Is it like cars when most companies roll out new models in September?

I'm looking to buy Quickbooks 2004, but if 2005 is coming out soon, I can wait another month or so.

The answer to your question, from several different perspectives in the software business:

Developers/Engineers: "When it's done."
Marketeers/Salescritters: "Please God let us hit the window."
Engineering Managers: "A little bit of schedule slip will make a better product."
Product Managers: "Hah, we own you, now get it out tomorrow and I don't care if it's broken."
Tech Support: "Please, kill me now."

I didn't include anything from QA because I haven't figured out how to translate their strange Martian language.

Don't forget: "We roll it out in 3 weeks before Q3 so we can start marking revenue before Q4, otherwise nobody gets their bonus. So what if the thing isn't quite ready? We can make patches available online."

Depends on the type of software really,

Games and household software is normally October/November early December for the Christmas season. Simular to movies they also look to see where competing software is coming out and if they think it is a stronger title than their avoid that release date. School holiday are also another popular time to release.

Commercial software really depends on when it is finished and it could be released at any stage but it is unlikely to be December/Janurary.

Is it like cars when most companies roll out new models in September?

I'm looking to buy Quickbooks 2004, but if 2005 is coming out soon, I can wait another month or so.If 2005 comes out real soon, you might be able to upgrade for free.

Thanks everyone (and thanks for the comic relief, too!). I guess I'll just buy the software when I really need it. If I can upgrade for free, great. If not, so be it.

By the way, any tips on who the cheapest software sellers are? Two years ago I knew this, but now I can't remember a single one.

The answer to your question, from several different perspectives in the software business:

Developers/Engineers: "When it's done."
Marketeers/Salescritters: "Please God let us hit the window."
Engineering Managers: "A little bit of schedule slip will make a better product."
Product Managers: "Hah, we own you, now get it out tomorrow and I don't care if it's broken."
Tech Support: "Please, kill me now."

I didn't include anything from QA because I haven't figured out how to translate their strange Martian language.
It's only so funny because it's so true. Ah, nothing like a few "prod bugs" to push back the next project... :rolleyes: