Google spreadsheet is a nice try on collaboration on basic spreadsheets. The app works quite fine for basic (because of Beta still small files) spreadsheet work, not for ingenious and difficult macros and alike. For those who are too impatient to wait for Google's invitation. It works by invitation.

You can get it running right away if you are invited. The same goes for Writely. Google's next baby but then in Word Texteditor format. Same applies here, get an invitation and get started right away.

Since posting a URL in comments is often seen as spam. I would like to state it is not meant as spam. It is to get people invited to Google Spreadsheet and/or Writely and not intended as spam.

For those who would like to receive an invitation for Google Spreadsheet and/or Writely, visit this page: http://pnut.kicks-ass.org/gsheet/

Thanks

Needs a few things:

Workbook / Multiple worksheets. (Found the add sheet button. Heh... Oops.)
Defined / named lists
Support for more formatting options for cells, such as fractions.

This is *very* basic. As such, it does well. Seems to support all sorts of nifty things like simultaneous editing by multiple parties, internal chat, and so on.

Looks good for collaboration. Nice preview of what they're working on. Definately not a replacement for Excel.

I love goggle. the are so cutting edge and seem to think about what it's like to be a person who uses many different computers. Yes it isn't as secure, but when you're not really worried about security as much as convenience,it's not a problem

"it isn't as secure, but when you're not really worried about security as much as convenience,it's not a problem"

LOL. Is that a tongue in cheek comment? Bcos if it's not...... Well, that was what MS thought. And you know the kind of hell they have to go through.

I just recieved my invitation to Google Spreadsheet. It actually is pretty decent. The only drawback I see right now is that it is not fully integrated into Gmail like calendar is. A service that I haven't seen much on is the 'gmail for your domain' which I also activated today. A free gmail account at your own domain name (actually about 100 that you manage the users for the domain). You can even change the logo to your own!

You do realize that putting your data online is equivalent to putting your trash on the curb — the government has full access to it and can use it against you.

Oddly, Microsoft is smiling like a cat when people realize the inherent security advantage of having both app and data resident on the same home/business PC.

Google Office. Google OS. Google Browser. Google EVERYTHING. I LOVE GOOGLE. I wonder if I can get one of those Caps with a fan on top and a Google logo...

Google spreadsheet and wait for it Google office what a laugh will we get any more rubbish from this company. Stick to what u do best SEARCH

troll

This geek doesn't sneer at spreadsheets, just the poor plotting capabilities of Excel. What is so hard about set up a log axis that doesn't start at a integral power of 10?????

Essentially, spreadsheets are those things that MBA's can't live without, but which geeks sneer at and usually recommend using a "real database" instead. MBA's mumble "smarta**", while the geek mumbles "dumba**" as they part ways near the coffee mess.

I could care less where my app is as long as I can get at it when I need to... from anywhere I need to. If I can store and load data from a local source, fine. I don't pay for OpenOffice and MS-Office is WAY too pricey and bloated for my needs. Why should I expect to pay for something that could be easily hosted and available via the web? All this stupid paranoia about government snooping. Are you typing up instructions for making bombs, embedding child porn pics? Only people doing things they shouldn't do should worry about it.

Honestly I don't see how this post a threat to MS office. Until this web base spreadsheet match the features offer in Excel, I doubt it will do much good. I mean, Lotus 123, and OO, and WP office are all comes with spreadsheet programs, and none can compete with Excel.

Yet one more step in the transition of the web from static content to database aware applications that are desktop neutral. I am all for this in general, I get that itchy feeling on the back of my neck that happens right before the black helicopters come when I think about this. All that data just sitting on google's servers....mmmm tasty treat for the government to sift through. It is just waiting to be grabbed. Makes my paranoid side really twitch.

Heh...

Until you realize the only stuff on there is what you *put* on there?

Or is the twitching just a medical condition?

*grin*

Don't know if it is medical. I can't go to the doctor or it may get in my medical record, then when the storm troopers search for twitchers in the medical records, I will be nabbed. Dang, it sucks being paranoid.

I guess.

Glad I'm not. My future looks blissfully clear or Storm Troopers. (Aside form the DVD variety, of course)

With this news, I'm sure another chair is being thrown across the room at Microsoft...

please release GOOGLE OFFICE!

MS Office is CRAP!

Why loyal fans are such an idiot?

If you think it's CRAP, provide some value reason. Don't come out with reason it's a MS produce, therefore is crap.

95 percent of MS-Office users typically use about 30% of the total list of features of Excel, or Word, or Outlook. So, you're paying a lot of $$ to use some of it. Dumb. Go buy a dinner for $500 and eat three bites and say it's a good deal.

GCoder, do you even know what you are talking about?

If Writely (now owned by Google) is a preview of the things to come, "Google Office" is going to be a rudimentary version of an Office suite; a far cry from MS Office.

You are correct on your first point, however out of those 95% each one uses a different 30% of the features then everyone else. So a program that has every feature you could possibly want and some you won't use is a great sell because different people will use different parts of it. So it isn't "dumb" to have a program with that much flexibility, everyone will find what they want in it.

To use your example, I might only like the potato from the meal, but you might like the corn. However if you knew 100% that the corn was going to taste exactly like you want it to then it would be worth the cost....

If OpenOffice or this Google product meets your needs, then so be it and you saved your money. However don't bash a software product just because *you* don't use more then 10% of it.

Writely was still in Beta when it was purchased, and Google has yet to work it's magic (if any) on it.

I'd withold judgement on the app until Google starts pimping it.

Am I the only one who sees the freedom we have in operating our own software, owned and managed by ourselves, steadily slipping away? Doesn't anyone see the day when your private correspondence can be seized by any government entity, from a central server, without your knowledge or consent?

probably not, but Google offering online application software only adds another option. I don't see how anything is slipping away.

Google's spreadsheet app will likely allow opening xls files and csv files from within gmail -- which is nice if you aren't on a computer with compatible software or download privelidges.

also, your question ignores the fact that part of our government's job is enforcing privacy and writing laws for our rights. while our system is extremely flawed, there IS a reason that our nation's politicians are in an uproar over NSA policies and alarmed by this notion too.

Sorry Google ... sounds like a good idea, but...

There is no way anyone can beat Office 2007. I have the beta version ... it is seriously awesome. Not comparable to anything else.

But, hey ... for all those people who dont have any type of spreadsheet processor, this is a great thing Google is doing.

If price has *anything* to do with it, a web-based office suite, tied with GMail, and GCal, might actually be used by small businesses in *place* of Office.

I agree for the home user/home based business, but this won't fly with most network admins... any proper admin will cringe at the thought of hosting user data on someone else's server outside of their control.

Depends on the Business. (And the fact that most small bsuinesses don't *have* and admin.)

;)

Just sayin'...

Agreed!

Hi,

You might also want to try out Zoho Sheet, a similar application for online collaboration of spreadsheets.

http://zohosheet.com

We agree it is not yet close to its desktop equivelent, but we are trying hard to reach there and as well add lot of web-based features.

Regards,
Ramesh
http://blogs.zohosheet.com

Very nice app, Ramesh. I'm confident that you guys can use Google's entry into this arena to your advantage by capitalizing on where Google's app falls short, and perhaps offering branded website integration.

very nice job!

I think this new product is really good and I hope it support all of the functions that excel has.

As for Google taking over Microsoft, I'm not sure this will totally happen and I'm sure Microsoft will still be a much bigger player in the Market than Google.

I love using google's web based applications because I can access the same data anywhere, their light weight and simple to use. If I want somethings more complex, I shall open a Microsoft product like Outlook or Excel.

I welcome this "new" product when It comes out today.

AND WOULD PPL STOP REFERING TO THIS "WEB 2.0"!

Dude...

Web 2.0 is just a much easier way of saying,

"The new standard to which many new and old websites are being created / updated which includes such technologies as AJAX javascript, ASP, and others."

See? Web 2.0 is much easier to type. ;) still doesn't mean anything solid, but it gives you an idea of what's being talked about.

Get used to it, it's the buzz-word for the 00'S.

"Network is the computer". We are still away from that dream but are certainly moving in that direction. That is what scares the hell out of Microsoft.

Why would it? They can sell something for server-hosted crap as well as desktop crap. What do you think they're doing with all the stupid "Live" stuff?

Yay!More Google trash. I swear Google is becoming more and more like Microsoft everyday.

I know what you mean... I really can't understand these companies that want to be successful. They have to be careful or elsethey will offer a good line of products, next thing you know they become more valuable, the stock holders will make a little money... yuck.

Another Google piece of rubbish when will it end, is this company trying to turn into another Microsoft only time will tell, I would say 2 years before everyone wizens up to Google and there cheap attempt at software

The only problem is, current browser technology isn't really there yet to support really fast, rich & robust user experience.

We need another 3 years or so.

How much faster do you need? what do we need the browser todo that it cant now? yes it will get better but for now its GREAT (firefox)!!!

I daresay I need more than the maximum 1500/256kb connection currently available for an experience comparable to locally run software. :P

Go try the handful of web-based "web 2.0"-based apps, such as writely, editgrid, google calendar, etc. You know that it still cannot come close to what we currently have on our desktop in terms of features, speed and robustness.

And while firefox is a great browser, it is just an "ok" browser for Ajax.

Have you *used* Writely? (AJAX Word Processor purchased by Google)

It's fast. It's not "feature-filled", but considering browser-cache and most folks connection-speeds, I don't see why it couldn't be.

Yeah, tried writely already. the speed is reasonable but not robust at all. once it screws up a little, no way to revert. i was working on a document with table, for some reason, it was buggy. the more i tried to fix it, the more messy it became. in the end, there was no way to even delete that table and redo.

I admit it's a tad buggy. It's also still beta. :P

That said, I'm still curious why you think it's 3 years off. Bandwidth, browser-cache, and the tech is all there. Google seems to have the motivation to get it done.

I really don't see how speed or robustness would be that much of a hurdle.

Currently, Ajax is still in its infancy. Most Ajax+DHTML+JSON apps that are beyond "sample code" require programming hacks because these are still treated as additional features to the browser rather than core features. There is too much coding required to come up with a useful "rich user experience" web-based app.

The bugs that I've seen in Writely are more because the features that they want to implement are simply not directly supported by the browsers rather than programming errors per se.

Until such time the browsers can treat these apps as first-class citizens, web 2.0 won't have a smooth ride. I think 3 years is the reasonable time for this to happen.

My $0.02. :)

You're an okay browser for ajax unless you can qualify your claim about FF being 'just an ok browser for ajax'. kthxbye.

No browser can claim to have superb Ajax support because Ajax is an after-thought. JSON that goes hand-in-hand with Ajax is also an after-thought. Even with the numerous Ajax toolkits, it is still a pain to develop a good rich UI web-based app.

But if you must know FF's specific issues with Ajax, here are some:
1. FF does not ignore whitespaces if Ajax returns XML data.

2. Ajax calls go into limbo MUCH more frequently.

3. Several great IE HTML DOM features such as contenteditable, innerHTML, innerText, etc. are not fully supported by FF. These features make web development much easier.

I don't think I want to bore the readers with more of these stuff.

I think it is safe to say that Google will require a modern browser to be installed so you can't really say, "The Web based spreadsheet will not require any application to be installed on the user's computer." Sure it is nit picking but as a web developer it is key that you set browser expectations for dynamic applications like that.
Update: http://www.google.com/su.../answer.py?answer=40597

that is true, BUT, every OS comes with a Browser of some sort!

Its about time that someone stands up to the giant empire monster, "Microsoft". I know i use office and Windows but how many people can download it from any P2P. I hope google takes over Microsoft in this spreadsheet thing, it sounds like a great idea, and a really good idea for Businesses. I hope i get chosen to beta test this thing!!!

And so it begins... :-)