Use Instacalc to crunch numbers before Excel even loads
July 4, 2007 by Tris Hussey
Filed under Jobs
We all know that Excel is a number crunching power-house. I know that I couldn’t live without some kind of spreadsheet application. Sometimes, however, you just need to crunch some numbers. Usually I just fire up the Calculator app (my keyboard even has a quick launch button for it), but what if you need to do something a little more complex? What if you also need to do it with other folks at the same time? Thanks to Bryan Starbuck (a distance relative…very distant…who I met at MindCamp this weekend) I found Instacalc.
The page loads instantly and as you are typing, it’s starting to work. I haven’t had a chance to play with this as a collaborative tool, but I can see this as a great way to just crunch some quick numbers. Something that is a bit complex.
Sure, you could use Google Doc & Spreadsheets, but that also requires you to create and save a sheet. What if it isn’t that important? Do you want/need to keep it around?
When you just need to crunch some numbers…
Hi Tris, I’m glad you found it useful! I had a chance to chat with Bryan in Seattle in May (I’m out on the east coast now).
Instacalc was designed for quick, back-of-the-envelope calculations and I’m glad that came through. I’m trying to make it easy to use (readable variables like “sales=300″, equations like “3.3 million + 10%”, etc.), so feel free to send any feedback my way (kalid@instacalc.com).