Google
announced the offline access for Google Docs will be possible through Google
Gears, still in beta version, an open source browser extension that provides
offline functionality for Web applications. With Google Docs and Google Gears,
users can now access their desktop apps without any inconvenient, such as the
lack of an Internet connection.
In May last year, Google
launched Google Gears as “an important step in the evolution of web
applications,” making data availability problems when there’s no Internet
connection an issue of the past. Eric Schmidt, Google CEO, said last year that
Google Gears is “tackling a key limitation of the browser” and improves user
experience in the “cloud.”
This year, Google wants to give
users the chance to take the cloud with them anywhere, with an all-time
accessibility: “With Google Docs offline (powered by Google Gears), I can take
my little piece of the cloud with me wherever I go,” said Philip Tucker,
Software Engineer for Google Docs, in the company’s blog.
All the user’s documents will be
synced once the Gears extension is installed, and even if they don’t have an
Internet connection, they will still be able to open and edit their documents. “When
I lose my connection, I sacrifice some features, but I can still access my
documents. Everything I need is saved locally,” said Tucker in the blog.
Google Gears currently offers
support for Windows Vista Internet Explorer and Firefox, Windows XP Internet
Explorer and Firefox, Mac OS/X Firefox and Linux Firefox. Everything will work
through the web browser when offline, and once the Internet connection
restored, the documents will sync with the server.
