Googlified

When Google announced offline Google Docs, users can only view and edit text documents, but the Google Docs blog announced that we can now view (but cannot edit) the spreadsheets and presentations offline as well.

Along with the offline update also comes with several new features like inserting videos and speaker notes to presentations, and edit CSS for documents. To insert a video, you will just need to click on the “Insert Video” button on the toolbar and select YouTube videos to be added to the presentation. Google probably has plans to include more video sites for this feature in the future, but for now you are stuck with YouTube.

To edit the document’s CSS just to to Edit -> CSS and start styling your document. Keep in mind that Google Docs automatically comments out some CSS like background images (at least for body), so don’t panic when your CSS isn’t working. (Turns out that they just don’t allow external images to be used in CSS.)

Both the Official Google Blog and the Official Google Docs Blog announced that they have started rolling out offline Google Docs to “a small percentage of users” and all users should have it in the “next few weeks”. In the short video above, Google Docs product manager Ken Norton briefly demonstrates how Google Docs offline works.

As I (and many others) have predicted, the offline function is backed by Google Gears - “an open source browser extension that lets developers create web applications that can run offline.” The only other Google online application that uses Gears right now is Google Reader, but Google Calendar will soon follow, and possibly Gmail as well.

When editing documents offline, the documents will saved locally on your computer, and once you get back online again, the local copy will update the online version by syncing the the copy on your computer to Google Docs.

It’s still a few hours away from April 1st here in the U.S., so I don’t think this is the annual Google April Fool’s prank. :)

Garett Rogers of Googling Google suggests that Google maybe testing a “Newer Version” of Gmail UI when one of his readers send him a screen shot of Google In Your Language that reads, “Translate Phrase for Gmail UI” and “Link that users can click on if they are part of the trusted tester program to go to the newer UI.”

It’s about time, Gmail’s UI hasn’t evolved much over the years since it first launched. If you are one of those lucky testers, please let us know, we would like to take a look. :)

Pig Latin, “hattay isay interestingay”. :)

UPDATE: Garett is now reporting two upcoming new features: Google Gears integration and the ability to view account activity. Sweet! :)

[screenshot from Googling Google, thanks Garett :)]

As a mashup addict, online task managing site Remember the Milk integrated Google Gears into their web application so that users could manage their tasks online and offline seamlessly.

Another excellent work from the Remember the Milk team, but don’t you think that the downloading process look like Google Reader’s? (see screen shot)

[via Lifehacker]

Google Developer Day 2007 is today! You can visit it’s home page to watch live webcast (not loading for me), photos and notes that were taken during the sessions in ten different locations worldwide.

The conference is still taking place at Mountain View, California and São Paulo, Brasil as I am writing this.

While you are enjoying this, I will be messing around with the Google Gears. Gear up! :)

UPDATE: Frank Taylor of GEarthBlog posted a Quick Summary of the event, so has the Google Code guys.

Aside from the announcement of acquiring Panoramio, Google today launched a new product/API, Google Gears, “an open source browser extension that lets developers create web applications that can run offline”, at the Google Developer Day.

Google Gears currently works on Firefox 1.5+ and Internet Explorer 6+ under OS X, Linux, and Windows XP/Vista.

Here are Gears’ three key features as listed by Google:

Which means that the data are stored in a SQLite database on your hard drive and can be retrieved by SQL commands. Under the same-origin policy, web applications cannot access data from other domains. (ex. website A cannot access data from website B because they are not under the same domain)

To take an extra step to ensure security, Google Gears asks for user’s permission before storing data on your computer.

The first web application that employs this new product is Google Reader, which allows users to download 2000 items and read offline. I guess this is good for people who travels a lot or often in places where internet connection is not available.

I predict that Google Gears would soon to be used in Gmail, Google Docs & Spreadsheets, and thousands of other web applications and will change the entire Web 2.0 revolution.

Google Gears is a browser extension, you can install it here. For developers, you might want to join the discussion forum or take a look at the documentation or subscribe to the Gears Blog.