Google’s p2p-type spreadsheet
p2p news / p2pnet: Consumers are reaching the satiation point and to maintain interest, Google, Yahoo and Microsoft, et al, keep adding bits of each other’s ’services’ to their offerings.
In the latest move of this kind, Google says it plans to excel with an online, p2p-type spreadsheet.
"Although it’s still considered a work in progress, Google’s online spreadsheet will offer consumers and businesses a free alternative to Microsoft’s Excel application – a product typically sold as part of the Office software suite that has been a steady moneymaker for years." says the Associated Press.
"To avoid swamping the company’s computers, Google’s spreadsheet initially will be distributed to a limited audience. Google also wants more time to smooth out any possible kinks and develop more features, said Jonathan Rochelle, the product manager of the new application."
The BBC has Jonathan Rochelle, product manager for Google Spreadsheets, saying, "Many people already organise information into spreadsheets. Where they are struggling is to share it."
"Create basic spreadsheets from scratch," says Google on the site.
And under Sharing spreadsheets, "Choose who can access your spreadsheets. Just enter the email addresses of the people you want to share a given document, and then send them a message.
"People with whom you share a given spreadsheet can access it as soon as they sign in.
"Multiple people can edit or view your spreadsheet at the same time as you – their names will appear in an on-screen chat window."
But will it fly? Analyst Chris Le Tocq has his doubts. Quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle, he says having Google’s service online, "plus its lack of polish," gives only limited appeal and, says the story, "Companies in particular will be nervous about temporarily losing access to their data if Internet access crashes, he said.
"If I was an enterprise, I would go nowhere near this," states Le Tocq. "If I was a small-business person, I would also be extremely wary. The only people who should consider this would be people on a tight budget – a student, or nonprofit or an educational institution."
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Also See:
Associated Press – Google further invades its rival’s territory, June 6, 2006
BBC – Google launches web spreadsheet, June 6, 2005
San Francisco Chronicle – Google hoping it’s able to Excel , June 6, 2006
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June 6th, 2006 at 3:42 pm
Open Office has a very good spreadsheet app. It does not offer the “sharing” feature of the Google app, but it can open and save to MS Office file formats as well as it’s own. Very solid open source freeware, and it’s a whole office suite. Just my two cents.
http://www.openoffice.org/index.html