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Filed under: Office, Web services, Microsoft

Microsoft working on Google Apps competitor?

Google DocsMichael Arrington over at TechCrunch caught what could be evidence that Microsoft is prepping some sort of online spreadsheet program, which would probably be a stripped down version of Excel.

Microsoft Developer Tod Hilton posted on his personal blog that he's moving from Microsoft's Global Foundation Services to the company's Excel Services team. And yesterday, he wrote that the product "has tons of potential and will probably be competing with the likes of Google Spreadsheets, DabbleDB, Zoho, and JotSpot Tracker."

A short while later, Hilton removed that text and updates his post to say that he was removing his "personal opinions." The implication is that we shouldn't read too much into what he wrote on the post, it may have just been excitement about moving to a new team. Either Microsoft is planning on developing an online spreadsheet application, or Hilton really thinks they should and wrote his post in a moment of blind enthusiasm.

Obviously there's not enough information here to determine whether Microsoft is developing online versions of other Office programs such as Word or PowerPoint. But one can dream. While we're dreaming, let's imagine that these applications would all be free.

Filed under: Business, Internet, Office, Web services, Google

Dabble DB: Web-based collaborative spreadsheets

dabble db online calendar spreadsheetIn this world filled recently with online spreadsheet and calendar applications, one enters the mix by making things difficult and a little complicated at first, but easier to get the hang of as time goes by.

Dabble DB is free for a 30 day trial [with prices ranging from $10 to $150 month for corporate users]. It enables users to import their spreadsheets, contacts, and databases, as well as start from a fresh sheet. Data in the spreadsheets and documents can then be shared, and collaboration can be turned on by inviting contacts to edit the information. It's a little tricky to get things started from scratch, but after a while it tends to get better. But wait, should online applications be difficult to use at first? Especially when there are tons of them on the market? No. They have to be simple, and very quick to get your information up and running. I still don't have a good handle on Dabble DB after an hour of fooling around with the tool. I will try it out for a little while longer over my one month free trial, and let you know if I change my mind.

Dabble db is cool, but I think I will stick to my Google Calendar, and Google Spreadsheet. Which are free to use, and integrate nicely with my other applications.

Look after the jump for some screenshots of Dabble DB.

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