“Apple will step on yet another of Microsoft’s toes early next year when the Mac maker unveils the next version of its iWork productivity suite, complete with a new spreadsheet application,” ThinkSecret.com Staff reports for PC Magazine.
“Sources report that iWork ’07 will gain this new third component, code-named Lasso, which will go to bat against Microsoft Excel in the consumer and small-office space. The new application will arrive in addition to the upgraded Pages 3 and Keynote 4 programs, Apple’s current answers to Word and PowerPoint,” ThinkSecret reports. “While Lasso will lack the depth of Excel, Apple expects the software to strike a chord with the many spreadsheet users who don’t require extremely specialized functionality.”
ThinkSecret reports, “Lasso’s function editor will sport more than 200 hundred [MDN Note: we believe they mean 200, not 200,000] functions that will span a number of needs, from financial to statistical and possibly niche applications such as engineering, sources say. Lasso will also feature limited integration with the Internet, making it easy, for example, for users to create a spreadsheet that automatically downloads and inputs updated stock market information at a specified interval. Wrapping such functionality in an attractive, straightforward interface will be Lasso’s strong suit, bringing practical, advanced capabilities to the masses.”
“Lasso will not be the only iWork component for Microsoft to watch. The next upgrade to Apple’s desktop publishing software, Pages 3, is set to receive a number of improvements poised to make the application behave more like a normal word processor,” ThinkSecret reports.
Much more in the full article here.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Apple on Board with new Microsoft Office Open XML format – October 10, 2006
More details of Apple’s iWork spreadsheet software surface – July 28, 2006
RUMOR: ‘Charts’ spreadsheet software coming to Apple iWork in ‘07 – July 05, 2006
Where’s Apple iWork’s spreadsheet? – February 01, 2006
RUMOR: Apple working on spreadsheet application called ‘Numbers’ for iWork – June 16, 2005
Mac users should not buy Microsoft software (or hardware) – May 16, 2003
And what is Stink Secret’s track record? I’d be surprised if they were batting .500.
“200 hundred functions” Does that mean like 20,000 functions?
Why is ThinkSecret.com reporting for PCMagazine?
200 hundred?? Wow. Thats a lot of functions, probably more than Excel.
“Lasso’s function editor will sport more than 200 hundred functions…”
Wow — that’s over 20,000 functions!
How will I ever keep track of them all?
MW “thats” That’s a lot of functions!
Yay!
That is all I have to say.
MW: Play as in, “I want to play with iWork 07!”
The last reason that I keep Appleworks on my hard drive is the database function. I use it every day in many ways.
Add that to iWork and they have got something.
I’ll finally be able to ditch M$ Office, it looks like!
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There’ve been rumors about a “Numbers” spreadsheet function for iWork for a while — it would make sense for people who want to bring robust charts and graphs into their Keynote productions.
If it supported AppleScript (adequately), I suppose users could write their own functions, or get functions that others had written. That would be cool.
A spreadsheet app is great and all but Apple needs to make Pages more better before it goes on.
“Lasso”? Ugh.
Look, I’m as much of a Mac fanboi as anyone here, but the only reason I’m able to use my Mac while working on Wall Street is because of the seemless compatibility of Office documents/spreadsheets that I get with OfficeMac. I’m sure iWork will be a great app, but if it’s not 100% compatible, it’s a non-starter for me (and I assume many others).
While we want to be 100% Apple, the reality is that the business worls is 98%+ Windows (and MS Office). That’s just the way it is.
Recall the recent announcement that M$ offered XML or something like that as an open standard? And that Apple backs the idea? Hmmm… I wonder why?
Compatible for sure. Now it’ll be an issue of usability.
I’m with KenH. Appleworks database is an application I use the most. What Apple should include is a Filemaker Express database within iWork. This is something I believe is inevitable.
I agree with MadMac. If you are in biz and you want to use a mac it is difficult to do it w/out Office for the mac.
iWork does need a spreadsheet AND a database app. Not only will it allow the older AppleWorks app to be dropped, but will make it very attractive to potential switchers – especially if it’s included in the consumer Macs.
The lack of a database app has surprised me as it shouldn’t be too hard to get a FileMaker Lite put together. Solves the database situation and also provides a nice upgrade path to FileMaker.
On the pricing Old Nick seems to have forgotten that a large percentage of mac users are in school or have family members in school – lots of education discounts available, making a fuller iWork much more attractive to Mac uses than Office.
Excel, since the classic Excel 4.0 (1992), has had 470 functions.
This hasn’t really changed since then, others they have added are bolt ons and not core functions.
What’s particularly annoying is that many of these functions have the same calc bugs in them now as they did 14 years ago — Mac and Windows versions — watch out for the stats ones!
Numbers
Tables
Lasso
Same rumor. Only the name of the third component has changed.
Lasso, I say Lasso? What in tar’nation?
@Nixon
PC Magazine announced a week or so ago that they were expanding their Mac coverage and adding a regular column by popular Mac experts ThinkSecret.
PC Magazine: it’s hip to be square.
iWork does need a spreadsheet AND a database app
—
no it doesn’t…. it’s for families. No database.
What about household inventories? Stamp collections? Coin collections? School records?
I hope this is true. I was afraid that Apple had made a deal with Micropenis to not make an Excel competitor or else they would stop making Office for the Mac.
I think Apple should either improve the basic word processing abilities of Pages (as stated here) or improve TextEdit to make it more functional. TextEdit has got to be Apple’s most butt-ugly and limited app ever!
Hello, Lasso-haters! Lasso is just the code name! The final name will be different.
Looking forward to bumping Microsoft Office off my Macs. I hardly use it these days anyways.