In response to "I can't think of a reason why you'd want to enter numbers as
large as
that in Excel given its limited precision but I suppose you could enter
the upper digits in one cell and the lower in the next column. You might
also have to define functions to deal with the numbers. Personally, if I
saw a need, I'd get my employer to buy me Mathematica or possibly,
Matlab."

I work for the Federal Government....more specifically, the area that
publishes the "Daily Debt to the Penny" figure. As of yesterday, we hit the
10 trillion mark, but are unable to publish the full figure. Now we're
scrambling around trying to come up with a quick solution because our numbers
have to be published on a deadline. The other software mentioned
(Mathematica or Matlab) are probably not an option because they're not
supported here at the Bureau. Entering the number in 2 different cells or as
text are also not options for us. We need a fix ASAP.

Someone from our office contacted Microsoft several years ago about this,
telling them that we needed the extra digits for certain functions and they
basically said, "Sorry 'bout your luck."

I'm hoping if enough people complain to Microsoft, that they'll eventually
do something about it. Some of our figures are published to the internet in
Excel format so pretty soon it won't just be a problem for a select few here
at the Bureau, but a problem for many.