ost computer applications used frequently have gone online with the increased availability of broadband connectivity worldwide and innovations such as email, word processing, spreadsheet, etc. Though this has brought about ease of use for many as separate applications are not required to be installed on computers, at the same time there are users who have less than consistent availability of reliable internet connection. To address this, Google has recently launched offline support for its online office applications suite containing Google Docs as well as Gmail and Google Calendar.Google Docs of f line can be setup from Google`s own browser Chrome by logging on the docs.google.com the site that offers online documents, spreadsheets,drawing and data entry forms.

Once logged in, click on the gears icon at the top right and select `Setup docs offline beta`. A new window appears with a button `Allow offline docs` as first step. Clicking this enables second step button of installing Docs Chrome web app from Chrome web store, which results in opening up the Chrome Web Store page with Google Docs application selected.

Press `Add to Chrome` button to complete the setup.Now log in to Google Docs where existing documents can be uploaded or new ones can be created and see how it synchronises recent documents for offline access. Gears menu at the top right provides more information about what`s being synchronised and to control switching from offline to online mode. The menu item`View Offline Documents` under gears menu lists all those documents which were opened recently and have been synchronised locally. When one of these documents is opened, a black bar appears at the top which clearly marks the status `Offline Docs` at the top left. At any time, if internet connection is detected while Google Docs is in offline mode, a notification appears at the top with a link offering the user to switch to online mode.

For security reasons, Google Docs has to be enabled on every computer on which offline access is desired. This ensures that if a user enables offline access on a home computer (which is recommended), it will not result in automatic offline access if the same user logs in to Google Docs from a public computer. Offline access can be completely turned off by selecting `Stop Using Offline` fromthe gears menu.

Just like Google Docs, Gmail can also be made available offline by installing Offline Google Mail application from the Chrome Web Store (chrome.google.com/webstore). Once installed, press the `Allow` button to grant offline access. This is followed by a new Gmail interface which opens up within the Chrome browser interface. Email conversations of about five days back are synchronised with computer and become available offline in a two panel window. Left panel scrolls through messages list having subject and brief details, while right panel shows the selected email.

There`s a compose button at the top which allowscreation of new emails which are stored in `Outbox` until connectivity is restored. Number of such emails along with a blue notification showing status appears at the bottom left. Lastly, there`s Google Calendar application available for Chrome as well.

Having Google applications both Docs and Gmail available offline also represents a longterm strategy by Google to ensure that its users keep using the same applications even when they are in `internet dead zones` such as underground subways, sub-urban suburbs or rural areas, areas with slow and intermittent connectivity, areas hit by power outages, etc. Traditionally, users in these locations use other products such as Word and Excel and upload it on Google Docs for sharing and backup purposes. But with advancements such as offline access, users who are going to be increasingly mobile with tablet PCs will still be able to access and work on Gmail, Docs and Calendar without internet connection and sync back when connectivity is restored.

This is inline with Google`s cloud computing vision and allows users such as those in Pakistan, a free, yet user-friendly, alternative to costly propriety offline-only applications that require installation. $