If the world hadn’t spoken about it before, I could probably sit here quite smug. But, as the world did write about it long before, I won’t. Pretty much on schedule, as I posted last week  the offline online applicatons are now starting to arrive.

The first set of offline online applications I have seen out of the starting gate is Google Apps, which is making use of the Gears service. The problem with this is of course the requirement to use Firefox to make use of the service. I don’t want to open up the same old can of worms here, but I do resent it. Aside from that, it is a great suite of applications to offer offline; it’ll appeal to a wide audience, myself included. As yet I haven’t been invited onto the Beta, but I hope this will change soon.

Lately I’ve started to make more use of Google Apps. Infact, there are a few articles on the blog I have published using it. The ability to be able to use it offline will also be valuable, though I have to confess there are becoming less and less times when I am offline, without any way to connect to the Internet.

I do look forward to seeing what other applications are to be offered, not just from Google  but from the other providers as well. Where will the competitive edge come from? Will there be compatibility between the backend engines? Will there be conflict with the backend engines? Will there be an increase in demanding requirements for the client computers?

I also like the YouTube video issued to accompany the news of the release of the offline service. Do you have any thoughts? Any concerns about the service? What applications would you like to see offered in an offline/online way? Will you make use of it?