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Comment by ajsnigrutin | Hacker News Reader

But... why?

Is there anyone who opens a classic spreadsheet software (from excel to google sheets) and says "I need something limited with less cells!"?

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This is not targeting people who go to a spreadsheet software first; this is targeting people who need some quick calculation and can use the power of spreadsheet software. Maybe it's a quick forecast of an investment/loan over a few years, maybe it's a list of friends who owe you money for your group trip, maybe it's just the waiter who runs the payments for a 10-person table who all pay differently and they want to note who paid how much and what is left on the total bill. This is just like opening Notepad++ for copy-pasting something quickly instead of opening Word.

I can see a lot of uses for that kind of "quick spreadsheeting" that don't require you to fire a full-blown editor.

I do that kind of quick spreadsheeting on the Apple Numbers app. I can’t say it’s particularly pleasant to use. There’s definitely a need for reimagining the spreadsheet UI for mobile spreadsheeting.

What if I need to put more than 10 friends on my list. Why is it arbitrarily limited?

> This is just like opening Notepad++ for copy-pasting something quickly instead of opening Word.

But it's not.

Noteped++ is a pure text editor, word is not (because it has formatting, auto capitalization and other crap, that might bother you, especially if you paste a snippet of code).

This is like openining an online, special, 10-line limited version of notepad, instead of a normal notepad, that you already have installed on your pc, which has no line limits.

They do touch upon the rationale in their announcement blog post [0] but I do struggle to think of specific use cases.

[0] https://postlight.com/insights/introducing-tinysheet

As a personal anecdote, extraneous columns in spreadsheets trigger my OCD.

The first thing I do in any spreadsheet is to delete all of columns except for five, then add more if needed.

I wish there was an option in Google Sheets to start with fewer columns. I almost never need a full alphabet.

If this was an embeddable JS library then this would be pretty neat.

Why not? Why do you need bloated, mobile unfriendly spreadsheet software to quickly take down some numbers in a tabular form? For e.g, If I'm around the house and want to record a few tape measure readings with my phone like a digital scrapbook, I can use this. I like the tabular format and ease of use.

If I need to jot down a quick note, I wouldn't use a word processor with all the inane amount of options. I would use a simple note app because all those word processing options serve no purpose and makes the simple task I'm trying to complete harder then it needs to be. Simplicity is a very convenient feature.

If you remember this product exists the next time you're measuring than yes, it might be useful. I use my notes app to jot down field measurements all the time and it works well. Simplicity can be nice up until the point of too much fragmentation.

There is a difference between straight text and spreadsheets. I also like notes, but numbers are just easier to process mentally in tabular form. If they weren't spreadsheets would have next to no value.

If I use a product and find it handy and convenient I'll remember to use it next time. Likewise, if I use a product and find it obtuse and makes a simple task harder than it needs to be, I'll remember not to use it next time.

It seems like it's mobile-first.

On desktop it's kind of silly compared to google sheets, but open it on a phone and it's a joy to use for something quick and screenshot vs google sheets.

I like it. One example could be - Need to come up with rent calculations for rental properties, before I do the books.

Also, doing doing freelance project quotations with breakdown. Expected hours for each task and stuff like that.

This works perfectly for me. I have bookmarked to my main page. I just like spreadsheets.

But if anyone wants a bit more, I found https://ethercalc.net/ which I am exploring right now.

Seems like more than 2 columns would be handy even in those scenarios.

I get your point, but it does appeal to me. There are times I wish my Keep list had a totals function. I'll probably try this next time I need to share something on Keep that needs a calculation or an itemized quote.

to create discussion/controversy and therefore attention for the consultancy that created it (postlight).

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