Sites That Work the Web
Ajax and other new Web technologies allow you to do a lot more in your browser today than you could just a couple of years ago. These new Web-based apps (many of them free) promise to make your work life better.
Productivity Boosters: ThinkFree Online--a free, ad-supported Web service--delivers sprightly word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation applications in your browser. Create new .doc, .xls, or .ppt files, or work with existing Office files, all of which are reopenable in their corresponding Microsoft Office app. The service (currently in beta) offers 1GB of online storage, so you can keep key files offsite.
Writely.com, Google's cool little Web-based word processor, has closed its beta-test participation for now; but for an alternative, try Zoho Writer. The beta site imports%20existing Word docs of any size and complexity, and exports PDFs, .doc files, or .html files. If you need a svelte document editor for Web work, consider INetWord; it has a spelling checker and several document templates.
E-Mail Delivery Services: The free Dropload service lets you park files%20as large as 100MB on a Web server for seven days; you send the recipient an e-mail with a link for downloading the file. SendThisFile offers a similar free service for individuals; you should expect to see some ads, though, and the files must be retrieved within three days.
Calendars to Share: Google Calendar has an ad-free interface (unlike Yahoo's calendar), and fast searches of your calendar entries. This beta service could be a viable personal-calendar option if you're satisfied with quick, free, and simple. Another free beta, CalendarHub provides nice calendars, easy sharing, group invitations, and publishing, with no ads as yet.
Kiko sends reminders via IM or text message. Two calendar URLs let you share all or some of your events with anyone. The free service doesn't yet stay in sync with Outlook, but the company is working on it.
Sites for Organizers: Use Backpack to organize everything from hiring someone to preparing for a trip. Store notes, links, files, pictures, and maps--all the data you need.
Voo2do, a free task and project manager, organizes your items by priority and deadline, and tracks the time you spend on various tasks.
Remember the Milk stores random info. Add tasks via e-mail and send reminders to yourself or others in a slew of ways.
Project Management and Collaboration: Basecamp tracks and manages group projects. The service's prices start at $12 per month for a personal plan, and at $24 for business plans. (A free trial is available.)
The Latest in Search: When a question stumps you, browse to Answers.com, which is particularly adept at technology questions. The next time someone asks what blogs are saying on a subject, give Ask.com's blog search feature a try; it will clue you in to hot blogs on almost any topic.
Laurianne McLaughlin
For a complete list of all the free and low-cost application add-ons mentioned in this article, see "Get More Work Out of Your Apps."
Robert Luhn is a former PC World editor who enjoys formatting floppy disks. Laurianne McLaughlin is a Massachusetts-based freelance writer. Special thanks to Preston Gralla, Richard Lynch, Jim Felici, Guy Hart-Davis, Echo Swinford, Curt Frye, and Jim Aspinwall.
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