January 29, 2008 9:44 AM PST

Google Docs going offline soon?

by Elinor Mills
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Looks like Google is hard at work on offline access to Google Docs. Google Blogoscoped has screenshots of what looks like the beginnings of such a service.

No doubt Google will try to enable offline access for all of its Web apps. This was pretty apparent when the company announced Google Gears last May. Google Gears is a browser plug-in that lets people run Web applications even when they are not connected to the Internet. The Blogoscoped screenshots appear to be the first public evidence of such testing.

In response to questions, a Google representative said: "We're working on enabling many of our applications to work with Google Gears, but we don't have anything more specific to share at this time."

Enabling offline access to its Web apps would further intensify the competition between Google and Microsoft, whose desktop application dominance is threatened by Web-based apps.

Elinor Mills covers Internet security and privacy. She joined CNET News in 2005 after working as a foreign correspondent for Reuters in Portugal and writing for The Industry Standard, the IDG News Service, and the Associated Press. E-mail Elinor.
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Misleading Title
by chrisfrary January 29, 2008 10:56 AM PST
As always a misleading title, what else would draw in readers?
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I agree
by Neo Con January 29, 2008 12:04 PM PST
My reaction:
"What?!?! Why would... oh, oh, ooooohhhhhh... now I get it... very clever, C|Net... no, wait, that title is totally wrong! You suck, C|Net!"

Just an extra-special glimpse into my train of thought.
Google Docs Open Office Integration
by rjpotts January 30, 2008 8:52 AM PST
I just heard that OpenOffice 3.x will have Google Docs integration, where you can basically use OpenOffice as an offline editor for Google Docs. I'm guessing that it will look something like an email client, where your documents are listed in their folders and you double click to open and edit it. Any changes you make are either saved right on line or are synced back to Google Docs once you connect back to the internet.
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