For those who don't have (or want to spend) the big $$$ on a copy of Microsoft Excel or the full Microsoft Office package, here are some alternatives to consider (thanks to PC Mag);
1) Star Office (Review listed below) - Side note, this is perhaps one of the oldest inexpensive alternatives to MS Office on the market place and it does have tech support.
StarOffice 8 is priced at $70 per copy for a downloadable version. The enterprise edition costs $100 per seat and includes document and macro migration tools. Both of these pricing models represent significant savings over Microsoft Office Professional Edition, which retails for nearly $500
Can be found at www.sun.com/software/star/staroffice/index.xmlwww
2) Open Office (info indicates this is a freebie)
Can be found at http://www.openoffice.org
3) Think Office (info suggest it may be free, with multiple site license as low as $1 per machine)
Can be found at http://www.thinkfree.com
To all who try out these alternatives, please understand, I personally do NOT have any experience in any of these programs. I merely offer a low cost alternative to those needing access to spreadsheet type software to assist themselves in anyalyzing the data.
Good Luck to any who tries it.
Sir Metro