Gestern hat Google einen Gratis-Klon von Microsoft Excel (Tabellenkalkulation) ins Netz gestellt: http://spreadsheet.google.com
Der Zugriff erfolgt online über das Internet. Google versucht so, die Monopolstellung Microsofts anzugreifen. Sun hat das auch schon versucht (Online-PCs mit Netzsoftware, OpenOffice/Staroffice) - aber ohne großen Erfolg. Ich glaube kaum, dass Geschäftsleute ihre sensiblen Kalkulationsdaten über das Internet schicken werden, um die Anschaffungskosten für Excel zu sparen. Außerdem gibt es bei Google keine Grafik-Funktionen (Charts, Balkendiagramme usw.).
Gratissoftware bringt zudem keine Erträge. Ihre Pflege hingegen ist teuer. Daher gibt es allenfalls ein paar mehr Klicks auf Googles Webseite und damit Werbeeinnahmen für Google. Eine ernste Konkurrenz für MSFT scheint mir das nicht zu sein, zumal das Betriebssystem-Monopol bei Mr. Softee bleibt.
Da Microsoft wegen dieser News gestern 2 % fiel, hab ich den Abverkauf zum Nachkaufen genutzt und meinen EK auf 22,56 USD gesenkt.
Fünf Monate vor der "Vista"-Einführung (Beta-Version ist fertig, Business-Version kommt im November) sind solche Kurse ein reines Geschenk. Sie wurden auch nur deshalb erreicht, weil viele Leute schon im Januar MSFT gekauft hatten (zu 27 Dollar, Empfehlung von J. Cramer/Realmoney) und jetzt vom Absturz kalt erwischt worden. Kurse um 22 Dollar bei doppeltem Volumen zeugen von Panikverkäufen.
Google verkauft jetzt auch Server, die die eigenen Gimmicks (Toolbar, Desktop Search) zusätzlich zu Windows installiert haben. Die PCs sind von Dell gefertigte OEM-Versionen. Auch Googles neuer MS-Excel-Klone ist vorinstalliert.
Dell to Supply Google With Servers Tuesday June 6, 7:55 pm ET Dell Reaches Deal to Supply Google With Customized Computer Servers
ROUND ROCK, Texas (AP) -- Dell Inc. said Tuesday it had reached a deal to supply Google Inc. with customized computer servers the search engine company will sell to corporate customers.
Dell spokesman Jess Blackburn said the products are based on the company's server platform but will feature Google-branded logos. The systems will be sold to Google's corporate clients as the Google Search Appliance.
"These would in effect be Google products," Blackburn said. "Nothing about the server would make you think it's a Dell platform."
Financial terms and other details were not provided by Dell or Google.
The deal marks the second time in as many months the two tech giants have partnered.
In May, Mountain View, Calif.-based Google said it would start bundling some of its software on Dell's personal computers.
The server news came a day after Google said it will introduce an online spreadsheet program, a free alternative to the dominant Excel software sold by Microsoft Corp.
Hier die News zur Google-Tabellenkalkulation
Google invades old Microsoft turf: Spreadsheets By John Markoff The New York Times
Published: June 6, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO. Stepping up its attack on Microsoft's core business, Google made available Tuesday a test version of a free, Web-based spreadsheet program that is intended to make it simple to edit and share data online. Google has said that the program, Google Spreadsheets, will be able to read and create files in the format used by Excel, the Microsoft spreadsheet software that is installed on millions of personal computers. The spreadsheet service is another step in Google's steady march toward creating its own computing universe that is an alternative to the desktop PC software business now dominated by Microsoft. It comes months after Google bought Upstart, a small Silicon Valley company that created a Web-based word-processing program, Writely. As Google has moved into Microsoft's traditional desktop turf, Microsoft has been fighting back by adding online components to its software and bolstering its Web offerings. It is working especially hard to challenge Google's dominance in Web search services and the lucrative advertising they generate. Google executives said Monday that the spreadsheet program would make it possible for as many as 10 people to edit a spreadsheet document simultaneously online...
[= babylonische Sprachverwirrung? - A.L.]
...and to chat about it, using Google's instant messaging program.
[P.S. Dann kann man chatten, um die Verwirrung zu schlichten - A.L.] The new service will be able to handle several hundred formulas used to manipulate data in Excel, but not more complex functions like macros, said the Google Spreadsheets product manager, Jonathan Rochelle. "When people want to share and collaborate, we think this product fits in well," Rochelle said. The service, available on a limited basis at http://spreadsheet.google.com, was developed by Google's research arm, Google Labs. The company emphasized the experimental nature of the product and said that the service would initially be offered to only a limited number of users. The spreadsheet service is intended to appeal to small groups of business users, or to people who now use spreadsheets as database programs to keep simple lists, Rochelle said. For example, soccer coaches juggling team lists and people planning family reunions might use it to put data in a place where it can be easily viewed and edited by others.
Rochelle said the ability for many people to collaborate was quite different from the standard method of e-mailing files back and forth. "It's a 'wow' moment with most users," he said. For now, Google Spreadsheets lacks the ability to chart information. But Google is hoping that the service and Writely will give it a head start on Microsoft in the area of so-called Web services. Google has played down its efforts in this field. Despite widespread talk that Writely could compete with Microsoft Word, Google's chief executive, Eric Schmidt, said at a recent news conference that the company had no intention of using Writely to enter the word-processing marketplace. Rather, he said, Google was hoping to integrate Web- based word processing into many services that it was developing. Last year, Microsoft responded to the growing availability of online alternatives to traditional desktop programs by announcing Windows Live and Office Live, two Microsoft-oriented Web portals. Microsoft says the Office Live service permits several users to edit an Excel spreadsheet document simultaneously. But those users need Excel software on their personal computers. Google is hoping that many Web users will find it simpler to share the information by placing it on Google's servers. Alan Yates, general manager for information worker business strategy at Microsoft, said the ability to collaborate had been available to Microsoft Office users for some time. "We see most consumers are really looking for more integration with their school or work life," he said. "They want more compatibility and not less." Google executives deflected questions about how it would derive revenue from its new service.
Rochelle said that for now the company had no plans to connect the service to its AdWords advertising system, which places relevant text advertisements on Web pages.
Google sued over book plans A French publishing company said Tuesday it was suing the Google for piracy over its effort to digitize millions of books for online viewing, AFX News reported from Paris. La Martinière, which owns the publishers Le Seuil in France, Delachaux & Niestlé in Switzerland and Harry N. Abrams in the United States, accuses Google of "counterfeiting and breach of intellectual property rights." The lawsuit, to be filed in a Paris court, is aimed at both Google France and its parent company. |