Let the cursing begin in earnest

[mdlbear]

Went to start working on my taxes, only to find that the "free" CD of TaxCut that they sent me in the mail was actually not a CD of TaxCut but only a network installer: it goes out and tries to download the real copy, after trying to get you to pay $5 for "extended download protection" on top of the $29 that you'd normally pay for federal+state -- which means that if your machine croaks sometime after 60 days you don't have to pay to download it again.

Not to mention the fact that it doesn't actually work on the Windows 98 machine I used last year. I'm guessing that it's flummoxed by the fact that I'm using Firefox instead of Internet Exploiter. Since it's really just a downloader and all. If they think I'm going to type my credit card information into IE...

The only currently-working XP machines in the house are in the various bedrooms; I found this out on the Mac laptop that I had the presence of mind to borrow from work. There's a Win98 laptop, but it's currently booted into Linux and serving as the router on my new DSL line. So now I'm off to Office Max and Fry's -- where I was going to go anyway -- to see whether I can find an actual CD.

Then I get to find out whether the Mac version of TC can import last year's data that was prepared on a PC.

I'm suddenly very glad I thought to stop off at BevMo on my way home yesterday and get a fresh bottle of gin. And put it in the fridge.

Comments

[hms42]

Then I get to find out whether the Mac version of TC can import last year's data that was prepared on a PC.

It can. If you have Target near you, try them too. I got my copy of Taxcut (refusing to use TurboTax after the spyware incident they did in 2002).

Harold S.

[mdlbear]

It says it can in the readme, and I'd be really surprised if it couldn't, but the downloader didn't have a readme file.

Fry's had it.

[tiggerypum.livejournal.com]

I'm a net geek, I paid for and downloaded taxcut from the net, and thanked them for making a mac version again.

[mdlbear]

Not only did Fry's have it for the same price ($30) as the download, they had a $10 mail-in rebate for purchases between 3/17 and 4/15. So I came out a little ahead this year.

[ravan.livejournal.com]

I used the net version of TurboTax on my RHEL Linux box at work. It protested not being on Windows or Mac, but worked fine with FireFox anyway. Filed on Monday, confirmed Wednesday.

[mdlbear]

I like to have the local files where I can save them.

pay $5 for "extended download protection"

[gmcdavid.livejournal.com]

Maybe its just because I grew up in Chicago, but "pay...for...protection" sounds rather ominous.

Re: pay $5 for "extended download protection"

[mdlbear]

Basically the same racket, I think. "Nice software. Pity if something should happen to it..."