SOFTWARE: OFFICE:
Google Docs Goes Offline
Google Docs Goes Offline
Monday, March 31, 2008 12:51 PM PT
Posted by Edward N. Albro
PC World
<http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/006727.html>
Google is today clearing one of the last hurdles it faces before truly
competing with Microsoft Office. Starting this afternoon, some users of
Google Docs word processing app will be able to edit their documents when
they don't have an Internet connection.
Not surprisingly, the functionality will be built on Google Gears, the
offline synching technology that now powers unconnected use of Google
Reader and task manager RememberTheMilk.com.
I haven't been able to test the new functionality yet (I should get hooked
up in a few hours), but if it works well this is a huge development.
Google's word processor already has almost everything I need to ditch
Microsoft Word entirely. Having the ability to work offline will likely
make a lot of people -- and businesses -- wonder why they should pay as
much as $680 for Office.
-------------------------------------
Google Takes Docs Offline with Gears
03.31.08
PC Magazine
<http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2280417,00.asp>
Several month after Zoho announced its offline version of Writer, Google
has cranked its own Gears with Google Docs.
Using its browser plugin Google Gears, the company says it's rolling out
offline functionality to its online office applications over then next few
weeks. Users will be able to tell when their accounts have been upgraded
with the new capability when an "offline" link appears at the top of the
Google Docs site.
Though both Docs and Gears are still both beta, the move is a salvo in
Redmond's direction, taking direct aim at Microsoft's entrenched,
proprietary, industry-standard Office productivity software suite.
Conversely, Google Gears is an open-source project that any developer can
use to build offline capability into web applications.
<snip>
The offline capability will be limited to word processing documents,
though the company plans to add it to spreadsheets and presentations in
the future.
-------------------------------------
Offline access to Google Docs
3/31/2008 01:08:00 PM
Posted by Janani Ravi, Software Engineer
The Official Google Blog
<http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/
offline-access-to-google-docs.html>
A shorter URL for the above link:
Of course there was a teeny thing missing: you needed an Internet
connection to make Google Docs work for you. Now, for documents, that's no
longer true. As you'll read on the Google Docs blog, starting today and
over the coming weeks we're rolling out offline editing access to word
processing documents to Google Docs users. You no longer need an Internet
connection when inspiration strikes. Whether you're working on an airplane
or in a cafe, you can automatically access all your docs on your own
computer.
-------------------------------------
Google Docs adds offline support. Microsoft quakes?
MG Siegler, Venture Beat03.31.2008
The Industry Standard
<http://www.thestandard.com/news/2008/03/31/
google-docs-adds-offline-support-microsoft-quakes>
A shorter URL for the above link:
Interestingly, while you will be able to download Google Spreadsheets and
Presentations as well, these will be read-only as The Last Podcast points
out. This renders the new feature no more useful for these two types of
documents than exporting to an external file (unless, I guess, if you have
no access to any software that can view them).
Still, the offline access to word processing is a huge move toward Google
legitimately challenging Microsofts Office suite. While most people are
around an Internet connection most of the day, when you go on a trip and
need to get work done in an area with no connection (such as a plane),
offline support will alleviate a lot of users fears in leaving old, trusty
Microsoft Word.
-------------------------------------
News
Google Docs getting offline access
By Rafe Needleman March 31, 2008, 12:01 PM PDT
Webware
<http://www.webware.com/8301-1_109-9906648-2.html>
Offline access for Google's spreadsheet and presentation app will follow
after the word processor rollout is complete, Norton said, and will be
read-only to start.
Google Docs will not, at first, let users create new documents while
offline. The feature's first-use case is, "I'm amending a document and I
lose my Internet connection," Norton said. Document creation capability
will come eventually.
Of course, users will not be able to collaborate in real time when
offline, or see if other users are simultaneously modifying a document
they are editing in offline mode. Google Docs will "do its best" to
reconcile changes made by multiple users when one or more are offline,
Norton said. If there are conflicting edits, a dialog box will pop up when
an offline editor comes back online.
Offline access is a necessary feature to make Google's productivity suite
a competitor to Microsoft Office. However Google Docs' feature set, while
improving over time, still falls far short of the functionality available
in the Microsoft suite.
-------------------------------------
The complete articles may be read at the URLs provided for each.
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Temple University
(215) 204 - 4584
jwne@temple.edu
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