I do all of my work online now — I can’t even remember the last time I opened up a desktop application, and that is working very well for me, as I think it would for most people.
The advantages are pretty obvious: access to all of my work from any computer, the fact that my files are safer on Google or Zoho or Buzzword servers than they would be on my little laptop, and excellent collaboration tools.
I hear two complaints about webapps, and neither makes sense to me: (1) What will I do when I’m offline?, and (2) The applications are not first-rate yet.
To the first, I’d suggest that you are almost never offline anymore. Seriously, where are you when you don’t have internet access? The only place I can think of is an airplane, and frankly I don’t want to work on an airplane anyway.
To the second, I wonder what features are missing that you actually use. I started thinking in the mid-90s that desktop applications were adding useless or fringe features, and I think I was right. I rarely find myself in corners with webapps where I’m wishing for a feature that isn’t there.
In any case, here is what I’m using all the time:
1. Gmail – Omigosh, I love gmail. I’ve added Stylish to Firefox, and I use the Gmail Redesigned style to make the application beautiful to my eye. I tag everything, and I use tons of filters to keep my inbox clean. I’ve also added a Remember the Milk sidebar that puts my todo list right next to my mailbox, where I spend a lot of time in any given day.
2. Google Calendar – I just smother myself with SMS reminders for appointments I make in Google Calendar. This really keeps me in the right places at the right times. I use Jott a ton, too, to set appointments using my cell phone.
3. Remember the Milk – to be honest, I’m not sure that I love this as a to-do list, but I love the Gmail, Google Calendar and Jott integrations. I give myself to-dos through Jott with my cell phone, and it shows up in both Gmail and Google Calendar instantly.
4. Jott – DO THIS. As mentioned above: this has been a lifesaver.
5. Google Documents – This is my word processor and spreadsheet program. I do not honestly think that Google Docs is better right now than Zoho Office or Buzzword in terms of feature set, but I trust Google to get it right over time, so that’s where I’m laying my bet. If I were just concerned with right now, I’d look at Zoho, where the applications look more polished (and there are more of ‘em).
6. Google Notebook – I have always loved freeform databases, even from back in the days of askSAM. The idea that I can take notes and find them later based on any word I can remember is very powerful at a purely personal level. I simply cannot personally create enough raw data to overpower a decent freeform database, so this will always work for me. I use it primarily to keep a record of who said what to whom. I can always look up what you told me a month-and-a-half ago. (Students: Holy smokes, this would be a great tool for taking notes. Take the note, and be able to find it at any time later just by remembering a word you are looking for? Sheesh.)
7. Gubb.net – is a cool lists app. In keeping with the overall theme of “I get text messages all day long to remind me of stuff,” what I love about Gubb is that I can create a list (say, a grocery list) and then text it to myself.
8. Youmail – A powerful, flexible replacement for your mobile phone’s voicemail box. Listen to your voicemails from your computer, where you can pause it, back up a few seconds, whatever. Now I don’t have to listen to a 30-second voicemail six times just to get the callback number.
These applications are open every single day, all day long, in my browser, and it’s really been working for me.
