Computer programs are obsolete: what to use instead
Technologies / / December 19, 2019
Look at your "Start" menu or the Dock, and think: which of the desktop software you really need, and how many of them still do not have a good web alternative. If you do not do film editing or graphic design, then most likely, you have time to say "goodbye" computer applications.
Five years ago, web applications are often slow and buggy, they had a very limited set of features and no possibility of offline work. Today, Wi-Fi is almost everywhere, and the functionality of Internet programs do not yield to the desktop version.
Think about computer applications that seems impossible to let go. Microsoft Office? It is free online version, in addition google Docs use more convenient. Audio player? Join strimingovoy revolution: From the most popular world-class service Spotify has updated the web player, and you You can use it. In the online version is not so much advanced features like the program on the computer, but think about whether they are really all you need.
The simple answer is no, we do not need.
Of course, if you play games or do serious creative work, some programs will be needed. But most people can safely abandon all of them.
Search for alternatives
Some web applications - Office 365, Google Docs, Spotify - have already been identified.
Let's start with office suites: in Apple products, Microsoft, and Google has a free online version, working from the browser. What can we say about the more advanced services, such as Dropbox Paper.
If you have not yet upgraded from a desktop email client to the cloud like Gmail or Outlook, then now is the time to do it. So you no longer have to worry about the transfer of messages from one computer to another, and if you need to monitor the working-mail, in most web clients is very easy to customize letters imports from other accounts.
Unless you are adept smart playlists, you can say goodbye to cumbersome iTunes and go to the browser version: web players Deezer, Google Play Music, «Yandex. Music». Of course, if you have already invested money and effort in the library Apple Music and iTunes, the alternative is not enough: unless Apple TV or iPhone with AirPlay.
Continuing the theme of the media. If you do not use Netflix or other strimingovymi services, web-version Plex It lets you view your personal library of audio, video, and photos in the browser on any device. In addition, browsers are able to play music and videos of popular formats without any additional software.
The powerful Adobe Creative Cloud includes some unique programs that are essential to workers of creative scope. For video editing you will need something like Premiere. But for most users will be enough web editors in Google Photos, for example, has a set of basic tools. In more advanced Online applicationsSuch as Pixlr, there is support for layers, sophisticated allocation, and other functions.
What else? Popular organization of the work tool Slack work in a browser is not as good as on the desktop. Contact list and calendar, too, can be opened in a browser. You use Google products, Microsoft or Apple, in any case, you can work with them online and in the cloud. And the chances of a new revolutionary release only extremely small desktop application.
Why do you need to go into the web
Perhaps you think that desktop programs do not cause any harm, and, in general, you are right. But on the other hand, we can think of several reasons to use the web only. For starters, it will take up less memory on the hard disk to increase the download speed and make space for the browser.
When buying a new computer, you will need to move only local files, not all files, programs and settings.
The users of services like Google Docs or Dropbox does not have to worry about the files as they are synced automatically across devices using your account.
You need something urgently to look at the plate with another operating system? Not a problem: any program can be accessed from the browser. View your account on another computer? Again, instead of relying on computer programs, you can do on any device anything from drawing up playlists to edit presentations.
In addition, today's online services allow you to share documents and work on them together in real time, so that the endless transfer emails and attachments looks archaic. This is another reason to do everything in the browser.
Computer software designed to save and manage files directly on the device.
Online applications are running in the cloud - a cloud services for the future.
Of course, you can make a copy of the data and store it in the cloud, while continuing to use the traditional programs, but if you will one day be necessary to restore the system, you have to re-install and configure all of these programs. And this is a painful process.
Desktop program served us for decades, and it can be difficult to part with them. But most of us are simply not needed. Find a decent replacement in the Internet, make your files available online and look for the uninstall button.