mac/evangelism

Many, many people have been reviewing, discussing and critiquing the new web service offered up by Google: Google Spreadsheets. Now some people have been very happy and pleased with the service but other seem intent on picking it apart and making Google look as bad as possible. Here's my response to those very harsh critics:

Some people seem obsessed with the fact that this doesn't have as much functionality as Microsoft Excel. Well, Excel wasn't always that spiffy, it's a program that has grown and grown through the years as any app does. Some people even make the argument that apps like Excel and word have "ballooned" too much, and have so many features now it's difficult to use for simpler functions. So I'm glad that Google didn't try to implement all that functionality right away. After all better to get a smaller feature set working well then a large feature set being buggy. Also, did any one notice that it's a part of Google Labs, which means it's still in beta, i.e. it's not a finished product and it's going to get better. Finally, a number of people have pointed out that most people use spreadsheets for fairly simple uses. Indeed the home and small business set of consumers use spreadsheets for the very uses that Google Spreadsheets provides the functionality for. And really I don't think Google is after the same market that wants to do highly complicated things with a spreadsheet, and even if they did, I doubt they would do it with a web app. Ultimately a web app is limited in what it can do, and for more advanced functionality you want it as a stand-alone app.

Well there it is that's my little rant. I like the new Google Spreadsheets. I think it's a very good addition to their already impressive list of web services (Gmail, Gtalk, Calendar, Notebook, Reader, Page Creator, and Maps). I'm looking forward for whatever they churn out next.