We spend so much time online these days, especially those of us whose jobs are partially or completely done using computers, so it’s pretty useful to learn about some online tools that can speed up your work, or just help you with some common tasks. There are plenty of websites/online apps that provide a completely free alternative to some popular software like Photoshop, Microsoft Office Etc. Here we’ve rounded up a couple we’ve found interesting enough to recommend.
Planner 5D (Home Design)
If you’ve decided on house building or renovating and you want to play around with your own design ideas, but you don’t want to cash out for those pricey home design apps, Planner 5D might be perfect for you. You don’t have to be tech-savvy to start designing with this easy-to-use application. Everything is online, so no downloads, and the interface is very simple. You use a drag & drop system to play around with walls, flooring, doors, windows and a wide selection of furniture to hopefully figure out a perfect layout for your new room/house. Sign up and usage is completely free, and you only have to pay if you want high resolution renders of your design. The bottom line, it’s definitely worth trying out.
HeightComparison.com (Measurement and Comparison)
Here’s another fun website. You can use the online height comparison tool to precisely compare your height with your favorite celebrity or anyone/anything. There’s no limit to your imagination with this intuitive app, you can easily visualize how you would look in front of any person or object, and you can use either centimeters or feet as a unit of measurement. There’s also a small range of objects right there in the app you can choose from to add to the comparison.
DuckDuckGo (Search Engine Privacy)
Are you feeling a bit paranoid about all the information major search engines like Google and Yahoo collect about you when you conduct your inquiries? You’re not the only one! Especially when you start getting personalized advertisements everywhere and it feels almost like someone out there is reading your mind, it’s scary sometimes. This has opened a space for new engines like DuckDuckGo that emphasize protecting your privacy. This website doesn’t store your search privacy or bombard you with personalized ads, it’s a safe haven for those of us who don’t enjoy having our personal inquiries stored anywhere for any reason. You would think that this lowers the relevance of the search results, but DuckDuckGo’s system does a pretty awesome job and the quality of the results isn’t much far from those you get from the search engine giants like Google or Bing.
PIXLR (Photo Editing)
Whether you are a professional or not, this cloud-based app will provide a wide range of tools for your photo manipulation needs. You’ll find the interface of PIXLR almost identical to Photoshop, and the usage easy and glitch-free, and the great thing is – it’s completely free of charge! So, you get a powerful, easy-to-use app with a beautiful interface without cashing out even a dime. You don’t even have to register, just open up the website and start editing.
LastPass (Secure Password Storage)
If you have dozens of accounts on different websites all over the internet, and you use different passwords that you keep forgetting, this online tool will solve your problem. Think of LastPass as your own online vault, where you’ll put all your passwords in one place and secure them with a master password and a couple more authentication steps. And don’t worry about the site abusing your info, the best thing about it is that your info is kept secret even to the software itself.
A Soft Murmur (Noise Generator)
To end the list on a light note here’s a really fun (and useful) online tool. A Soft Murmur is a web app that provides ambient sounds you can combine to create the perfect atmosphere for work or just to help you fall asleep. There’s a great number of sounds to choose from like the sound of rain, the wind, café chatter Etc. The app looks great and works even better, so we’re positively sure you’ll enjoy this one.
Hopefully, some of these recommendations will prove to be useful, or at least fun to you. Of course, there is a vast range of tools out there you can explore, this list is just a soft nudge in the right direction. There are really some great time-saving tools and a great number of them are completely free, so why not use some of your online time to find whatever suits your needs.
