Tell DLS: What are your Top 10 Web Apps?

We're continuing our Tell DLS column by leaving the desktop and heading to the web. There's tonnes and tonnes of webapps out there -- however here's just 10 that I use day-in, day-out. If you're got any other favourites, be sure to leave them in the comments!


Basecamp (Free and Paid Accounts)

I'm not the most evangelical Basecamp user - there's certainly a few gripes I have with linking to tasks and comments - but it's by far the best to-do and project-management web app around. The full 37signals suite isn't cheap, but if you're working with clients they're probably already familiar with how Basecamp works - something that saves you untold time when collaborating on a project.

Facebook (Free)

Facebook is an odd social network for me: unlike certain other ones where I'm happy to post knowing it's publicly-viewable (hello Twitter and Flickr), Facebook remains a distinctly private network, with me only adding people I know. There's a tonne of things I don't use (apps, for the most part) and it's normally reserved just for keeping in touch with University friends.



I've never really got on with Facebook Photos - and it's mostly due to my long-standing love of Flickr. I'm by no means a power user of the service, however I've lost hours just browsing the site. It's also a fantastic resource if you're seeking imagery a blog post - simply enter the terms and the licence the image must be available under, and it's likely there's an image available.

Github (Free & Paid Accounts)

Github is a great service that serves as both a backup for my source code, and a super-easy way to share code. Version control fanboys will no doubt slam my choice of Git but there's no denying that Github is both super-powerful and well thought out. If you're using GitHub for public projects or open-source code, your account is free - and you only have to pay should you require private repositories.

Gmail (Free)

Absolutely ubiquitous now, and probably not a surprise to you - however I swear by the Gmail web interface for my email. Everything, from domains via Google Apps and my personal account, is run through Gmail - and the Archive button is pretty much the deal-clincher for me. My inbox is typically a to-do list of things I need to reply to - and once replied to I want the emails nearby for future reference yet out of sight. No other email service works in quite the same way, and I continually become frustrated when working with both my MobileMe and work email setups.

Google Reader (Free)

Another service that needs no introduction, Google Reader is the service I use to read feeds. Both my iPhone and OS X readers of choice were recently updated to sync with the service, however I find myself using the (admittedly spartan) web UI to make the most of Google Reader's sharing functionality.

Instapaper (Free)

Instapaper is my new bookmarking service. Never mind Delicious, Magnolia or simply bookmarking things in Safari, I've become addicted to Instapaper (and its companion iPhone app) and can't imagine the web without its 'Read Later' bookmarklet. I treat bookmarks like email: they should be in an inbox until I read them - and once read, I still want tehm available in an archive for potential future reference. Instapaper checks every box in that regard.

Tumblr (Free)

Tags: basecamp, facebook, flickr, instapaper, lists, tumblr, upcoming, web-applications, web-apps