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Free Powerpoint Template Downloads
I'll have to admit that I've had trouble relating to the notion of Web-based application software and the whole application service provider (ASP) industry that is supposed to emerge from this concept.
I accept the growing demand for outsourcing and appreciate the merits of reducing internal user support costs, but I challenge the "Web apps" notion on practical grounds. After all, if I can't get satisfactory performance out of browsing the Web over a DSL connection, how can I hope to operate a remote spreadsheet program or accounting package without going for a lot of coffee breaks while I wait for results?
I decided it was time to get some first-hand experience to back up my suspicions and I was pleasantly surprised by what I found.
Rather than start knocking on ASPs' doors, I decided to try out some of the free Web apps that are beginning to appear. My underlying assumption was that, if some of these free apps could work for me, then presumably commercial ASP solutions would be that much better.
There are, of course, many Web site-based apps out there where you simply load your data into a template. Typical examples are calendars and contact managers. The sites I chose to look into, however, had some of these "canned" apps, but they also let you build and install your own. This is much closer to what corporate IT departments might want to do.
I started with AppCity (www.appcity.com). When I first looked into this site a few months ago, it was offering its application hosting services free, using an ad revenue business model. It has since opted to charge for application hosting, although it has yet to post its fees.
At any rate, you can still check out its library of publicly available apps for free. You'll have to download its (free) 8.5MB AppPlayer first.
This allows you enhanced performance, even though you're still viewing the app through a browser. Trust me. It works.
On the downside, you'll have to ensure that every user's PC has the player installed.
HalfBrain.com Inc. (www.halfbrain.com) will host your spreadsheet and presentation style apps for free. BrainMatter, its spreadsheet offering, lets you build on the Web or import from your PC-based Excel 2000 worksheets. You can choose to use a conventional spreadsheet approach, or translate that format into a calculator -- which is a stand-alone app. In this case, computations, constants, etc. are hidden from the user. Only user inputs and calculator outcomes are displayed.
HalfBrain's fully-loaded Solutions Gallery includes such calculators as currency converters, financial ratios, IRR computations, etc., along with a host of non-business apps.
An especially cool feature is that BrainMatter spreadsheets can use "Web functions." For instance, you can put a "live" stock quote for Apple Computer in a cell using "quote(AAPL)" or insert a Web-based picture in a cell using "image(url)."
BrainStorm is the Web-based presentation package. You can import PowerPoint 2000 documents or design from scratch. My try-out suggests that this is a great tool if you're stranded somewhere and need to put together a presentation quickly if you don't have PowerPoint with you.
Both HalfBrain products are written in Dynamic HTML, so all you need is a browser (version 5 of MSIE or Netscape), no special downloads, plug-ins or Java. (There's no support for Mac browsers yet, regardless of version.)
Bitlocker.com Inc. (www.bitlocker.com) focuses strictly on database apps. If you think about it, though, most apps really are databases in disguise.
Contact managers, calendars, calculators, catalogs, even online surveys, are all databases with different graphical front-ends -- some with calculation fields and some without.
The Bitlocker software is written in Javascript, which means you have the additional advantage of using your own Javascript extensions to add functions to your database app.
As for my own experiences, I didn't build anything at AppCity, since they're still between business models. However, they have some very sophisticated data mining examples that can be put through their paces.
With BrainMatter, I converted a US dollar-based currency converter to one which took Canadian dollars as input -- since I have a forthcoming trip to Europe planned. The calculator takes live exchange rates from the Web, so it's accurate.
With Bitlocker, I published a Canadian IT database and embedded it at my own Web site. It works like a charm -- with sorting, searching and screening functionality.
As anticipated, you can't expect desktop app speed, but you'd be surprised how fast these services operate, relative to flipping through conventional Web pages.
I recommend looking into these companies' offerings but none of their products warrant serious corporate use (at this time), but they're an excellent testing ground.
Charles Whaley is a Toronto-based IT consultant and market analyst. cwhaley@ITEnterprises.com www.ITEnterprises.com.
COPYRIGHT 2000 Plesman Publications
COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group
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