Booming Web-based applications

Rural Telecommunications, July-August, 2008 by Jonah Arellano

A market for Web-based applications is booming. A wide range of online applications make it easier for individuals and businesses to manage their work while dramatically reducing costs and simplifying collaborations. Files no longer are stored on one hard drive and transferred around with a USB flash drive, disk or e-mail. Files can be accessed by the user anywhere and anytime online.

A variety of applications are feeding the rise of productivity. Image editors range from simple editing features on Picnik to A.viary's Phoenix, which rivals Adobe's Photoshop software. Adobe recently launched its Web application, Photoshop Express, to the delight of its Photoshop software users. Word-processing applications include a fast load time and clean user interface from ajaxWrite, and a basic word processor from Writeboard. For slide presentations, Sliderocket offers a rich Internet application that integrates authoring, asset management, delivery and analytics tools in a single-hosted environment. Empressr lets users create, share and store rich-media presentations online. For suite-style applications, Zoho and Google provide a variety of free applications. [www.picnik.com, www.a.viary.com, www.photoshop.com/express, www.google.com/apps]

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By Jonah Arellano, NTCA Communications Assistant