Nerve Endings Firing Away

The biggest impediment in ubiquitous computing has been the lack of reliable and/or fast Internet connection. How often have we ventured out to work online only to realize that the coffee shop doesn’t have a wireless option or worse, is so loaded with users that it is painfully slow almost akin to a dial-up connection. There have been talks of developing applications that you typically use online for offline use as well.

One such application is your web-based RSS feed reader. There have been plenty of occasions where I have wished to download the feeds locally so I can read them offline. Normally, I use to achieve that by opening the blogs in different tabs and reading them offline. It worked for most part but you still couldn’t get your web-based RSS reader to work on that principle.

Google recently launched Google Gears that allows you to download an extension for your browser to partake in such offline activities. Thankfully they chose to develop one for Google Reader first and are offering you the option of downloading the latest 2000 feeds locally to your computer so that you can read them offline while mimicking the appearance of reading them online. This might seem like a much-needed relief and long-demanded need for traveling Internet users. As the Google Reader blog says, you can now read your feeds in the Golden Gate Park or 35,000 ft above the Atlantic considering of course, there isn’t any wi-fi available already. But is it really a useful option productivity-wise?

The Scoble video I linked previously mentions that he often catches up on his email when his offline usually when he is flying and doesn’t like to read feeds then. Also, I have noticed that I work best be it writing a research paper or just reading academic articles when I am offline. The temptation to check your email or browse feeds is just too much. Probably that email you just received a notification for doesn’t really demand your immediate attention but the time you take to check it disrupts your flow and chain of thought. Abhijit also asks if loading up your already-juiced-with-add-ons Firefox browsers with another plugin is worth it. Shyam has the technical details and step-wise installation and usage instructions.

All said and done, I am still going to install it on my laptop and check its utility when I go out to Sweet Eugenes’ to ‘study’ :)