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You Don't Need Apps
Not that they’re really all that new (see the last 20+ years of computing), but the world of technology is obsessed with “Apps”. Everything has apps now. Phones, printers, TVs and even your fridge. And these apps come in all forms, from full-fledged applications like Adobe Photoshop to bite-sized widgets like Alert Thingy. Originally, I planned on showing you how one could get through life with Adobe Air, but I soon realized even that wasn’t all that necessary. Instead, I’m here to tell you people out in computer land, whether you’re on Windows or Mac, a desktop or netbook, Firefox is all you will ever need. Please take note that I mean that for the general audience: If you’re a professional video editor or something, yes I realize you cannot run an Avid system via Firefox.
Here we go!
First off, you need Firefox. Forget your silly allegiances to other browsers. Seriously. Firefox wins because it has everything you need and nothing you don’t. If it doesn’t have it, there’s an add-on for that.
Get Firefox (And while you’re at it, get the Flash 10.1 RC for smoooooth 1080p video playback)
Be Social
Next, let’s move on to the easy stuff: social networking. Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace? They’re still just websites, so bookmark ‘em and you’re set – but you can do more. I know Tweetdeck is an awesome Air application, but HootSuite is more powerful and runs in a browser. There’s even a few add-ons that extend the functionality a bit. With Hootsuite, you can watch nearly every major social network all on one screen, with a bajillion options and stat tracking.
What about chatting and IM? You’re covered. You can go ahead and uninstall those IM clients and just open up Meebo in Firefox. Meebo is an all-in-one IM client that’s web-based and supports more chat systems than you probably knew existed. They even provide a desktop style UI that allows you to manage all of your chats easily. You can even send files and video chat. What more could you want?
Get Work Done
Whether you’re a student or budding professional, you can run your entire busy life from Firefox. Already, pretty much everyone and their grandma uses Gmail or another web-based system. Through add-ons, you can turn Firefox into a productivity machine. Gmail users also have access to Google Docs, your one-stop-shop for everything you need to get work done. From word processing to presentation to even managing your life via the calendar, Google is a great place for free, web-based life management. The best part is that all of their systems contain APIs that developers use to bring these systems to phones and more. You can even step it up to Google Apps, which supports custom domain names if you run a website or just like having your own little pocket of the web.
Get Creative
Adobe has been fighting the piracy battle since the beginning of time. I’m going to just flat-out tell you that you do not need Photoshop. At least not for what most people actually use it for. Use the web! Adobe already has their great photoshop.com service. But there are also sites like Flickr and Picnik which offer basic photo editing tools. But if you want to start diving in deep and MS Paint just isn’t working anymore, check out Splashup, a very powerful online image creation and editing tool. Everything from layers to smudging to image filters are there in a familiar editing desktop. Totally free.
There’s a whole world of this out there. More than I can list. But this will get you started into browser-based bliss. All of your daily needs are here and you can find hundreds more. Get good with your bookmarks and it will become your new Start menu. If you want to explore more, hit up greatwebapps.com or web.appstorm.net.
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Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
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It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
