Web-based freemail has been a given for years. Web-based daily schedulers are currently hotter than Pokémon cards. (What? Pokémon is passé? OK, then add your own pop "flavor of the month" reference.) Now more and more applications that we use daily are on the Web, ready for use. Does this mean that you can gleefully delete your big, fat copy of Lotus Notes or MS Office? Not quite yet, but depending on your situation, you may be able to use Web-based apps to your advantage. Strictly speaking, this has little to do with getting more mileage out of Windows, and probably most home users won't ever use this stuff, but what the heck, let's plunge into the subject anyway. We'll figure out a rationale as we go along.

• Virtual Desktops. These give you free (as of this writing, anyway) access to Web-based versions of the apps some of us use every day -- e-mail, calendars, day planners, file storage -- allowing us to access them from anywhere, anytime. Visto at www.visto.com has the most appealing package to date, but StoragePoint (www.storagepoint.com), MagicalDesk (www.magicaldesk.com), and ZCentral (www.zcentral.com) are coming up fast. Surf over to www.desktop.com/launch.html or www.smartonline.com to see the future of virtual desktops.

• Graphics Software. Adobe hasn't put Photoshop on the Web for free, but there are numerous online graphics services that can quickly whip up a GIF or JPG file. Try www.netstudio.com, www.GIFWorks.com, or www.flamingtext.com for free online provision of banners, bullets, headlines, and photo treatments. Video editing online isn't quite as developed, nor is it free, but you can explore your options at www.videofarm.com. Extensis (www.extensis.com), which makes plug-ins for Photoshop, is developing online versions of its wares on its www.creativepro.com site. HTMLWorks at www.HTMLworks.com is another site like NetStudio that offers graphics optimization and other online goodies for Webmasters, but I can't get the site to come up.

• Productivity Applications. The day isn't here yet when we can plug into an online version of MSOffice or Photoshop -- most of us don't have anything approaching a reliable enough Net connection to trust our business or even our at-home tasks to an online app. But businesses are already going to Citrix Systems at www.citrix.com for a multiuser application server that lets them access Windows utilities and apps over the Web. With 56kbps connections, there were noticeable lag times during typing, and even T1 connections didn't work as smoothly as a PC-based app worksession, but the important thing is that it can be done, and it's being done today. What businesses with fat wallets can do today, you and I can do tomorrow. Microsoft is already touting a rental, online version of its Office suite, to be ready in 2001.

• Free Office Apps. Check these sites out for free versions of familiar programs: www.myfreedesk.com, www.nuomedia.com, www.thinkfree.com, and www.sun.com, provider of the free, powerful Star Office Suite. Newer players in the market are letting users build their own applications. Check out the variety of offerings at www.appcity.com, www.brainmatter.com, www.desktop.com, and www.mywebos.com, and be warned: most of the kinks in these sites aren't worked out yet.

• Online Utility Services. Need a suite of diagnostic and maintenance utilities, including state-of-the-art antivirus scanners, rescue-disk creators, hard-drive cleaners, uninstallers, update providers, and Registry optimizers? One provider, McAfee, offers all of these and more in a single package through its Clinic at www.mcafee.com/centers/clinic/ for $30 a year. Norton Web Services, at www.nortonweb.com, offers a lesser range of utilities drawn from its Disk Doctor, LiveUpdate, and AntiVirus offerings for $30 a year. Trend Micro offers a free antivirus scan at housecall.antivirus.com, as does Symantec at www.symantec.com/securitycheck/.

• Major Application Service Providers. Again, you and I won't be signing contracts with these guys any time soon, but you should know they're out there. More importantly, what these guys are providing today for fat fees will be provided soon by others for much, much less. Check out Corio at www.corio.com, FutureLink at www.futurelink.net, NaviSite at www.navisite.com, Qwest Cyber Solutions at www.questcybersolutions.com, TeleComputing at www.telecomputing.net, and USInternetworking at www.usi.net.

• The Whole Enchilada. A provider called Personable, at www.personable.com, is offering access to a Win2K desktop with MSOffice and numerous other major productivity apps available. 10MB of free storage comes with the deal. Cost? $5 to $30 a month for basic access, plus $10 to $25 for access to the various apps, plus additional fees for storage over 10MB. Home/Office or Corporate setups are available. All you need is a PC and 56KBps access or faster. This won't be for everyone, but this might be just what some of us need. Business folks, check out the free intranet service at www.intranets.com.

Upshot? Like anything else, online apps have their advantages and their drawbacks. System requirements are minimal, the installation and maintenance hassles disappear, but performance is sluggish compared to PC-based apps, accessibility is limited (you need an online connection that will stay connected), and although the rental fees shouldn't be too bad, it won't take long for some people to rack up enough rental fees to pay for their own version of whatever they're using online. If you aren't on a cable or DSL hookup, I wouldn't even consider trying this for home or office, although one source says a 56kbps modem connection should be enough. The key issue to all of this may be pricing. Stay tuned.

As new web applications become available, you can keep up to date with the info available at www.apps.com.