To add insult to injury, the registration process is flawed. Intuit offers no way for a previously registered user to detect prior registration settings when reinstalling the software. I wasted hours trying to get software that I paid for to work.

I recommend that you save your money and do some homework. I am looking for another financial application. I would rather go through the pain of converting my accounts and online banking to another vendor before I would ever consider another full-price Quicken "upgrade".

NOT RECOMMENDED!

100 of 103 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Pretty - but that's it, August 21, 2002

By 

"gwm_49445" (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Quicken 2003 Deluxe [OLD VERSION] (CD-ROM)

Intuit did redesgn the interface. Very nice looking and a more comtemporary look which is a nice change from the boring looks of previous versions. They get high marks for that!

Going beyond the GUI, get ready to spend some time learning the new layout! The tabs along the side of the screen now include balances, which is a great idea. Remeber how you could drag and drop the tabs to a new location? Forget it here! You now need to visit 2 screens to do the same thing. Remember adding reports and other often-used tabs? Forget it - functionality has been removed! You now have to get to a report via various menus or secondary screens; the quickest I have found is through 2 menus and no way to add a shortcut someplace else. Remember having a nice home page with nice small neat boxes with account balances, stock balance, etc. that fit on one screen without scrolling and being able to customize it? All boxes are now full-width on the screen so that you need to scroll through most every screen to find what you are looking for. The list continues . . .

I've always been pretty impressed with Quicken and have been a devoted user for many years but Intuit blew it with this redesign. It seems like they've sacrificed user convenience by trying to stuff in more information and functionality - and not retaining some way for the user to customize and re-arrange things for the user's needs.

I keep current on all my software but this is an exception; I'm going back to an old version and plan to try to return my software to Intuit. If your using a pre-2003 version and it's doing what you want it to do, save you money. Chances are you won't be impressed with the upgrade.