Most college students are already familiar with Web applications, but many do not realize their benefits. Every University student uses Web apps on an almost daily basis: the Google account created when he enrolls gives him access to Gmail, Google Calendar and other Web apps. Gmail differs from a traditional e-mail application such as Microsoft Outlook, which requires all e-mails be downloaded and saved. Google's e-mail platform, in contrast, is a perfect example of a Web app - all e-mails are stored on Google's servers instead of on the user's computer.
Since Web apps do not live on a user's computer, they can be accessed from any computer or device that has access to the Internet. This is becoming more important as people begin to own more than one device with access to the Internet.
It doesn't matter whether you are running Windows 7 or Mac OS X; as long as you can run a Web browser, you can access Web apps. Macintosh owners, however, are finding Web apps increasingly appealing because they work on multiple operating systems, an important consideration as Apple's Mac OS X continues to gain market share. IDC, an IT industry analyst firm, estimates that Apple now controls 10 percent of the computer market share in the United States.
Updates are a facet of traditional software that everyone will be happy to see disappear with the transition to Web apps. With Web apps, you will never have to download the latest version of software again. Since Web apps reside on a server maintained by the operators of the Web app, any updates developers make to the software will automatically appear the next time you access that app.\nIt is also very easy to incorporate social aspects into Web apps. For example, Docs.com, a Web app recently launched by Microsoft that allows users to create, edit and collaborate on Microsoft Office files, integrates very nicely with Facebook. Users can access, edit and share files with their friends all via Facebook.
The obvious downside to Web apps is that you have to have an Internet connection to access them. This concern is becoming less of an issue every year as accessing the Internet on the go is getting easier. Just about every coffee shop or caf
Read More
U.Va. Health sees a spike in COVID-19 cases
By Emily Horn | September 4, 2023U.Va. Health ended their vaccination requirements in August, and masks were made optional in most hospital areas in early April.
U.Va. Cancer Center harnesses $12 million grant to support opportunities for undergraduates, ongoing research and new center
By Ellen Wu | January 12, 2023The grant provides an opportunity to establish the Center for Systems Analysis of Stress-Adapted Cancer Organelles, which seeks to find the cause of cancer in individual organelles.
U.Va. Health's rural neurology clinics receive a $500,000 grant to fund research and patient care
By Shrinidhi Kittur | January 12, 2023Established in the rural towns of Tazewell, Abingdon and Wise, the clinics have been providing patient care to otherwise underserved populations for decades.
