Posted on 01/11/2003 10:35:39 PM PST by ledzep75
Edited on 04/13/2004 3:04:58 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
TaxCut is produced by H&R Block, in collaboration with Kiplinger.
Yeah, I was one the unlucky SOBs who bought it. I had no idea it had activation until I installed it. I hadn't seen it before so I didn't know what to look for. I uninstalled it but I may reformat my drive and completely reload my system if it continues to cause havok.
Damned program wouldn't work for me anyway. Because I had unemployment and a 1099-MISC it wouldn't file my return electronically. Anyone know if Taxcut has the same hang up?
You actually are allowed, legally, to make a backup copy of any program you buy. You are not allowed to distribute it, obviously, but you are allowed a backup copy. I don't think the DMCA changed that, but I could be wrong.
While it doesn't happen often, CD-ROMs do occasionally become unreadable and it's nice to have a backup for peace of mind, especially since you ususally only find out the CD is bad at the worst time -- like when you are doing a compete reinstall of your system and you need mission-critical software back up and running yesterday.
The problem people have with C-Dilla is not the concept of a vendor trying to prevent theft, it's with the notion that, unknown to the user, invasive, intrusive, and potentially desctructive software is being installed on their machines without their knowledge.
It's a bit like finding out that because you purchased a book at Barnes and Noble, you unknowingly gave the major publishing houses consent to enter your home while you are at work and rummage through your stuff to make sure you aren't Xeroxing their copyrighted materials. Some might say, "Well, if you aren't doing anything wrong, you have nothing to hide." Others will just say, "Get the hell out of my house before you eat the end of a .45."
Sneaky. Too Sneaky. I couldn't recall ordering TT 2002. I usually just buy it at Comp USA. Then I read about Cdilla - a program I understand you include for free. A glance at my directory structure reveals that I've BOUGHT and used TT since 1997. There will not be a "Tax02" directory. Guaranteed. C (dilla) ya.
The CD-in-the-mail version is actually a better deal, cost-wise.
Last year, with the all the rebates included, on the retail shelves TurboTax Federal AND State cost a cumulative $20. This year, TurboTax Federal is $30 with rebate, but there's no price break for TurboTax State ($30). Total cost = $60.
However, if you use the mailed-to-you CD, TurboTax Federal costs $30, but they give you TurboTax State for free (one state only). Cumulative cost = $40.
Last year was my last using Turbo Tax. Their loss.
First I got someone who could barely speak English, which is fine, except I spent twice as much time on the phone trying to understand him. Then he would not refer me to a tech unless I gave him my credit card number. I know there is a bug in my program so there is no way I'm going to pay to tell Intuit they have a problem.
This is only one problem I have had with QuickBooks. All I need is a simple basic accounting program, but every time I hit a key in QB I seem to get some ad for additional bells and whistles. The first message I get when I open QB is "I need to change my security level" when I cancel it they bug me with "are you sure." I'm sure they want more access to my computer to send me more crap.
QB is harder to get rid of than Real Player. that's another story.
The only caveat I would ad to that recommendation is that ad-aware is currently still at version 5, which is considered out of date by the security community. Version 6 has been somewhat delayed. Version 5 will get most spyware, but not the most recent.
An excellent, free spyware killer to go along with ad-aware is SpyBot Search and Destroy. It's a lot more complex than ad-aware however, so potential users might want to read the following review before getting immersed in it:
I picked up on the MS move early on, when Windows 2000 was literally pulled off the shelves and replaced with Windows2000XP.
Since then, I have not met a single person who voluntarily bought XP and many who uninstalled it from new machines and replaced it.
The reporting of this development has been underwhelming.
The creative "use" of the business edition (which lacks the spy feature) is quite creative, and in my opinion, so long as the user has paid for the damned software, he is doing nothing illegal.
My taxes are fairly simple. Hopefully they will stay that way. I see your point about tax strategies. When one starts accumulating wealth, you want to try and hold on to as much of it as you can.
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