Like most other recent operating systems, Lion has its fair share of both converts and critics, but none so unhappy as those left in the cold with programs—like AppleWorks and Quicken—which no longer open in Mac OS X 10.7. Now, it seems that Quicken users may once again be able to use their crippled software, according to an email and a support document on Intuit’s website.
Mac users of Intuit’s personal finance software have not seen a significant update to the program since mid-2006, when Quicken 2007 was released, despite regular updates to the Windows version of the program. Intuit kept promising a retooled Mac version—first at Macworld Expo in 2008, delaying it to Summer 2009, then pushing it back again to early 2010. Intuit eventually released a bare-bones update in the form of Quicken Essentials, but it lacked many of the features most users relied on.
With Lion’s release this past July, Quicken 2007 was locked out of the new operating system: The app had been built for PowerPC machines, and support for Rosetta, the emulator that allowed PowerPC software to continue running on Apple’s new Intel processors, had been discontinued. Users cried out for a fix—to Intuit, to Apple, even to Macworld—but the company remained silent.
Until this Thursday. “I am happy to announce that we will have a solution that makes Quicken 2007 for Mac ‘Lion-compatible’ by early spring,” wrote General Manager of Intuit Aaron Forth in an email delivered to customers. His email links to a support page, which provides a few lines on document compatibility and links to a mailing list form; when Quicken 2007 for Lion is available, Intuit will send out a mailing blast to those users.
While good news for those who rely on Quicken 2007 and have been reticent to upgrade to Lion, the information is sparse, and Forth makes no promises about a future, non-Essentials version of Quicken; he only states that “working toward a Quicken for Mac 2007 solution is just a first step” in winning back the confidence of users.
Quicken Mac 2007