Offline Web Apps

Gears is Google's open source browser extension for developers to adapt web applications to run offline, providing

1. local http server to cache and deliver resources (HTML, JavaScript, images, etc.)


2. local database, to store and access data from within the browser


3. a worker thread pool, to make JS code more responsive (by performing expensive operations in the background)

Although offline support will be built-in to Firefox 3.1, Firefox 3 and IE 7 (on XP or Vista or Windows Mobile) need the Gears add-on to run offline applications.

Why should Google fund the development of this offline app code development in the browser or add-on? Obviously, Google Apps in browsers will then compete with desktop applications like Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Exchange, etc. It brings the Netscape threat & promise of the web as the a platform (and Software as a Service SaaS) closer to reality, enabling web apps to run on a computer which is "undocked" from the network.

Why pay an IT department $250,000 per year to maintain an infrastructure, when Google costs alot less? This first consumer target is SOHO, micro capitalization companies, and small businesses. Google is giving away the client in order to dominate on the server.

I'd also like to see blogging websites be able to compose, spell check and save blog drafts offline (for upload on connect). Why not also photo gallery software, audio blogs, and even social network sites?

The flood is coming; the web is invading our offline world.

Why stop with offline; extend the paradigm to barely online (low bandwidth) caching, so the computer can catch up in the background. Mom will love that on her country modem dial up connection! Could this drive broadband ISP prices lower?