Web applications, or web-apps, are full applications that can run in the browser, accessible from any computer with Internet access. Everybody here at DeviceVM is a firm believer that this is the future of applications. If you take a quick glance at the applications I have open, a majority are web-apps - Gmail, Twitter, Google Docs, Mint, and Flickr. I do use Photoshop quite often and as of this time I’m unaware of any web-app powerful enough to replace it, but I’m sure I’ll find something someday. In the meantime, I’d like to share some cool web-apps that I’ve come across while stumbling around the Net.
As their website says, “presentations made easy.” There are plenty of presentation editors out there, but this one struck me as dead simple and beautiful. The entire UI was designed to make you forget that you’re using a web-app. You can publish new files and it also makes it easy to export to a PowerPoint file.
Think of a slightly smarter Twitter that allows you to connect with friends, update your status, and let you find Twitter friends - in real-life! There’s also a layer of social gameplay, rewarding people for exploring new areas and being adventurous.
Reminiscent of the Tweetdeck experience, Hootsuite is a multi-purpose Twitter client. You can manage multiple accounts, create groups, save searches, and schedule Tweets.
How do I explain this? It’s Twitter for videos. It’s intriguing, fun, smart, and quite possibly the easiest way to share a video with your friends.
In the past recording video, editing slides, or managing your social network would have only been achievable through local apps. Fortunately, they have all made the jump from local to web apps thanks to the ubiquity and the power of the browser. Borrowing from the Webware slogan - “The future of applications is online delivery and access. Software is passe.”
October 27th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
“I do use Photoshop quite often and as of this time I’m unaware of any web-app powerful enough to replace it,”
I believe that the new “canvas” element in HTML5 will change that ( see for example http://www.canvasdemos.com )
Note: Microsoft’s Internet Explorer doesn’t support the canvas element. You have to use “modern” browsers to enjoy it ( Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari )