Discover the best online applications

Multimedia tools
Screen Toaster
Trying to explain how to use a program or fix a problem for someone over the phone can be incredibly frustrating. Screen Toaster is a handy application that helps out by recording everything that’s appearing on your computer monitor.

Once the recording has finished, the file can either be saved as a .mov file or uploaded to Youtube for others to watch. It’s totally free and there’s no limit to the length of video that can be recorded.

Animoto
Animoto is an impressively simple online tool that takes a collection of photos and turns them into an attractive slideshow complete with special effects and a soundtrack. Once the slideshow is complete it can be uploaded to Youtube or saved as a link that you can email to friends and family.

The free version is limited to slideshows of only 30 seconds or so, but this is plenty for many uses.

Aviary
Those wanting something a bit more advanced than the Microsoft Paint application that comes with Windows might be surprised to learn there’s a suitable alternative online.

The Aviary suite of online image-editing tools not only allows for simple tweaking of photos, but also provides a wide range of tools including the ability to create complex images using layers and other effects. Your work can either be kept private or shared with other Aviary users.

Motionbox
Motionbox is an online video-sharing application that also allows you to crop and trim video clips. Each video can be up to 300MB in size, and a total of 7 50MB of storage is available free. Once uploaded, it’s possible to view a timeline of the clip so you can chop out the bits that aren’t needed.

It can then be shared over the internet or a copy can be ordered on DVD. The free version limits each finished video to 100 views, while a paid-for subscription is required to download videos from the site.

Communication tools

Meebo
With so many instant messaging (IM) applications available, it’s not unusual to end up with several friends or family members who each use a different one. And while there are clever applications that let you log into a variety of IM accounts using a single application, you still have to download and install them.

Meebo, however, lets you log into them all via nothing more than a web browser. A wide range of IM services are supported, including Live Messenger, Aim and Yahoo.

Google Mail
No round-up of online tools would be complete without a mention of Google’s excellent Mail system. With an uncluttered and simple interface, Gmail deals with spam email exceptionally well and each account has more than 7GB of storage space available, which is more than most people will ever need.

Gmail also integrates with Google Docs and Google Gears; the latter makes it possible to access the service even when not connected to the internet.