Navigation Software Have a Future @ Microsoft?

We've seen it in AutoRoute, we've seen it in Encarta, and now we can see it in Microsoft Money. Our friends at Microsoft are pruning out consumer-oriented software applications that are not meeting corporate objectives.

Is Streets and Trips the next dog to be shot?

Yeah, I thought about this, too, when the layoffs happened. For me, Flight Simulator was the biggest shock, because I've watched it grow, and because it was Microsoft's longest continuously-published software package. That signaled to me that nothing was safe, and that I could make no predictions about who'd be next.

However, the online division came out of the bloodbath comparatively well. And this gives a slight edge to Streets & Trips, because much of its code is shared with Bing Maps. (This is why I find it frustrating that the maps look so bad, because they look nicer in Bing Maps).

I don't know what'll happen, but I feel S&T is in the best position among all the consumer packages. Maybe this is not saying much, but it's something.

I hope you are right.

A few years back someone at Microsoft said the upcoming version of Pocket Streets would include exciting new features. Six months later Pocket Streets was no longer included in a new Streets & Trips version.

Unless we are the ones making the decisions, we have no way of knowing what is going to happen. Rumors, no matter how reliable they may appear, may not necessarily tell us the truth.

Streets & Trips is such a fine product, I'm just not sure if it is marketed to all the potential users. Yes, S&T is brought to many RV and MotorHome shows. But is there no other market for this product? In so many offices people use S&T, but does Microsoft market S&T to that audience? I don't think so. Traveling sales people use it. Truckers use it. Various dispatch centers use it. But I'm afraid Microsoft will not spend a single dollar to advertise S&T to businesses because S&T is classified as a "Home" product. For business use Microsoft has MapPoint, but so many people have no use for the additional features MapPoint provides over Streets & Trips, so why would they in their right mind spend $300 for MapPoint if a $30 S&T can do all the work they need?

I agree with everything you say, Marvin.

I would put my initial posting in the category of "Speculation" rather than "Rumor," as I am not circulating anything masquerading as 'fact.' Just something to think about.

The fact that S&T is a good product seems to gain no traction at a place like MSFT, however. Their Money program is excellent, I love it and use it every day, but that is unlikely to be a factor in their decision to spike the app. I am sure the other discontinued products from MSFT had their dedicated users, too.

I know the drill. I was involved in a software company that made a product that its users loved but the company could not survive financially so -- PUFF! -- it disappeared. The IT landscape is littered with similar stories.

So, I am skeptical about the future of S&T but I will keep using it regardless.

Money never could get out of the shadow of its archrival Quicken. It got some traction in the late 1990s thanks to heavy OEM preinstall, but that went away as PC prices kept dropping. There's also a sectarian shift away from personal finance software and towards web sites.

We're close enough to S&T 2010 that we should see at least one more version out of that. Beyond that, who knows?

The Flight Simulator team was as surprised as anyone else to find that they were out of a job on January 22nd. The decision was made at higher pay grades.

Edit: I just read the news that Money was just explicitly discontinued. I'd given it up for dead a year or two ago, when the "online-only" thing was pitched.

Yes, I shifted from Quicken to Money a few years ago and I was glad I did; it was a superior product for my needs. I don't fancy going back, but I can't live without the technology of some sort. Isn't it funny, though, that these other companies seem to do OK with competing products whereas MSFT cannot? I guess MSFT can only field a product successfully if it has no competition.

SpadesFlush,

Have you looked at Moneydance? I tried it out a few years ago when Intuit changed their licensing practises and started "sunsetting" older versions that were working just fine. I looked at Money (same stupid licensing practises as Intuit), GnuCash and Moneydance.

I ran Moneydance in parallel to Quicken for a few months and was quite impressed with both the program and the support from its author. Moneydance was nearly there at the time but it was missing a couple of things that I needed. They were on the enhancement list but he was in the process of a major rewrite and I didn't have the patience to wait. Also, Intuit Canada did not follow exactly the same licensing as Intuit did in America and someone at tech support was nice enough to bump the licensing on my 2003 version out to the end of last year.

...ken...

No, Ken, I haven't tried Moneydance, but thanks for the suggestion.

MSFT says they will continue to support Money until the end of 2011, whereupon I will be forced to make a decision.

Intuit's strategy of selling consumers short-duration licenses was the final straw that drove me into the buying Money, even though I knew that MSFT was doing the same damned thing.

I am sure we are being herded towards cloud-computing. When we are hooked on that with little or no alternative, 'they' will begin applying exploitative pricing somewhat like cable TV. I can see it all now.

Best regards,

Phil

We'll never be forced to the cloud. The more the big guys go away from all these neat apps like Money, the more opportunities open up for true competition from the Moneydances of the world. For that reason, I think it's great that Microsoft is out of the personal finance software game. If even 10% of Money users consider moving to Moneydance it will bump his revenues considerably. Independent developers will be licking their chops as the big guys walk away from personal applications like Money.

...ken...