Shark Bait

Knowledge Centers

Operating Systems

Networking & Internet

Mobile & Wireless

Security

Storage

Business Intelligence

Servers & Data Center

Computerworld Reports

Industry

See your link here

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

Cyber Cynic

Off-line GMail: one more step to the Google desktop

13 comments

TAGS:Gmail, Google, Linux desktop, Microsoft, Windows 7
IT TOPICS:Desktop Applications, Desktops & Servers, Internet, Laptops & Netbooks, Linux, Open Source, Operating Systems, Software

Google has never said that they're building a desktop operating system. No, the company just keeps coming out with more Windows-free applications and a mobile, Linux-powered operating system, Android. that can also be used as a desktop. No, no, Google isn't getting ready to release a full desktop with office suite. Not them.

Yeah. Right.

The problem I've always had with network-reliant operating systems or programs has been that they're only as good as your network connection. Whether it was the mainframe and terminals that I cut my teeth on, client/server computing or network computers, I was always painfully aware that I was one zapped connection away from having my desktop turn into a useless desk decoration.

Google is addressing that concern by using Google Gears to let you use perhaps Google's most popular, non-search application, Gmail, off-line. This follows up on Google enabling you to use Google Docs off-line. You see, although when you think Google you also think of the Internet, they've actually been working to make Google applications off-line friendly for some time now.

Installing off-line Gmail, no matter what your operating system, is a little complicated. First, you must install Google Gears. Unfortunately, Google Gears doesn't run on 64-bit Linux. You'd think people would finally move all their software from 32 to 64-bit, but for a variety of reasons, that's still not happening.

Be that as it may, instead of installing on my 64-bit MEPIS 7 Linux system, I put Gears on my 32-bit Fedora 10 box. Once there, I needed to go to my GMail account and to turn to Settings/Labs to enable Offline. After that, you go back to the main GMail page and click on the new menu item, which will be on the immediate left of the GMail setting link and follow the instructions.

Then, you can do whatever you want and GMail will synchronize your mail. Once done, you can walk off and use your Google mail whether you're connected or not. Why, it's almost like using Lotus Notes or Microsoft Outlook now.

Now, if only Google Calendar could work off-line too. Wait, what's that I hear? Off-line Google Calendar is on its way too. Interesting isn't it?

So, by sometime this summer, you could have a Google Android Linux-powered netbook that also comes with its own version of Microsoft Office -- Google Docs, GMail, and Google Calendar -- that works as well off-line as online. I, for one, won't be surprised to find them in shops, say, sometime just before Windows 7 finally ships.

Email this

Digg this

What People Are Saying

Add new comment

Google Gears 64-bit

Submitted by Niels on February 2, 2009 - 4:37 A.M.

I've posted a 64-bit version for those interested: http://nielspeen.com/blog/2009/02/google-gears-64-bit/

Tested on (k)ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid with Firefox 3.0.5 and Offline Gmail as well as Wordpress.

Reply | Report this comment

Google Gears

Submitted by Greg on January 30, 2009 - 10:18 P.M.

Unfortunately google gears is far from stable. I had been using it in reader and docs for more than 3 weeks. Its VERY sluggish, and in some occasions i couldnt access my documents for almost 2 days. The interface was always "Loading.."
I solved this by removing it from firefox completely.

Reply | Report this comment

Offline Calendar

Submitted by KoKo on January 30, 2009 - 12:41 P.M.

Calendar is the only SAS application for which offline access is critical for all mobile users.

Offline, you don't have access to your google apps (except the gears-enabled ones), but you can get most of the same functionality from traditional non-SAS apps like OpenOffice.

More importantly, when you are offline you don't have access to your online data stored on the home network or the cloud. That might be crippling for many, but you can often still use the apps somehow. For example, you can read downloaded email, you can draft outgoing email or documents to be sent when you get online again, etc.

But with Calendar, the data IS the app, basically. For a calendar to be functional, you have to have 100% access to it, all the time. Further, you cannot have different versions or drafts of your data, or you will may end up with conflicting calendars. Like the Highlander, there can be only one.

Most people handle that by using a local-only calendar like a paper planner or Outlook on a handheld. But you lose the device-independence and data security of cloud storage. A Gears-enabled Calendar that let you sync up when you went back online would offer the best of both worlds. But without Gears, Calendar cannot reliably be mobile.

Reply | Report this comment

Standalone Offline Gmail with Gears and Mozilla Prism

Submitted by Pete Otaqui on January 30, 2009 - 6:05 A.M.

Just posted a method for enabling Gears for Mozilla's Prism project - enabling you to have a Site Specific Browser with offline Gmail access, and thought your readers might appreciate it:

http://otaqui.com/blog/382/enable-google-gears-and-offline-gmail-for-mozilla-prism/

Reply | Report this comment

Paid Comments

Submitted by Anonymous on January 29, 2009 - 11:51 P.M.

I don't know anybody that would have something against a business like Google that supplies free services. Only people I can think of that have something wrong with Google is people that are paid to comment on these sites or they are religious advocates of Microsoft. It is easy, all you do is search for news posts by Google.

I gladly support Google because they support innovation and they aren't greedy investers like Microsoft.

Reply | Report this comment

Paid Comments / Google Not Free

Submitted by Anonymous on January 30, 2009 - 10:00 A.M.

You must have been paid by Google to write that comment.

Google's services aren't free. You pay for them by giving them your personal information for advertising purposes. Gmail even scans the contents of your e-mails for advertising purposes. No thanks!

Reply | Report this comment

Free or not?

Submitted by Anonymous on January 31, 2009 - 10:01 P.M.

Is TV free? They supply ads for you to watch.
Do Nielson families really get paid? Nielson gets their viewing habits.
In fact, you can ask whether you really get paid at you job or not since you need to do work for that.

You don't pay money for Google's services. That's the definition of free. Don't confuse Free with free.

Reply | Report this comment

Annoying

Submitted by StareClips.com on January 30, 2009 - 8:47 P.M.

Nothing annoys me more than people who say things like "it's not free, they scan your information" or "it's not free, there are ads".

The point is... it doesn't cost dollars out of the pocket of the user. That's the point of the "free" statement. Nobody ever says that Google isn't benefiting from anything. If they weren't, they'd be out of business, and we wouldn't have these services that are free of monthly or yearly dollars from your account.

Also, ignorance is a very ugly attribute. You can say over and over that "Gmail scans the contents of your e-mails for advertising purposes" but it doesn't make it a whole lot different than "Hotmail scans the contents of your e-mails for spam-filtering purposes."

The reality is, they don't scan the contents, then ship the contents off to advertisers with your info, then collect money for those who want to place ads. Instead, there is advertising code embedded on the page. When you view an email, key words of the email are sent over to the advertising spot which then pulls up ads based on those key words. No advertiser ever knows who you are or what the contents of your email were.

Comments like these remind me of the people who still insist today that Obama is a Muslim, or that the "y2k" scare of 1999/2000 would have affected Microwaves or toasters. Learn about technology and keep an unbiased mindset when learning about these things, or else you're just doomed to sound like the lower 5% of the population and your messages will be disregarded entirely.

Reply | Report this comment

tasks/todo list

Submitted by Anonymous on January 29, 2009 - 8:50 P.M.

Without a task/todo list Google will never truly be offering an office suite. Have you seen the poor excuse of a task manager that they have just recently added? It's like a 10 year old put it together.

Reply | Report this comment

Big Brother Google

Submitted by Anonymous on January 29, 2009 - 7:19 P.M.

Google's primary business is the collection of personal information for advertising purposes. I have no interest in having a Big Brother Google Desktop, or using a Big Brother Google Cloud.

Reply | Report this comment