Microsoft products criticised at CFDG meeting

IT | Gareth Jones | 1 Dec 2008

Microsoft’s entry-level accounting software product has not lived up to the hype, according to the CFDG’s special adviser on IT, John Tate.

Speaking at the umbrella body’s London members’ meeting in October, Tate gave a downbeat assessment of Microsoft Office Accounting, which was launched in the UK last year and is available for a minimal fee via the Charity Technology Exchange (CTX).

"Microsoft created a buzz with their entry-level accounting product, but it is a bit disappointing that it is aimed at very small organisations," he said.

"Even very small organisations in the charity sector have quite complicated accounting needs and I’m not sure it’s up to the job of taking on Sage Line 50."

Windows Vista also came in for criticism, with Declan Costello, operations director for Charityshare, sparking hilarity in the audience with his withering assessment of the operating system.

"When you buy a new PC it will have Vista – install XP over the top because it’s just too slow and there are issues with some applications.

"One of the charities I work for has been given a million licenses for Vista, and, thank you very much, they are now sitting in our basement."

Microsoft did not respond to enquiries.

Images

Who's Who: Gareth Jones

Comments

[Cancel] | Reply to:

Name *

Email *

Organisation

Job Title

Comments *

Verification *

* Please read our Community Standards

Close »

Community Standards

The civilsociety.co.uk community and comments board is intended as a platform for informed and civilised debate.

We hope to encourage a broad range of views, however, there are standards that we expect commentators to uphold. We reserve the right to delete or amend any comments that do not adhere to these standards.

We welcome:

Robust but respectful debate
Strongly held opinions
Intelligent relevant discussion
The sharing of relevant experiences
New participants

We will not publish:

Rude, threatening, offensive, obscene or abusive language, or links to such material
Links to commercial organisations or spam postings. The comments board is not an advertising platform
The posting of contact details for yourself or others
Comments intended for malicious purpose or mindless abuse
Comments purporting to be from another person or organisation under false pretences
Gratuitous criticism, commentary or self-promotion
Any material which breaches copyright or privacy laws, or could be considered libellous
The use of the comments board for the pursuit or extension of personal disputes

Be aware:

Views expressed on the comments board are left at users’ discretion and are in no way views held or supported by Civil Society Media
Comments left by others may not be accurate, do not rely on them as fact
You may be misunderstood - sarcasm and humour can easily be taken out of context, try to be clear

Please:

Enjoy the opportunity to express your opinion and respect the right of others to express theirs
Confine your remarks to issues rather than personalities

Together we can keep our community a polite, respectful and intelligent platform for discussion.