Week# 19 - Web-based Apps.

Online programs like Zoho are great in that they are free, but I am of the mindset that it should not be used for work purposes.

You should not rely on internet based technology. It will always fail to work when you need to use it for presentations or deadlines.

It is always better to have it on a flash drive or burned to CD if it is for an important presentation.

For home use it is ok I guess. Office is expensive so this is a free alternative. While it is a nice feature of saving the documents online so you can access them anywhere, I have rarely needed this feature. It is just as easy to carry a flash drive or e-mail the document to yourself. This way you are not at the mercy of the internet connection.

I personally like Open Office more than Zoho. You have to download it, but then you are not at the mercy of the internet gods anymore.

I think that in the future, more and more word apps will be web based. Microsoft has already announced that they are developing Office as a web application. With most computers in the libraries having Office on them, I don't see web applications such as Zoho being all that necessary. HOWEVER, programs such as Open Office could one day be a cost effective solution to having to purchase so many licenses for Microsoft Office. Who wants to be the first IT person to say no to Office in the library, though.