Web Applications I Don't Use

There are a few other categories of popular web apps that I'll list here, but I don't currently use any of them. Some are still a little too young and don't have a dependable (Google) option yet, or whose collaborative aspects haven't been as desirable to me to get me to convert.

I still use my FileMaker pro desktop application for my day-to-day marketing database. I've played around with a web database builder called CogHead because I have a goal to one day be entirely web based. But I found CogHead's speed and learning curve a little too much to make me switch. I suspect an online database builder will be the next web app I adopt. But since Google doesn't have an option for database apps yet, I'll probably wait awhile longer. On the other hand, Zoho does have a database application builder called Creator. If I get too impatient with Google I may spend some time with Zoho's system. Perhaps this will be my first Zoho app.

I don't do many power point presentations so I have not picked up an online presentation application. Both Zoho and ThinkFree have presentation slide show apps, and SlideRocket is specialized in this area.

As I warned at the start, the number of web-based applications is spreading like kudzu. I could go on forever, but I'll conclude with a mention of Photo Editing web apps. I have not invested much time playing with these applications but it is a quickly growing area (as is video editing). Adobe is planning on building a web-based version of Photoshop, I can't wait to see that! Today the most popular photo editing web apps are provided by Pixenate, Picnik, and Snipshot. All these options are very much in beta, putting them in the "could disappear tomorrow" category. While I'm fascinated by the potential of such web apps, I'll wait for Adobe to come out with theirs or for Google or Yahoo! to buy one up before I switch to online image editing. I doubt I'll have to wait very long.

Software is moving online. The trend is unstoppable and even Microsoft knows it. They have deployed their own web app development tools called Silverlight. It's an exciting time in the software industry. If you're still a bit skiddish on the whole idea of website applications I would recommend starting with the more proven applications like Gmail, or Google Calendar. Once you start felling comfortable with them, and see how they improve productivity, start experimenting with some of the others.

And keep your eye on Web Smart and the Web Smart blog, we'll keep you posted on significant gains in online website applications.