Cloud Computing: 5 web applications that will change your life

In case you haven't noticed I'm very interested in web 2.0 technologies and cloud computing. I've already written a few hubs on the subject and today I'm bringing them all together under a hub I call "Cloud Computing: 5 web applications that will change your life"

This hub is meant to be an introduction, an easy to follow guide which provides reviews on five essential web applications: Zoho Mail, Meebo, Humyo, Grooveshark and Evernote.

That one's easy: you will be able to access all your information and have the same or similar usability on any internet-enabled computer in the world, and even mobile phones, as you would on your own computer! All this without having to install any software, purchase licences and other things that are usually impossible on a public, school or work computer, or even at a friend's. All you need is a browser, an internet connection and you're set.

Problem:
Many people use Gmail and are perfectly happy with it, but if you need to juggle several email accounts, Gmail's interface becomes pretty limited, so if that's your case you're probably using something like Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird. The problem arises when you use other computers and need to keep logging on and off of all your accounts to check for new email. Or if you have an email client at home and another one at work, you keep seeing messages as unread when you've probably already read and deleted them on your other computer, which is boring, time-consuming and frankly, a bit messy for my taste.

Solution:
Start using Zoho Mail. It's free, has no storage or account limits and brings the best of both worlds together, combining the feature richness of a desktop email client and the accessibility of a web email client. And has a great mobile phone site.

Click here to read my extensive review on Zoho Mail.

Problem:
Nowadays everybody uses some kind of instant messaging service (or several) - MSN, Yahoo and AOL being probably the most common ones. All of them have to be installed on your pc for you to be able to access your buddy list and start chatting, which makes it impossible to use them on public, school or work computers and very hard to keep from leaving traces like chat logs behind. Although some of the most popular ones provide online clients they are soooooo plain it makes me sad.

Solution:
Start using Meebo. It's free and delivers the same experience a desktop client provides, including video and audio chat, themes, backgrounds, emoticons, chat logs and also a great collection of games to play with your buddies. And Meebo will handle all your IM accounts on any protocol. Has a great mobile phone site.

Click here to read my extensive review on Meebo.

Problem:
Haven't you ever had one of those moments you need a document that's on your computer and you just can't access it because you're miles from home? Maybe you have it on your flash drive so you check it and nooooo it's a three months old version!

Solution:
Start using Humyo. It's free (although I do recommend the premium version - it's totally worth it) and will provide you with storage space to hold all your photos, videos, music, documents, etc, that you can access, stream and even edit online. So what is on your computer's hard drive is online and vice-versa. Has a great mobile phone site.

Click here to read my extensive review on Humyo.

Problem:
Lots of people are pretty happy with services like Pandora and Last.fm to listen to music while away from their home computer and their mp3 collection, or to get to know new music, but these sites aren't available to the whole world, so even if you're from the US, if you're travelling abroad you will lose the service.

Solution:
Start using Grooveshark. It's free, has a great collection, a user-friendly interface, tons of great features and will work on any computer in the world. A mobile phone client is on the works.

Click here to read my extensive review on Grooveshark.

Problem:
Organizing bookmarks and information is a daunting task that never really pays off if you can't access it remotely. Services like Delicious are great for the remote accessibility part but not at all an advantage when during a research you need to articulate different sources of information like bookmarks, PDFs, pictures, handwritten documents, etc..

Solution:
Start using Evernote. It's free and will provide a note and information gathering and organizing service that will make your life much easier. Evernote will allow you to clip bookmarks with site content, add documents, notes, pictures, etc. and make them searchable - even text on photos or handwritten notes thanks to its text recognition feature - and accessible from any point of the globe.

Click here to read my extensive review on Evernote.

There you have it, five easy steps for the beginner on cloud computing that won't require a lot of getting used to and will transform the way you use the Internet - for the better, of course :) Enjoy!