Isis Systems

Google Gears: allowing offline-enabled Web apps

The main drawback of Google Apps was the need to be online to use them.  Google is launching Google Gears,  an application that can be downloaded and installed locally.  With Google Gears, users will be able to access Google applications even when they aren't connected to the Internet. The most impresive move is that they are launching the tool as an Open Source application.

Google Gears (BETA) is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux

According to CNET Networks: “Gears is a browser extension that will enable people to access their Web applications when working offline. It works on all major browsers and operating systems, and can be used by developers to make any application offline-enabled, not just Google programs.”

To see the developers guide:

Google Gears API Developer's Guide (Beta)

The first program released in Gears is Google Reader, this will allow a user to manually download the most recent feeds into their personal computer in order to read them offline.  Maybe the next releases will be Gmail, Calendar, Docs & Spreadsheet.  Google Reader was developed by a Google engineer who wanted to review his news feeds while traveling. The growth of the "offline-enabled" applications will be huge, either from Google and from independent developers, due to the fact that Gears is Open Source (with thousands of developers arond the world contributing with new applications).

You can see more info in this YouTube video:

Jorge I. Blanco

Google Docs is great but there are other options...

For the ones that are not comfortable with the features of  Google  Docs, there are other Web 2.o applications available.  One of them is  Think Free   which provides text editor, spreadsheet and presentation software with the same look and feel of MS Office.  They offer a webtop (like a desktop but in the Web) with 1GB capacity. There is group editing and group sharing.

They offer four products:

• ThinkFree Online:  Manage, access, and edit documents over the internet. Get the best Microsoft Office compatibility available. Share and get everyone's input on your story, schedule, or marketing materials.
• ThinkFree Desktop:  Word processing, spreadsheet and presentation applications that let you create and edit Microsoft Office format documents. Compatible with Windows, Linux, and Macintosh systems.
• ThinkFree Server: Run ThinkFree on your servers. Easy centralized maintenance and a lower license cost reduce TCO. Edit remote documents online while providing security behind your firewal.
• ThinkFree Portable:  Office on the go. There are two versions:
  
  • It runs on U3 USB memory devices. The software runs on the portable device without worrying about the applications on the host computer you are using at the moment.
  • There is another portable version for iPods.  The software loads from the iPod into the memory of a computer that the iPod is connected to, regardless of whether the computer is running Mac OS X or Windows.

The first product is free, the other three are sold with license prices between $30 and $49 USD.

Jorge I. Blanco

Beginning with Google Apps

The   Isis team it´s now testing this new GOOGLE APPS, and let me explain you a little about what are searching for, firs of all, normally all Hosting services only give us like 10 Mb of mailboxes, thats crazy for  2007, normally i use almost 1 gig, only for my email, let me explain you why..

1.- I keep almost all mail that arrives that have some kind of use for me, maybe  some day that information can be of some kind  interest for someone, and there its going to be  mi life throw some mails.

2.- I use to send  images, video files, audio mails, and that can be done very easy combining GOOGLE MAIL, and GOOGLE TALK, then using Google Apps  we have both.

3.-I travel a Lot and i need to chek my mail form a lot of places, like the Airport, bus station, restorant, and other educational institutions, then the  web capability and mobile  capabilities of Google Apps match exactly with what i need for my life and work.

Here is a little video thet explain very brioefly how google apps work.

http://services.google.com/apps/resources/overviews_breeze/Apps/index.html

And here is a little video for mail service from Google Apps.

http://services.google.com/apps/resources/overviews_breeze/Mail/index.html