The latest version is available only via CVS. Occasionally, +
The latest version is available only via CVS. + Occasionally, some of the more stable CVS versions are given a version number, and packaged as a precompiled deb or RPM install package. Naive or - beginning users should probably stick to version gnucash-1.4.0. + beginning users should probably stick to version gnucash-1.4.6. More adventurous users can try one of the 1.5.x releases, However, keep in mind that they are in a state of constant change and will often be unstable. @@ -212,6 +213,65 @@ "http://www.perl.org">Perl interfaces, thanks to a SWIG wrapper. +
+ +More and more finacial data is moving onto the web. + People shop on-line. They pay bills on-line. There are + even some promising online micro-payment systems. For GnuCash + to be relevent in this on-line world, it must be able to interact + with these systems. There are several steps that can be taken + aloing this path. First, it must be possible to simply and + transparently import financial data off the web. Click on a QIF + file, mime-type "application/x-qif"? Gnucash sucks it in without + burping. But, in a more distant future, can GnuCash originate + transactions? It should be able to! +
++ GnuCash should become "The More Sophisticated Financial Web Browser". + Why? Because dyncamically-generated html and cgi-bins aren't + as pretty or easy to use (or as fast, responsive or sophisticated) + as what you can do with a custom client. Sure Java plugins can + provide a fancier interface than html forms, but a java plugins + that is sophisticated enough is also slow to download. No two + Java plugins are alike: every site has thier own: no standardization. + Wouldn't you rather use one GUI that you already kn ow for all your + on-line financial interactions? Never mind that many people have + Java disabled in thier browser due to security concerns (oh, tell me + again, you do financial things, and you're NOT concerned about security?) + Finally, no Java plugin provides you with monthly or quarterly + reports of your financial status. Maybe your credit card company + does this over the web, but what if you have two credit cards? +
+ ++ GnuCash can provide a centralized, trusted store for financial + data that no other application can provide. There's the convenience + factor: if you have trading accounts at e*trade and charles schwab, + then GnuCash can be the central place where you can oversee + all of your investments. There's the trust factor: + maybe you can trust your web bank. Maybe you can trust your web + stock account. But can you trust a single web entity with *all* + of your financial data? Someone who won't treat you as 'just + another consumer' and sell your 'consumer profile' to anyone who + cares to stalk (ahem, target) your financial activity (ahem, + purchasing) patterns? Didn't think so. Of course, you + *could* use some proprietary financial software. Assuming, of course, + that you trust it not to have any built-in covert channels: + nothing that might send back the make and model of your CPU and + the last ten transactions 'home to mommy' for 'diagnostic purposes'. + Because open source software, such as GnuCash, can be audited + it can be trusted in ways that no proprietary software can be. + In an increasingly net-connected world, the ability to build + trust through audits will be increasingly important. + + GnuCash should be able + to act not only as a secure purse/wallet on the internet, but it + should infact be that trusted financial advisor that no other + technology is in a position to fill. + +