Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Cast your net wide the best 20 web apps


Everyone likes creating lists—be it the top 50 movies or the 100 greatest songs of all time. We decided to come up with a best-of-Web apps list. You may not agree with some of the apps on our list, but then who said making lists also means pleasing everyone?

1. Zoho Docs
Zoho is an online full-function office suite that lets you create and edit word documents, spreadsheets and presentations, among other things. But wait a minute, why not Google Docs? It was a tough call between our numero uno Web app and the old favourite Google Docs. The reason we chose Zoho is because frankly we're tired of the minor irritants Google Docs keeps throwing up and we value its adherence to its desktop roots in terms of UI.


2. Dropbox
Without a doubt the best file-syncing Web app out there. It's a cross platform and allows you to sync your files across multiple systems, be it Linux-, Mac- or Windows-based. The best part is that apart from syncing folders seamlessly, it also keeps a copy of your files on the cloud.

3. Last.fm
Last.fm is by far the ultimate music discovery app out there. Apart from playing similar artistes on call, this service has a social feel to it—allowing you to connect with people with similar music tastes.

4. ScreenToaster
ScreenToaster is a free Web-based screen capture tool. Registration is not compulsory. All you need to do is visit the site and click Record. This one is a clear-cut replacement of desktop applications such as CamStudio. The only trouble is the app suffers a lot of downtime.

5. Evernote
An online note-taking-cum-clipboard application is something most people have come to need. The Web app allows you to save/organize notes, pictures and reminders from anywhere on the Web. iClippy and SpringPad were contenders, but Evernote nudged them out ever so slightly.

6. Grooveshark
Online music is the only category in which we have two Web apps instead of featuring just one. Grooveshark is the best place on the Web for playing music instantly. Sure, you can make playlists and blah, but if you need a song, and need it now, this is the app!

7. Ge.tt
With Ge.tt you can share files instantly with anyone. Simply upload the file and share the link. What's unique is that there's no size limit and people can start downloading your shared files while you're uploading from your end. If you choose to register, you get stats and analytics too.

8. Pixlr
No Web apps list can be complete without a powerful image-editing application. The Web offers many choices—from basic ones such as Fotoflexer, Lunapic, Picnik and Adobe Photoshop's online version Photoshop Express to an advanced class of editors such as Pixlr, Aviary Phoenix, Splashup and Sumo Paint. After pushing at all of them till they broke, we arrived at Pixlr. If you want to get some serious photoediting done online, Pixlr is the app that truly delivers.

9. Penzu
Penzu is an online personal diary app with special emphasis on privacy and security. The UI is like an old school writing pad or journal where you can pen down your thoughts at the end of a long tiring day.

10. Bitlet.org
This is a cross platform Bit Torrent program that lets you enable your very own Bit Torrent client in the cloud. The Java-based app can load torrent files from a URL or from a local drive. You can set the incoming port and upload limit. It even supports resuming as long as you save in the same location. You can also stream audio as MP3 or Ogg Vorbis format.

11. JotForm
Need to create a feedback or survey form, but don't know Web programming? Sure there's Google Docs Forms, or paid options such as Wufoo and FormStack, but this one is just as powerful and easier to use with its drag and drop functionality. Simply make a form, embed anywhere and receive responses via email.

12. KeepVid
KeepVid is a Web app that allows you to instantly download any video you're currently streaming. It supports sites such as YouTube, Google Video, Metacafe, Putfile and more. Simply paste the URL in the Web UI or use the bookmarklet.

13. DropMocks
Sure you have Picasa and Flikr to create image galleries but what if you want to create a gallery instantaneously? DropMocks is the easiest way to create and share nice-looking image galleries online. All you need to do is drag your image files on to the DropMocks page, and the app will do the rest. Copy link to share your image gallery.

14. PDFmyUrl
Have URL, will convert! Can't get simpler than that. And the PDFs come out in good quality with minimal file size. 5,237,544 PDFs served at the time of writing this.

15. Imo.im
Web-based messengers were perhaps the first Web apps ever to exist. People used them to get around their office IT policy. There's a lot of 'em around, but Imo.im in our opinion is the simplest, most easy to use and fairly reliable.

16. PDFescape
Speaking of PDFs, isn't it difficult to manipulate them even with desktop applications? Here's a Web tool that allows you to fill in PDF forms and generally annotate and manipulate PDFs however you want—be it rearranging pages, typing text, adding links, even erasing and highlighting. The app won a place in this list by a whisker compared with FillanyPDF—another similar Web app that even lets you collect data via PDF forms.

17. Prezi
When you think "presentations", you think "slides", right? Well here's an online presentation tool that's going to redefine how we give presentations. It uses a huge canvas and zooms on important content contextually. On a side note, you will most definitely also want to check out SlideRocket for adding regular spice to conventionality.

18. Online.movavi.com
Transcoding video can be a resource-intensive task. With this app you get to transfer the load to the cloud. The app supports several input/output formats and even presets for popular mobile devices.

19. Torrent2exe
Wouldn't it be nice if you could package a torrent as an executable file that launches with its own inbuilt Bit Torrent client? This Web app does just that. Simply share the file on your blog post (or wherever) and users can download your content in a hassle-free manner.

20. Vuvox
Vuvox is a cutting-edge Web app that allows you to transform simple pictures into an interactive, motion-driven collage. It's a great tool for photobloggers, students or just about anyone who wants to showcase a subject in a fun way.

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