[mwexler]

Having worked at MSN during this time, I can tell you, the jealousy of AOL and the client-based walled garden they built was almost physically palpable. AOL was the onramp to the internet for so many folks, but many felt they didn't need to leave the garden. MSN was kind of a halfway spot: a bit more open, but also more integrated into Windows (standard embrace and extend approach). Yahoo! was the other big worry: also had a dialup option, but basically was the internet for many, in that, as a portal, it safely met many of their needs for info and communication.

You saw some of this stuff live on as ActiveX objects in IE for a few years after the client wound down; MSN Money was the last big holdout with it's portfolio manager and charting engine, which also was released as part of a Quicken competitor for personal finance management called Microsoft Money.

[georgeecollins]

When I started out at Activision there was a guy doing research so that we would be ready for when Microsoft Network rolled out. It did seem like a cooler version of AOL to us that had like APIs. But no one thought it was going to make it.

[justinlloyd]

We were at ATVI together, then our paths crossed again at 7Studios, and if you haven't moved recently, you live about 4 miles from me. Small world.

[mikestew]

One nitpick: Microsoft Money was around since the early '90s, long before MSN showed up. I also miss it very much.

[mwexler]

Right, Money was around for a while, but it had no investor portfolio tooling for a while. They tried a couple of things, but eventually just used the ActiveX object to give them "insta-portfolio!".

Money was pretty impressive: easier to use than Quicken, but powerful in a lot of places that Quicken just struggled. Quicken couldn't figure out if it was an accounting package or a personal finance tool, while Money (and a few others) drilled down on real money solutions. My wife was a holdout for a long time as well, asking me to find ways to keep it running on each new system I installed in the house.

[cecilpl2]

Microsoft Money Sunset Edition still works. I can still download all my credit card statements in OFX (MS Money format). I use it weekly and have nearly 20 years of transaction history stored there.

I have no idea what I'll do if it ever stops working.

The killer feature I would switch instantly for is a way to automatically set part ownership of a joint account. I want to download credit card transactions and mark them as being 1/2 mine, so it doesn't throw off my budget tracking.

This feature does not exist in any financial software, sadly.

[justinlloyd]

Still using MSMoney Sunset Edition. My records only go back to 2003 (19 years). I like having my financial information directly on my computer, under my control, and not being mined by random start-ups that get acquired.

[danielodievich]

I've been msmoneying since 1998. The file has it all and still works amazingly well. Many banks still support the formats and yeah, it is completely offline which is how I like it.

[a-dub]

> but also more integrated into Windows

that's right. iirc the windows 95 ppp drivers were a separate package and msn included them along with a custom dialer that integrated directly into the shell as a tray application?