Websites today do more than provide entertainment or information.
They help you balance your checkbook, create a résumé and stay in touch with your family. These sites are more like programs that run on the Internet.
Some computer scholars have named them Web 2.0. Most are in the testing phase, so there can be glitches.
With these sites, you need only an Internet connection. And their services run on both the Windows and Mac platforms. Plus, most are free.
Here are some useful sites:
Free office. Zoho (zoho.com) offers Zoho Writer, Zoho Sheet and Zoho Show. These are free counterparts to Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, respectively. You won’t find as many features as you’d find in Office, but there are just enough to be useful.
The sites are similar to Microsoft Office, so there are no big learning curves. All files are saved online. You can start a document at work and finish it at home.
All three sites open and save files in a variety of common formats. Zoho Writer will open a previously created Word document, HTML or rich text file. It will also save files onto your computer’s hard drive in a variety of formats.
The ubiquitous Google has an online word processor and spreadsheet. Google purchased the word processor Writely, which has been around for some time. Writely doesn’t have as many features as Word, but it is certainly usable.
Google Spreadsheets (spreadsheets.google.com) is fine for basic number crunching and the maintenance of lists. But it lacks the capability to create graphs like Zoho Sheet.
You need an invitation from a current user to sign up for the Google programs. Or, you can get an invitation online at www.webprohost.nl.
Online résumé. Emurse (emurse
.com) helps you create résumés that can be shared online or printed. You can either upload an existing résumé or create one. Creating one from scratch takes longer. But you have more options, such as editing and online sharing.
Family affairs. Personal websites and blogs can help keep families in the loop. But one person generally manages them. Jotspot Family Site (familysite.jot.com) lets everyone get into the act. One person initially signs up for the free service. Invitations to other family members are sent through the website.
Share video. Websites like YouTube are great for sharing video with the world. But you may want to keep your family trip to the beach private.
Fliqz (fliqz.com) allows you to share videos with as few people as you want. It offers three security levels: public, private and private with security. Videos designated as public are accessible to anyone. Private videos have unique addresses. Only those who know the addresses can access them. Private with security videos have a unique address and a password, which you set.
Kim Komando hosts the nation’s largest talk-radio show about computers and the Internet. To get the podcast or find the station nearest you, go to komando.com/listen.
