When Google met spreadsheet

Google is now taking names of people who want to test out its new spreadsheet program, which is set to launch in beta.

The program is another front in Google's war with Microsoft, but it's not the only office application in the search giant's arsenal. Google recently bought the Writely Web-based word-processing program.

For its part, Microsoft has been working on developing more Web-centric services, including in its Office applications.

Should Microsoft be worried? Not yet, say the bloggers. Many are pointing out that while the Google applications may appeal to home users, big businesses are likely to stick with Microsoft, at least for now.

Blog community response:

"Though Google says it's working on improving printing, charts, filtering and 'drag and drop' features, in the current state Google Spreadsheet may offer competition to other web-based spreadsheet software like NumSum, ZohoSheet, JotSpot Tracker, iRows or wikiCalc but not to the rock-solid Microsoft Excel. They are still miles apart."
--Digital Inspiration

"Excel is a hugely important piece of software for businesses, and no multi-million dollar corporation is going to run their payroll off a web-based solution. Google may very well steal the considerably smaller home user market from Microsoft Office, but businesses likely require far more."
--Inside Google

"Just as Gmail messages are delivered with content-sensitive AdSense ads, so could documents. For example, if a user starts creating a spreadsheet about Future Widget Sales Growth, the web-based application could load ads pointing to alternate Widget suppliers. This would make AdSense even more desirable for potential advertisers."
--Ars Technica