It’s always fun to get a sneak peek at what Google has in store for its users, and Tony Ruscoe managed to get a glimpse at a future Google Docs feature. He said that “after playing around with one of Google’s not-so-private experimental sites, I can confirm that offline access is currently being tested.“
The offline access works with Google’s very own Google Gears, and handles itself similarly to Google Reader’s offline access. Tony was only able to view the documents in the document list right now, and got an error message whenever he tried to open one of them for viewing or editing. He was, however, able to successfully rename and star documents which were then synchronized once he reconnected.
Here’s a screenshot from his endeavor:
While it is still pretty rough around the edges it is nice to know that offline access is in the future plans for Google Docs. Assuming that the offline access also provides editing capabilities this could give Google the edge they need to compete with desktop applications.
I still don’t why people feel this great need for offline support, what great advantage does it give you?
I’m not sure, but it does seem that being able to work on a project offline is a big bonus. Your internet is never guaranteed to work all the time. There might be a problem with your modem or with your ISP. If you were working on an important project, wouldn’t you want to be able to continue to work on it even though you didn’t have internet access? Having offline support is just another way of insuring that you won’t lose your work when you accidentally cut your cable cord. It’s just a safety net that you could fall back on.
I’m actually pretty excited about getting offline support. I also agree that if Google can pull this off, they will be prime competitors to Word and other desktop applications. Google just keeps getting better and better.
Verdican had a good example, but I think the biggest reason that this is needed is for business travelers. When you’re always on the go traveling you won’t have Internet access all the time, especially when you’re on a plane. So being able to take your documents offline will still give you the opportunity to be productive without having to turn to a desktop office suite.
But see thats what I’m saying. Why not use Word or Pages and upload the document? I thought Google pages was supposed to be a light weight app. If theres something so important that you need to edit, wouldn’t you back it up or use Word?
There are so many people who are interested in Web Applications. They know that there are desktop applications for it, but using online applications is a new experience. Plus, these applications work quite well. Sooner or later, we can get just about anything off the internet. We wouldn’t need to bother with downloading programs; they would all be on the internet in some form of a Web App. You should also remember that Google Docs is free. Word 2007 is not. I’m pretty sure many people would just use Google Docs just because it was free.
For many students; Google Docs is perfect. They could work on their essays without having to type them on Word, and then upload their work onto their mail account. They would only have to open Google Docs, and they could access everything.
Like Ryan said, there are a lot of people who travel all the time. They might not even be able to use their computer. Wouldn’t it be a lot better to log onto Google and see all your documents rather then having to download only the files you’ve uploaded?