I wrote the other day about doing everything online (almost). Thinking that the internet has solved all of our productivity problems, I quickly found that I just couldn’t get away from using certain applications that were just not available online. Not only this, I couldn’t find any alternatives that even came close. Here are the things you can’t do online:
Edit Photos – I enjoy Adobe Photoshop. Whether it be the slightest touchup or fixing redeye, or doing something more involved, I can’t find any alternatives that even come close online. Yes, there are some online apps that will help you edit your photos, fix redeye, and thats about it. Whether you use Photoshop, Gimp, Inkscape, or any other alternatives, you will find that there truly is no alternative to the power of these apps. Until any of these go online, I plan on sticking with them.
Slideshow Presentations - So some online suites, such as Zoho will allow you to do slideshow presentations, but they just aren’t powerful enough. I really enjoy Apple’s Keynote, a great alternative to Powerpoint and there are no alternatives online that look as good or have the resources to make a presentation as impressive (or effortless) like regular software apps do.
Video/ Sound Editing – I don’t use and video editing programs at all, but I know that it will be a while before we see any online apps come close to the power of any software apps. Take for example, Final Cut, Avid, or After Effects – arguably some of the best editing tools you can purchase (not cheap). Because of the complexity of these apps, it will be a while before we are logging in to do some editing in an airport lounge or during our lunch breaks.
These types of programs are the kind that are embedded onto our desktops, and they probably won’t be making the shift to online, like word-processors and spreadsheets have. In the meantime, I suppose we should stick to typing out our essays and working on spreadsheets.
