Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Forbes Reviews AJAX Apps for Small Businesses

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the better-than-the-cleaning-product dept.

prostoalex writes "Forbes magazine evaluates the variety of AJAX-powered Internet-based applications and their suitability for small businesses. The office suite replacements Forbes magazine chose are Google-centric: Google Calendar, Spreadsheets, Notebook and Gmail are the winners of their respective categories. Pageflakes and YouOS are tied for the leader's spot in 'Webtops' category."

17 of 62 comments (clear)

  1. Thanks, Forbes by generic-man · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "But don't throw away your desktop applications just yet. As a general rule, Ajax sites simply aren't as powerful or as useful as their desktop counterparts. Spreadsheet jockeys, for example, will want to stick with Excel for the foreseeable future."

    I also enjoy how many of the "recommended" apps are only available for use on outside servers, so no company-confidential data should ever be placed on them.

    --
    For more information, click here.
    1. Re:Thanks, Forbes by nursegirl · · Score: 3, Informative

      Forbes looked at such a small number of Ajax apps and put them into arbitrary categories. Google Notebook vs Backpack is apples and oranges. Yes, they're both ways of storing "stuff" perhaps even "information." But, the type of information stored in Google Notebook (collect information and quotes from around the www and then save them with citations), is very different than the information stored in Backpack (ToDo lists, Calendar, SMS/Email reminders).

      Why don't I write an article comparing my day planner with my filing cabinet, while we're at it?

    2. Re:Thanks, Forbes by XorNand · · Score: 4, Insightful

      To the IT-inclined, yeah, hosting data vital your business on someone's server can make you cringe. However, to 99% of the small businesses out there, they think nothing of it. All you have to do is look to the success of Salesforce.com to see that. Or even more common: How many small businesses use IMAP (either through a client or a webmail interface)? If their webhost suddenly closed their doors, they could potentially lose years of critical correspondence.

      As an IT guy myself, I stuggle to explain this sort of stuff to small business owners. But them again, these are the same people who balk at the cost of DAT or DLT drive yet wouldn't even consider canceling their business owner's insurance policy. Go figure.

      --
      Entrepreneur : (noun), French for "unemployed"
    3. Re:Thanks, Forbes by CastrTroy · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The difference is, is that you're paying salesforce.com, and there's probably some kind of confidentiality agreement that goes along with it. The free services on the other hand seem to have lots of issues that I wouldn't want to get involved with.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
    4. Re:Thanks, Forbes by jrockway · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Also, they forgot about EditGrid, which is based on Gnumeric and web-ified with Catalyst.

      --
      My other car is first.
    5. Re:Thanks, Forbes by kolme · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Not to say... AJAX is an overhyped new name for JavaScript. Do you wanna know AJAX? Well, this is it:

          xmlHttp = new XMLHttpRequest();
          xmlHttp.onreadystatechange=callback_js_function;
          xmlHttp.open("GET",uri,true);
          xmlHttp.send(null);

      Those are the four lines you need to know to do AJAX. It's nothing more that JavaScript. If you already know HTML, JavaScript and CSS, you can show off your AJAX leet skills.

      If you think JavaScript is going to replace C/C++/Python/whatever in the desktop anytime soon... think again. It doesn't have the power, the flexibility or the libraries needed for succeed. Hell, you can even do more serious "programming" in Flash.

      --
      $ whoami
  2. Security wise... forget about it... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Unless I can host the application on my internal server, it makes no sense to store data on external servers that I have no control over. Besides, if I'm going to cook the books, I want a search warrant for my place instead of a warrant telling the application provider to hand over the data.

    1. Re:Security wise... forget about it... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Warrant... subpoena... whatever! I'm too busy cooking the books to hire an attorney to tell me the difference. :P

    2. Re:Security wise... forget about it... by CastrTroy · · Score: 2, Insightful

      On the other hand, a lot of businesses like to look at the bottom line. If using exchange server costs you $5000 for server and server software, plus $50,000 a year for a sysadmin, plus $100 a seat for outlook, then the offsite, no admin, no server, no software $50 per seat solution starts to look really nice. It starts to look even nicer if it's $0 per seat.

      --

      Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
  3. I wonder why by ClaraBow · · Score: 2, Informative

    ThinkFree Office wasn't even mentioned?

  4. What I don't understand by Falesh · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Is why OpenOffice is rarely mentioned when talking about free alternatives to MS Office. OpenOffice if free to download and I have never found it wanting when compared with MS Office. Is it just not "cool" enough when compared to snazzy AJAX apps?

  5. What about Presentations? by cwgmpls · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The MS Office app that is in dire need of replacement, and the app that seems most obvious to run on the web is PowerPoint. Why not build your presentation on the web and instantly share it will all of your participants, rather than having to jump through PowerPoint's terrible web publishing procedures?

    So why doesn't the article mention presentation tools, and why have none of the big players (Google, Yahoo!) put out a web2.0 presentation application yet?

    I know there are a many options out there -- Zoho Show, Thumbstack, S5, Empressr, Wimpypoint, PmWiki SlideShow, TiddlyWiki SlideShow, Slidy, OperaShow, TeamSlide, Carbonmade.

    I don't have the time to compare them and sort them all out. Where is the big article reviewing and comparing these badly-needed tools? And why aren't the big web guys giving this essential application any attention?

  6. Google by SteveTheRed · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I don't usually wear a tin-foil hat and I believe that most conspiracy theories are bullshit. That being said, does anyone else wonder what would happen if Google, as a publicly traded company, decided to set aside their "Don't be evil" values? The primary fiduciary duty of the leaders of a company are not to be "not evil", they are to create wealth for the shareholders. Right now it is to Google's advantage to be good just as it is to ExxonMobil's advantage to be bad, because both actions are creating wealth for the shareholders of each company. What if Google's business model doesn't sustain the profits that the shareholders expect?

    Don't get me wrong: I love using Google. I think the Internet is a better place because of them. I'm just starting to worry that maybe we are depending too much on a company that, despite the best efforts and intentions of its founders, may not be able to maintain its presently outstanding values.

    --

    I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords
  7. Re:Oh no by cheezit · · Score: 2, Funny

    Well, it was repeated at least 5 times in that article...so yes, it is automatically now a word. Luckily, you quickly moved it straight to the sneered-at so-stoopid category with your post. It should be completely gone in 2 hours or so.

    --
    Premature optimization is the root of all evil
  8. worse than every other portal site ever made by LDoggg_ · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Old portals had working back buttons.
    Pageflakes sucks because of the oh-so-clever ajax naviagation.

    No better than building the whole thing in flash or a java applet.

    --

    "If they have both, tell them we use Linux. And if they have that, tell them the computers are down." -Dave Chapelle
  9. Serious question... by Javaman59 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    OK, I've had a look at some of these Google web apps, and they look great, and probably will, in short time, meet the claim of doing what most users need most of the time.

    Hwever, every place I've ever worked in has used some feature of MS Office, or the MS Windows OS, which isn't likely to see it's way into Web 2.0 for a long time. eg. large documents, with multiple views (outline, page layout, etc...), databases with pivot tables, a COM based plugin, a Windows only accounting package. However, I work in high tech industry, which may be aypical.

    So, I ask - are there any businesses which *only* use basic OS and web functionality for everything?

    If the answer is "no", then I would conclude that most everyone is going to keep paying the MS Tax to keep the feature or two which they need, and seeing as they're already paying for it, they might as well use the the rest of MS Windows and Office. (which saves admin and training costs)

    --
    I'm a software visionary. I don't code.
  10. Another good Ajax Webmail by blackhaze · · Score: 2, Interesting

    No mention of @Mail which offers Ajax email, and is a download product rather then online service like the ones listed in the Forbes article. I think the Forbes article is pretty light/fluffy, but it is for their target audience anyway ....