The computing world has come along way since the days of the desktop application. It has matured into a feature-rich environment of applications that allow you to do anything from creating an online spreadsheet to tracking your to-do lists to chatting with friends and family. All of these applications (and many more) are available online from any computer with an Internet connection and a modern browser.

One downside to these applications is that they all require an Internet connection. What if there was a way to remove that requirement? Google has attempted to do just that with their latest browser extension called Google Gears. Google descripes it as “an open source browser extension that lets developers create web applications that can run offline.” Yup, that’s right. It allows online applications to work offline. This might sound like Google just took a giant step backwards, but read on and I’ll explain why this is going to be the next big thing.

Google Gears solves a few problems that have been plaguing the desktop market for years: online synchronization and cross-platform support. The first of these two problems is made easier by providing an easy mechanism for local, offline data storage. While the application is offline it can read and write information to a local database. Once the application is connected to the Internet, it can push any changes made to the real online instance of the application. The second problem is handle by the fact that its browser based. This means the application can run anywhere a browser can. Web applications have been enjoying this advantage for years.

The first Google application to take advantage of Google Gears was Google Reader. Perviously, Google Reader was an online-only RSS news reader. Now its possible to take it offline and catch up on your news stories while on an airplane or anywhere without an Internet connect. Once you come back online the news stories sync up as if you’ve been reading them online the whole time.

This technology is quickly catching on as other online-only applications integrate with Google Gears and allow the user to break away from the net. This new technology will give users the best of both worlds. Familiar online applications that can be unplugged and used offline. Applications have gone from the desktop to the Internet and back to the desktop. Software has finally come full circle.

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