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Intuit tries to call Mint's bluff? Is this normal?

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Re: Intuit tries to call Mint's bluff? Is this normal?

#51
post #8

Why use mint? Why not register with yodlee directly?

Because I've never heard of Yodlee. I assume most folks haven't either...Mint isn't exactly a household name, but they've obviously done a better job marketing themselves to consumers than Yodlee.

Re: Intuit tries to call Mint's bluff? Is this normal?

#52
post #5

I don't know if it's normal, but it's certainly an unbelievably fucking dumb marketing move; your dad knows Quicken, but might not have known about Mint --- until Quicken made sure he did.

It would be brilliant if Intuit is planning on buying mint...

It would be brilliant if they've already secretly signed a deal to buy. If they are just planning on buying, then this would just drive up the price they have to pay Mint's shareholders.

Re: Intuit tries to call Mint's bluff? Is this normal?

#53
post #48
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple is really good at this. They are always willing to obsolete their products if there is something else better. A great example is the iPhone. They didn't care that it would cannibalize iPod sales, because they knew the iPhone was the next move. If they didn't do it, someone eventually would shrewdly combine music + phone and beat them to the punch. By trying to constantly out do themselves, and make a better "iP…

My dad once told me (in a business context; otherwise this would sound kind of weird): "If you're going to get destroyed, you want to own the means of your own destruction." It makes sense to me, but maybe that's easy to say as a student and hard to say as an executive with shareholders.

I suspect that the shareholders, by and large, are pretty happy with the "owning" part; I am guessing that it's your Senior Vice President of Polaroid for Organic Chemistry Research you have to worry about.

Re: Intuit tries to call Mint's bluff? Is this normal?

#54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually caught fraud on my credit card while checking my balances on my iPhone through mint's app while at work. Don't you read the charges on your statement before you pay it?

I caught an accidental double charge when checking my balances on my iPhone through mint's app while at work. I use auto bill-pay, but the bill wasn't due for two weeks anyway.

Is it fraud if it's accidental??

Re: Intuit tries to call Mint's bluff? Is this normal?

#55
post #41
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the sadder examples for me is Polaroid, they were doing some strong work in digital imaging but supposedly it didn't receive internal support because "it would undermine our film business". It's one thing to turn a blind eye to upstart innovation, it's another to intentionally stifle it within a company. Any examples of companies that have done this right? Succeeded at replacing their own obsolete technology w…

Seems funny to talk about IBM in this context but they did start out making punch cards in 1896. They successfully made the transition to computers, mainframes, and then PCs, but then finally missed the shift from hardware to software. From about 1896-1980 they were pretty on the ball, though. Also AT&T has made the transition from fixed to cell phones, okay so far. It's a lot easier when the new business has the sam…

Them missing the shift to software wasn't for lack of trying. They had lots of mainframe software, and then had a huge division making PC applications software in the eighties, which no one much liked. Then they made a major push with OS/2 and forked DOS from Microsoft, and bought Lotus. Unfortunately for them, for some reason IBM didn't seem to be able to make mainstream software that people wanted to buy.

Re: Intuit tries to call Mint's bluff? Is this normal?

#56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I caught an accidental double charge when checking my balances on my iPhone through mint's app while at work. I use auto bill-pay, but the bill wasn't due for two weeks anyway.

Is it fraud if it's accidental??

Philosophy aside: who cares?

I caught it early and corrected it before it was a problem. That kicks ass in my book.

Re: Intuit tries to call Mint's bluff? Is this normal?

#57
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems funny to talk about IBM in this context but they did start out making punch cards in 1896. They successfully made the transition to computers, mainframes, and then PCs, but then finally missed the shift from hardware to software. From about 1896-1980 they were pretty on the ball, though. Also AT&T has made the transition from fixed to cell phones, okay so far. It's a lot easier when the new business has the sam…

Them missing the shift to software wasn't for lack of trying. They had lots of mainframe software, and then had a huge division making PC applications software in the eighties, which no one much liked. Then they made a major push with OS/2 and forked DOS from Microsoft, and bought Lotus. Unfortunately for them, for some reason IBM didn't seem to be able to make mainstream software that people wanted to buy.

The trickiest shift is the business model. IBM could always sell software to corporations. They never managed to sell software to consumers.

Re: Intuit tries to call Mint's bluff? Is this normal?

#58
post #48
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple is really good at this. They are always willing to obsolete their products if there is something else better. A great example is the iPhone. They didn't care that it would cannibalize iPod sales, because they knew the iPhone was the next move. If they didn't do it, someone eventually would shrewdly combine music + phone and beat them to the punch. By trying to constantly out do themselves, and make a better "iP…

My dad once told me (in a business context; otherwise this would sound kind of weird): "If you're going to get destroyed, you want to own the means of your own destruction." It makes sense to me, but maybe that's easy to say as a student and hard to say as an executive with shareholders.

It's easy to say as an executive too. Just hard to do. Any music exec will tell you "We need to own music distribution on the internet." But it's hard for an organization to actually work on two goals at once when those goals are

1. Crush the new business model

2. Make the new business model your own

You have different parts of the same company working against each other, and that either poisons the environment or everyone ends up favoring one side over the other.

Re: Intuit tries to call Mint's bluff? Is this normal?

#59
post #8

Why use mint? Why not register with yodlee directly?

Yodlee powers Mint, many online banking sites, etc. Mint is an advanced skin on-top of Yodlee. Yodlee is not a consumer brand.

Quicken online is really, really bad. They should have acquired Mint at least 12 months ago.

Re: Intuit tries to call Mint's bluff? Is this normal?

#60
post #5

I don't know if it's normal, but it's certainly an unbelievably fucking dumb marketing move; your dad knows Quicken, but might not have known about Mint --- until Quicken made sure he did.

I didn't know about Mint, but have often wished for something exactly like it.

I do my banking with a very small local bank -- it has maybe 4 branches total! -- and was amazed to see it listed in Mint. Yay Mint!

Thank you, Intuit.

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