Taken from PCWorld Magazine, March 2012 Edition

Online apps make sense for a lot of people these days, but sometimes desktop software is essential. Here are five advantages of such apps.

Security – Even a seemingly stable company may fold, or change its privacy standards. For important documents, family photos, and business presentations, you may want to use desktop software to ensure that the preservation and confidentiality of that content don’t depend on an outside company’s good behaviour.

Guaranteed Connection – If your Internet connection goes down, or if you can’t pick up a wireless signal on the road, you need on-board software to stay productive. Conveniently, many tools offer a sync button so your online database can catch up with your offline database when you reconnect.

Speed – Web services are sometimes agonizingly slow. Though offline programs may feel sluggish, too, you can take steps to speed them up. Online, you’re powerless.

Built-in Utilities – Web services can’t keep your system up and running the way local file management and cleanup utilities can.

Raw Power – Web-based photo editors are improving, but editing video from a browser is still next to impossible. The better way is to use the resources of your own PC.