The offline capabilities will become available both for individuals who use Gmail, Docs and Calendar, as well as for organizations who use them as part of the Google Apps collaboration and communication suite in workplaces and educational institutions. Once installed, these offline applications will create an icon in the Chrome browser interface for launching them when users aren't online. The Gmail application will have its own user interface separate from the Gmail web interface, while the Docs and Calendar applications will trigger their web application's interface and work in the background.
In all three cases, users will get access to a subset of the web applications' features. For example, in Docs it will be possible to view documents and spreadsheets, but not yet edit those documents. In Calendar, users will be able to view events and RSVP to appointments. Previously, Google provided offline access to these applications via its Gears browser plug-in, but the company stopped developing it last year. It has been possible to use Gmail and Calendar offline through Gears in Internet Explorer 8 and Firefox 3.6, but not Docs.
If you talk to your desktop PC, it's probably for all the wrong reasons--usually to hurl expletives at the machine for not working properly. Well, users of the desktop version of Google Chrome now have a more productive reason to get chatty with their computers. Google has added voice search for Google Maps to Chrome, offering users a (sometimes) faster way to get directions.
The main Google Maps interface in Chrome now includes a microphone icon. When you click it, a "Speak Now" dialog appears.How well does it work? Pretty well in my brief testing, albeit with a few hiccups. When I said, "Petaluma to San Diego," Google Maps understand me perfectly and posted the map below.
