Online Replacements for Desktop Apps?

Jon_Aquino asks: "I'd like to share this Google Groups thread of free online replacements for desktop apps. Some of the gems are: an online UML diagrammer, an online Paintbrush app, online Post-It notes, an incredibly realistic text-to-speech converter, and an online spreadsheet. What are other cool online desktop-app replacements?"

Computer Voice TTS

[romper]

This isn't specific to online apps, but rather one that was posted (computer TTS). Something I found interesting were different voice synths for different languages or accents.

How to make the MS "Merlin" agent more annoying? Give him a French accent!

Raise your hands if...

[rsilvergun]

you just spent 5 minutes making the online text to speech tool say dumb stuff like 'all your base are belong to us'.

Browser

[14erCleaner]

I want an online replacement for my web browser. Even Firefox takes too much memory on my PC.

By posting this to /.

[Lispy]

you demonstrated the greatest flaw of online apps:
They depend on a running server. These just died. ;-/

Re:Raise your hands if...

[romper]

Make it say "eye ham sofa king wee todd did".

Re:Browser

[Anonymous Coward]

Grandma?!

My geek b0yfriend's n0t h0me right n0w...

[xigxag]

That text-to-speech proggy could come in handy for making up your own custom wacky answering machine messages. You never know, Slashdotters -- callers might actually believe you've got a live-in girlfriend!

The most ubiquitous of all

[Rosco P. Coltrane]

There are online sex partner simulators all over the innurnet. They're not too realistic though, as the feedback device feels very much like a squeezing hand...

This...could be...the REVOLUTION.

[Masque]

Wait, wait, wait.

Did I read this right?

FREE software?

Like, you mean, it's free for two weeks then I have to buy it? Or you mean that it's not free, but you found a place to pirate it?

Or...no. It... it's not possible. Are you seriously coming here, to Slashdot, and telling us that there are software packages that we don't have to pay for, and can still legally use?

Holy crap, man.

Re:Raise your hands if...

[Lispy]

I made her say dirty stuff.and I am 27. Will I ever grow up? ;-)

Re:Its Usenet not google groups.

[poot_rootbeer]

Sheesh.

Google Groups is an online replacement for your desktop newsreader app, see...

Re:secure...?

[kfg]

The next big "paradigm shift" is going to be applications that allow you keep your tools and private data on your own computer, thus avoiding smearing it all across the public sphere where anyone can take a crack at it.

KFG

No, no...

[PCM2]

...he's talking about Google Groups. I've seen Usenet before. It's full of binaries, not this stuff.

Re:Its Usenet not google groups.

[Anonymous Coward]

Google Groups is an online replacement for your desktop newsreader app, see...

Is it okay for me to say that there's this Outlook Express thread that blah blah blah?

Re:Its Usenet not google groups.

[waterford0069]

You're showing your age. :-)

*Enter old hacker*
I remember when we didn't have these fancy-assed weeeeeeeeb browsers. All we had was telnet and FTP, and we LIKED it. And sometimes the server you wanted to use didn't have anonymous-FTP, so you had to crack the box - but that was easy then since everyone's root password was 'root' anyways.

Oy! We were real men then.
*Exit old hacker*

Re:The most ubiquitous of all

[Anonymous Coward]

There are online sex partner simulators all over the innurnet. They're not too realistic though, as the feedback device feels very much like a squeezing hand...

Can I borrow it when you're done?

killer app

[bcrowell]

Oh my God, they totally forgot the killer app [barbie.com]!

Re:Simpy.com for bookmarks

[Megasphaera Elsdenii]

> Simpy is definitely a superior online replacement for bookmarks

Nah ... better use this [google.com]

Re:Raise your hands if...

[pboulang]

What do you mean, "Maybe"? ;)

Re:Browser

[dasmegabyte]

I just found an online bullshit generator [slashdot.org] that I intend to use to replace PowerPoint.

You may have to click through to the replies, that's where the greatest concentration of bullshit is generated...

slashdot . org

[bergeron76]

I hear that the website over at http://slashdot.org is a great online replacement for actual work.

Re:Its Usenet not google groups.

[maelstrom]

You're just sad that I karma whore better than you do.

Re:Minesweeper, etc.

[RevAaron]

Yeah. I'm sure there about two dozen Minesweeper clones online, written in DHTML, Flash or more boring HTML w/ JavaScript. See, we've had these things called "games" here on the interweb for a while.

voicemail

[k2enemy]

i used it to create my voicemail message. some people think i have a british secretary now.

Hey you kids!

[gosand]

You're showing your age. :-) *Enter old hacker* I remember when we didn't have these fancy-assed weeeeeeeeb browsers. All we had was telnet and FTP, and we LIKED it. And sometimes the server you wanted to use didn't have anonymous-FTP, so you had to crack the box - but that was easy then since everyone's root password was 'root' anyways. Oy! We were real men then. *Exit old hacker*

Crap. Usually when you read these "I remember when" rants they are funny because they are so over the top that you realize nobody could really think like that.

I found myself agreeing with this one. Dammit.

Gotta go chase some kids off my lawn...