One of the many things I love about Google Reader is its Offline mode – which comes in handy especially during flights. I can read (a lot of) feeds and blogs, marking for later the things I want to tag/dogear/post/delicious. This story at Calcalist.co.il caught my eye, talking about Gmail Labs adding offline capability to the popular e-mail service. Wow.
Don’t get me wrong, I do love Gmail (much more than Yahoo! Mail), and the Labs have some cool products, BUT, two things bugs me in this story:
The first, Lotus Notes has been sporting this ‘offline’ mode since its inception, some 16 years ago. It’s called ‘Replication‘, and allows you to take everything (not just emails) offline, including composite applications, calendar, emails with attachments – and syncing with the Domino server when such a connection is available.
The second is the total disregard to Lotus Notes and Domino as a desktop email client/platform. The reporter, Dora Kishinevsky, mentions that such a feature is similar to what desktop email clients do, like Outlook. Israel is a Microsoft country, but there are other vendors, and some journalists know that.
Links:
Gmail Labs adds offline capability – Calcalist.co.il
Google unveils beta of offline Gmail option – NetworkWorld (via Ed Brill)
Gmail Labs adds a decade old Notes feature – Alan Lepofsky
