30+ web services, which are an alternative to desktop applications

If you are interested in switching from desktop applications to Web applications, you should know that web applications can to replace many of the programs that people use on a computer, and in some cases, improve the user an experience.

One of the advantages of using web-based applications - sync with your devices, such as a smartphone. So your data will always be with you, even when you are away from your computer. But it is especially important for owners of this post Chromebook.

Office

If you do not consider yourself to be a category Microsoft Office users 80 level (do not use macros, and other extra. office functions), it is likely that you are with the same pleasure will be using web office. An additional advantage - it's free. Google Docs allows you to open and create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations using applications integrated with Google Drive. apps Microsoft Office Web Apps allow you to use Word Web version, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and are similar to desktop applications interfaces. The most pleasant moment that both solutions - free.

Productivity

Other applications related to productivity, as can be found in the Web application format.

calendars

google Calendar It is a full-featured online solution, with the ability to create recurring events, with the ability to plan and many other features. Microsoft also recently updated its old Live Calendar in new calendar in Windows 8 style. Both solutions are good. Of course, Google Calendar more thoughtful and mature application, but if you're tied to the Microsoft ecosystem, it is for you the ideal solution would be a calendar from Microsoft. At the moment, Google Calendar is not synchronized with Windows 8.

Tasks

Google offers a minimalistic manager for tasks, which is integrated into Gmail and Google Calendar. It is not multi-task manager, but if you need something simple and accessible from your calendar and mail, it will do the trick. Task Managers - quite popular category of applications. You can try to "Remember the milk", "Any. DO ", and many other applications. All of them can be synchronized with your smartphone, which is very convenient.

Notes

Without a doubt, Evernote is the most popular online applications from this category. Evernote - it's not just an app for taking notes, it can store pictures, documents, and other file types. Also, you can access Evernote from the Windows desktop. There are a myriad of other applications on the same topic, ranging from minimalistic SimpleNote and ending google Keep. OneNote Microsoft's also available as a web application through the Office Web Apps.

communication

Not surprisingly, the application associated with communication, great work in browsers, whether you are reading the mail whether to send instant messages or participate in live video chats.

Email

The most popular webmail services is Gmail from Google, Outlook from Microsoft (formerly Hotmail) and Yahoo! Mail. Gmail was once the undisputed winner, but eventually Microsoft strengthened its position with your Outlook product. Even Yahoo began to seriously work to improve Yahoo! Mail and your other web applications. We prefer Google, but believe that Outlook is his opponent, and in some cases it is better to choose it. For example, if you use Microsoft services, or are still using the old address @ hotmail.com like his main email address. Whatever solution you choose, you can send mail from your old account and merge mail from multiple mailboxes in one, be it Gmail or Outlook.com.

messages

Functions to send messages embedded in many websites: Google Talk is integrated into Gmail, Skype and MSN are integrated into Outlook.com, Facebook-chat is integrated into Facebook.com.

If you are still using other applications for instant messaging, like AIM and Yahoo - or just want to have all your friends in one place for communication - we recommend imo.im as a strong alternative to desktop web multiprotocol applications ala Pidgin and Trillian.

Voice and video chats

You can arrange a voice and video chat right from Google Talk or google Hangouts. If you like a Skype, you can use Skype-function built-in Outlook.

Social networks

Of course, you do not need a new web-based applications for social networking sites - all so they are used on the web. This is a good reminder of how deeply integrated Web applications in a person's life - we use them for everything from social networks and ending with online banking and commerce, not thinking of them as Web-based applications.

music players

The choice of online music services is so huge that it is not difficult to get lost in them. You can upload your music collection to the cloud and be able to listen to it anywhere or use the streaming service for listening to music. The choice of options is great.

Cloud music storage

The most popular services of this category: Amazon Cloud Player and google Music (ICloud is not available through a web browser, so we do not have listed in this list). These services will scan your computer to find the music and give access to copies of your music files via the website and mobile applications. If any music you do not, then the service will download it to your liking. You can easily access your music collection from anywhere using a browser, and you totally do not need to worry about backing up your music files in case the hard drives something will happen.

Both services, Amazon and Google Music, will sell you songs and can store them in the cloud music music store, as well as download them. These services are free - you have to pay if you want to buy a song or store a very large number of songs.

Online music services with free / paid subscription

If you do not need to have access to your entire music collection, try streaming services such as the Spotify, Rdio or MOG. Many of these services offer free and paid plans are plans in the amount of about $ 5 - $ 10 per month. You get access to over 10 million tracks (for example, on Spotify this number exceeds 17 million) who can listen to via the browser or mobile app without having to buy or download tracks. Just search and play music that you like.

streaming radio

Pandora It allows you to build your own radio stream based on tracks and artists that you like. You can skip songs, but Pandora is a playlist for you. Slacker It is also a streaming radio with a variety of selected professional radio stations (by the way, you can make and own radio station). TuneIn Radio - a streaming radio in a retro-style: it allows you to listen to streaming web radio station, as if you have previously listened to them through Winamp. TuneIn Radio also provides access to a variety of ground-based radio stations that broadcast online.

View video

Web services with video is also improved significantly in recent years. They continue to gradually reduce the need for BitTorrent-clients and the local video players as well as desktop stores like iTunes. Unfortunately, most of these services works only in the US.

Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Instant Video - the most popular streaming video services with a large selection. You can often watch the latest episodes of various TV shows on the websites of the respective network. Many websites allow you to borrow an online film rental, even YouTube allows you to buy and to rent movies and TV shows.

Streaming online video services are a bit more complicated: Unlike streaming music services, rather all you have to use multiple video services to get all the desired volume video. Many services have restrictions on viewing the content on a geographical basis.

Still…

Here are a few basic tasks that you want to run in the browser:

Editing photos. If your photos are already stored, for example, on Google+ (formerly Picasa), which automatically loads a photo with Android-device, then it is likely you will find here a simple editor for photos. If you need something more complex, try Pixlr. It's not Photoshop, but surprisingly powerful editing directly in your browser.

video editing. Believe it or not, but you can record and edit videos directly in the browser, even if you use a Chromebook. For example, the base built in Youtube video editor, which you can use if you download this video service. A service WeVideo It is one of the most powerful web video editors.

Finance Accounting. If you use the program to account for your finances, then you do not have to limit yourself to the desktop software. Mint.com by Intuit - it is a site of personal finance management that automatically keeps track of your bank account, credit card and investment balance, showing all of your accounts and transactions in one place. You can plan a budget, classified operations, and view reports. Mint.com is convenient because it automatically receives the data for you, eliminating the chore.

This is certainly not an exhaustive list of what you can do in the browser, and not even all of the web applications that can perform the above task. We have tried to include some of the most common tasks and in our opinion the best web-based applications.