© Craig Edmonds 2005 (Marbella)

Today we are looking at affordable “online apps” that can make your life just that little bit easier and allow a little peace of mind especially if you are a business user.

We have chosen the following “online apps” because they are the ones that WE use to run OUR business and are very simple to maintain and are of course, AFFORDABLE!

Because these “apps” are online, this means they can be used in Spain as well as anywhere in the world where there is an Internet connection.

Lucky for you readers, each “app” below has a FREE TRIAL PERIOD.

Go to My Pc – Access your PC from Anywhere

If you are one of those people that do work at home and then go into the office only to find that you have forgotten that important file on your pc at home, then this you need this app. Now you can “remote access” your home computer from the office or anywhere else that has an Internet connection. We have been using this tool for nearly 3 years now and it has saved us on many occasions. See  www.gotomypc.com

Intranets – Get Organised

Although there are many online calendars and organisers available, nothing beats this “online app” for price and functionality. This is a serious but easy to use collaboration suite that allows online shared scheduling, tasks, discussion forums, polls, custom databases, syncronisation between intranets and MS Outlook and much more. This all means that if you are running a business of 1 or 1001, everyone can access this system remotely via the internet and effectively communicate with each other. See www.intranets.com

Web Site Pulse – Is your web site really live?

If you have a web site, business or personal, how can you be sure that the website is online and viewable 24 hours per day? For some, even a couple of minutes of “downtime” can result in a lost sale. Websitepulse.com will “ping” your web site every 3 minutes from several geographical locations around the world. If it cannot reach your web site you can choose to be sent an email or an SMS to your phone informing you of the “downtime”. You can even configure your web site pulse account to monitor your “mail server” so that you can rest in comfort knowing that your email is working. See www.websitepulse.com

Glossary

Online App - short for "application", an application program that is used on the internet

Ping – short for Packet Internet Groper. a utility used to determine whether a particular computer is currently connected to the Internet

Downtime - The period during which a computer or network resource is unavailable to users because of a failure.

Remote Access - The ability to access and use digital information from a location off-site from where the information is physically located.

Intranet – Contrary to the public Internet, an intranet is a private network inside a company or organization.