Google announced that Google Gadgets can now be embedded on your own webpage. I try to embed a few of them for my initial exploration on it.

The following lists a number of web applications that allow you to create online forms and help you collect and track data via the Web. I am very interested in this area and will take a closer look at some of them.

• FormSpring - Make Online Forms for Free; The easy way to build, host and process online forms.
• JotForm -It is the web based WYSIWYG form builder. With it, you can design forms to use somewhere else and let the JotForm server collect the data for you.
• Sidewalk - The easiest way to gather and analyze customer information; Create custom forms in a matter of minutes. Then, place them on your Web site with a simple copy and paste. When people fill out your new Web form, Sidewalk automatically saves and organizes the information for you.
• StarterBase - It lets you create, organize, and share data on the web. With starterbase, you can create a quick and easy CRM system, and create customer feedback forms, among many other things useful for a startup.
• The Blue Form - It is the process automation service for creating and managing online forms in your organisation. It allows complete control over the form workflow, allowing you to select approvers, and keep track of the form after it has been filled-in.
• The Form Assembly - It lets you create and process web forms, and collect responses.
• Wufoo - It is an online tool that helps you build and host online forms. You can create a mailing list, a contact form, a marketing survey or even a complete customer management system.

I saw the great potential of the software-as-a-service (SaaS) industry many years ago. Today, with the recent advances in computing and networking technologies, the growth of this industry becomes a real trend. This article from BusinessWeek online (April 17, 2006), Software-as-a-Service Myths (by Jeffrey Kaplan), explains why this new bread of Web-based software has staying power. The following summarizes the main points I got from the article.

• While Saas is not a new idea, the economic climate and rapid advancements in application development tools have combined to make SaaS more attractive and successful today than their predecessors–ASPs (application service providers) and hosting services of the past.
• SaaS allows for lower total cost of ownership and quicker time-to-value.
• SaaS solutions are emerging to address nearly every business application need. SaaS not only applies to customer relationship management and salesforce automation but also makes sense for many front-office functions and team-oriented collaboration purposes.
• As SaaS gains mainstream acceptance, it is becoming an important disruptive force in the software industry.
• It is not easy for the big and established software vendors to dominate the market of SaaS. You can also join the SaaS movement and make wealth.
• SaaS is not only for corporate user. Many SaaS providers aimed at small and midsize business and the home user.

To probe further about SaaS and its players, SaaS Showplace (saas-showplace.com) is a good place to start with. It gives a simple, easy-to-use directory of SaaS providers and enabling technology vendors.

The following four web software can help users create a short URL from a long URL. They exist to solve the various problems of posting a long URL in email message. I don’t think them very useful. On the one hand, in making an email it is trivial to embed a long URL into a more descriptive text. On the other hand, for those who don’t konw how, they may also don’t know these four websites.

My point is that the responsibility to solve the problem of long URLs should go to those websites that generate long and unwieldy URLs and those users who posting them directly into email messages.

Four web software to create a short URL from a long one:

1. TinyURL.com: “Are you sick of posting URLs in emails only to have it break when sent causing the recipient to have to cut and paste it back together? Then you’ve come to the right place. By entering in a URL in the text field below, we will create a tiny URL that will not break in email postings and never expires.”
2. SnipURL: “Website URLs are long and difficult to remember. SnipURL allows you to “snip” your long URLs into small, friendly and persistent links for sharing and remembering. Free!”
3. shorl.com: “To make a long story short: Shorl makes long URLs short.”
4. DigBig: “Shorten a long Web address.”

After my previous post on three web-based word processor software, here are three web-based spreadsheet software: Num Sum, iRows, and Number. My first impression give iRows a vote!

Num Sum is advertised as easy, sharable web spreadsheets. With it you can (1) track your records, lists and data online, (2) share with other users you decided, (3) connect with other users who have similar interests. Example uses of Num Sum are: team schedules, home budgeting, online stock portfolio, and recording project progress.

iRows is the Web based online spreadsheets. With it you can (1) manage your data online, access it anywhere, anytime, (2) share your data others, (3) display your data on any web site, change it here, and all sites change automatically, (4) compute, chart, and analyze your data online.

Number (Beta) is the web based spreadsheet that enables instantaneous collaboration with anyone on your project team. With it you and your-invited users can work with a spreadsheet, view changes in real time, and discuss changes.

Zoho Writer, Writely, and Writeboard are three online web-based writing software. I quote in the following how they are promoted to potential users. Try them out yourself. To me, I want to know if they are really useful to me. I also want to figure out how they make profit (or how they get something valuable in return) out of providing such a great service to the general public.

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