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Excel Clone for Linux Now in Beta

Posted by michael on from the gnumeric-also-a-possible-choice dept.

Martin Kotulla writes "SoftMaker, a German software developer, has released the first public beta of PlanMaker 2004, a native-Linux spreadsheet that is highly Excel-compatible ... in fact, this app is basically Microsoft Excel ported to Linux, including Excel-compatible charting and even AutoShapes. Here is a chart comparing Excel, OpenOffice.org, and PlanMaker." Update: 05/07 19:07 GMT by M : Softmaker.de is temporarily down; the site can still be reached at softmaker.com.

4 of 393 comments (clear)

  1. The wrong path by MoxCamel · · Score: 5, Insightful
    As long as Linux application developers continue to copy Microsoft, in a vain attempt to be "compatible," Microsoft will always have the edge. They will always set the pace for others to follow.

    If you want to make a better product, you can't "embrace and extend." You have to make a better product. By providing file-reading compatibility, you only re-enforce the proliferation of closed file formats. You also cripple your application, to maintain compatibility. (if you want a nifty feature, you have to make sure Excel has it too.)

    When people send me Excel files, I kindly ask them to re-send the file in CSV or some other format. Yes, there are things you can only do in native file format. But the vast majority of users never do those things.

    1. Re:The wrong path by TedTschopp · · Score: 5, Insightful
      When people send me Excel files, I kindly ask them to re-send the file in CSV or some other format. Yes, there are things you can only do in native file format. But the vast majority of users never do those things.

      Well, I see you never have to deal with people who are normal business users.

      I'm not trying to be mean, but I find that normal business users don't know how to do much of the fancy stuff in Excel or any of their other programs. The most common usage of Excel I've found is glorified forms. Oh, I'm not saying that its not used for what it really can be used for, but in those cases the person doing the Excel work is usually an Analyst who is working for the person who is actually consuming the reports.

      The idea here is to give the normal business user a replacement for the expensive office product.

      And as far as innovating and flanking Microsoft on the Spreadsheet market. Its a spreadsheet, there really isn't much more that can be done to the product to innovate it. Copying Microsoft is a great place to start.

      Look at Microsoft's innovation in Excel over the last couple of editions. YEAH SMART TAGS!. That's about it. Oh I know there is more, but come on the market has been dead years now. The only place left to compete is on Price.

      Ted Tschopp

      --
      Fantasy remains a human right; we make in our measure and in our derivative mode... -- JRR Tolkien
    2. Re:The wrong path by Fearless+Freep · · Score: 5, Insightful

      >you get a large number of vendors using the "closed" format, the original vendor now has to consider very carefully additional changes to the format for fear of breaking competitor's products.

      This is Microsoft we're talking about...that's not a risk, that's part of the plan

  2. We Don't Need Another Spreadsheet by theManInTheYellowHat · · Score: 5, Insightful

    We need to be able to edit Flash files, edit Movies, make better websites.

    Microsoft Office has been done, done to death, and the resounding tone is that there is precious little inovation left to do. Macromedia, Adobe and Apple are making the software that needs to run on Linux box.

    Honestly with OpenOffice, gnumeric and kspread what else do you need for a spreadsheet?

    Wordart in Excel BFD. Garageband, Premeire, Flash MX, Dreamweaver, FinalCut.....