Google Docs goes offline

In the ongoing war between Google Docs and Microsoft Office, there was always a clear line that seperated the two competing productivity suites: Internet connectivity. See, no matter how much you like Google Docs, it required an Internet connection to use, which proved to be a deal-breaker for many. Now, however, that line of demarcation is starting to blur: Google has announced that it is bringing offline support to Google Docs, courtesy of Google Gears. Google Docs applications will now have the ability to store data locally on your machine, until you reconnect to the Internet, at which point the application will sync up with Google's servers seamlessly. Best of all, the new functionality is rolling out next week and requries no additonal software. "I don't have to remember to save my documents locally before packing my laptop for a trip," writes Google software engineer Philip Tucker. "I don't have to remember to save my changes as soon as I get back online. And I don't have to switch applications based on network connectivity."

For more on the new feature:
- see this post on the Google Docs blog