“Google plans to make available on Tuesday morning a test version of a Web-based spreadsheet program that is intended to make it simple to edit and share lists and numeric information online,” John Markoff reports for The New York Times. “The company said that the free program, called Google Spreadsheets, was still in the experimental stage, and that while it can read and create files in the format used by Microsoft’s Excel spreadsheet program, it is not compatible with many of that program’s more powerful features.”
“At the same time, the Web search company appears to be moving ahead in its steady march toward creating its own computing universe that is an alternative to the desktop PC software business now dominated by Microsoft,” Markoff reports.
“Google executives said today that the program would make it possible for Internet users to upload two common spreadsheet and data formats, Excel and C.S.V. Once the data is on Google’s Web servers, it will be possible for two or more people to simultaneously edit spreadsheet documents and chat about them using Google’s instant messaging program,” Markoff reports. “The new service will be able to handle several hundred formulas used to manipulate data in Excel, but it will not handle more complex functions like Excel macros, said Jonathan Rochelle, the Google Spreadsheets product manager.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Take a bite here, a nip there, another nibble from over there, and soon enough not much will be left. Are the Dark Ages of Personal Computing finally beginning to crumble? Tomorrow’s forecast for Redmond, WA: 100% chance it’ll be raining chairs and expletives.
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Related article:
Chair hurling Microsoft CEO Ballmer: ‘I’m going to f—ing kill Google’ – September 03, 2005
No offense Google, but the thought of uploading my corporate financial data or customer contact lists to your servers is not very appealing. Frankly, I am quite content to use Excel locally. Don’t forget that Excel is a Mac-first program. It launched in 1985 as a Mac application and became a Windows app two years later in 1987 (wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Excel). I don’t care that it is made by MS, it is a damn good app.
Google certainly isn’t to be trusted. Similar to Gates, the Google Guys are smart in a techie way and certainly obtuse to the moral ramifications of their actions.
But I like the fact they are chipping away at Microsoft and distracting the hell out of them.
I doubt I will ever use this since I don’t trust Google and their enormous databases, but what I do want is a serious iWork upgrade. Hell, I don’t care if it has a spreadsheet or not since Excel is very good.
iWork just needs to fill in the missing features that are really essential, kill the painful bugs, and make it fast. I’ll be Microsoft free forever.
I can not imagine any corporation permitting its data to be placed on the Internet. Talk about a security problem! I just hope MS chases the Google white rabbit down that hole, instead of MS solving its real problems.
Please replace all furniture in Redmond with bubble furniture, Ballmer’s on a the verge.
http://www.bubblefurniture.com/
“You should see what this guy can do with a spreadsheet. It’s insane.”
Google is certainly chipping away at Microsoft. What worries me is when Google starts to shift its attention to Apple. How will its internet apps hurt Apple software and consequently eliminate one of the most attractive reasons for owning a Mac (iApps)?
I mean apart from OS X of course.
The idea of migrating software to web-based solutions (subscription-based) has been around for some time now; I think MS started playing up the idea as much as 10 years ago. The benefits are easy sharing, automatic updates, and universal accessibility. But the idea continually runs aground on the problems: security (hacking), convenience (what about when you’re disconnected from the Internet, or have a slow connection?), ownership (say your service subscription expires), and interoperability (can you extract your data into a common format if you decide to move on to another company’s software or service). These problems are HUGE, and therefore it is unlikely that software as a service will replace desktop-based software, despite people’s hopes and fears to the contrary. However, for people with special data collaboration needs, or individuals who just want to share a single file, etc., it is unquestionably useful.
Remeber Apple had a spreadsheet, wordprocessor on the internet and it was with system 8, it could do a lot of things and was also a browser and it was called “Cyberdog” as a part of the Open Doc technology.
Refreshing to see someone using Microsoft’s own strategy (giving stuff away for free) against it.
Personally, I don’t mind an anti-competitive company like Microsoft getting it from all sides. It gives me a hell of a warm inner glow to see those slack bastards get some of their own back.
Google Spreadsheets, was still in the experimental stage
Just what the world needs, more Beta crap. Oooh. I can’t wait to beta test for Google for free. Wheee.
^^ The above comment has been brought to you by Microsoft. Micrsoft, we dont innovate.
What these companies don’t understand is that we want web-based apps, but we also want control of the data. Will Google give us that control? I would prefer to see a web-based office suite that I can run from my Apple box. After all, OS X ships with everything you need (Apache, MySQL, Ruby, Rails, etc.). Run your web-based apps on your localhost and keep control of your data. Sound good?
Another reason not to host your data on Google (or any other company’s site): these are the same organizations that are allowing governments to go through your profile and look at your search history. Now you want to give them access to spreadsheet data? Uh, no.
I googled a girl named “Spreadsheets” once. Good times.