Offline Google Reader’s Ten Minutes May 31, 2007
Posted by Jeremy Wagstaff in blogging, web apps.trackback
Intro: Web-based newsreader Google Reader now works offline, thanks to Google Gears, a plug in which promises offline usage of Google’s web-apps.
Exec Sum: The tool works as promised, converting Google Reader into a tool as useful as the best of the standalone RSS readers.
My tenminut.es: The offline reader involves installing something called Google Gears, which is pretty straightforward and works in Firefox and IE (and possibly Opera; I’m not clear about that). (More on Google Gears from Scoble)
Once the browser is restarted and you visit Google Reader a dialog box will pop up:
Once you accept that the Reader will load (taking a little longer than usual) and you’ll see another message in the top right hand corner:
Clicking the green button will begin the download of 2,000 items:
I‘m not sure why 2,000, and which 2,000; there doesn’t seem to be any way to configure what is downloaded and what isn’t. Downloading wasn’t smooth, either; after a fast start on unpredictable broadband connection, things got stuck at 28% and stayed there:
Don’t try cancelling and going offline before it’s finished: You’ll be asked if you want to go offline, and if you do, it will then tell you there’s nothing to read:
Clearly the entire download needs to happen before you go offline. That said, restarting the download process I had no problems the second time around, completing the download in a couple of minutes:
Thereafter you can browse as you would with Google Reader online (the 2,000 collected seem to be the most recent from each feed, minus any graphics.)
Gripes: Apart from the above, I also found the green button disappearing from time to time, meaning I wasn’t sure if I was online or offline.
Verdict: A glitch or two there but nothing to get upset about. A real step forward in the web app world; to be able to read RSS offline in a brower is a kind of special moment. Expect Gmail and Google Calender next.
Score: 8 out of 10
Thanks !
[...] and Google Reader now works offline. Here are my ten minut.es with it, and a how to guide at ten ste.ps. This is big news, because it’s the first step Google have made [...]