Stan is getting an offline mode. Today, the streaming service announced plans to bring "thousands of hours" of downloadable content to its customers starting in March. In addition, it has secured the rights to The Cartoon Network's catalogue - including brand-new episodes of Adventure Time and Regular Show. Here are the details.
Roughly one month after Google Apps users got it, Gears-powered offline access comes to all Google Calendar users. The same limitations apply, but it's not a bad way to ensure access to your agenda. Head to your calendar page and hit the "Offline (beta)" link to start the syncing process. If you don't have Google Gears installed, you'll need to do so, and you'll be prompted to install shortcuts to GCal on your computer. The first sync only applies to your primary calendar, though—click the green checkmark in the upper-right and hit "Offline Settings" to bring more of your calendars offline. I didn't notice any kind of limitations, but Alex at Google Operating System wrote that his calendar only synced Feb. 4 through June 4 of this year when he synced his calendars today. The big missing Feature Elephant in this online room is that you can't create new events while you're offline to sync up later. How will GCal offline be useful to you? Tell us your take in the comments.
Zoho Mail, a web-based email client long in private beta in the Zoho office suite, is now publicly available. Those with Zoho accounts and Google Gears installed will notice that you can hit an "Offline" button to download a pre-set number of sent mail and inbox messages, and reply to them for sending when you're back online. Zoho Mail features both traditional folders and label sorting, or use of both, and POP import/export, with IMAP access promised in the near future. Zoho Mail is a free service, requires a sign-up with Zoho.
iPhone/iPod touch only: Free iPhone application MiGhtyDocs performs a simple but handy task—namely, synchronising your Google documents and spreadsheets to your iPhone for read-anywhere access. The big obvious drawbacks are a lack of any editing or modifying access, and a lack of support for Google's PowerPoint-cloning Presentations service, but if you do a good amount of work in Google's online office environment, it's the kind of low-wattage app you'll be glad you have on your iPhone or iPod touch. If nothing else, think of it as an advanced, net-accessible note-taking interface that trumps the built-in Notes. MiGhtyDocs is a free download for 2.0 iPhones and iPod touch models only. MiGhtyDocs
If you're already using the Hardy Heron Beta, the next version of the Ubuntu Linux operating system, you've also got a dead-simple means of getting web apps like Google Docs, Google Calendar, Facebook, and others running in Mozilla's online/offline access program, Prism. The Ubuntu 8.04 repositories already have a lot of Google and a few other apps available for installing (sudo apt-get install prism-google-mail installs a Gmail interface, for instance), but you create more using the official Firefox add-on. Hit the link for Tombuntu's expanded explanation, and leave your impressions of the Ubuntu/Prism integration in the comments. Easily Install Prism Web Apps in Ubuntu
Inspiration for great blog posts can be fleeting, but a lack of internet access can leave ideas in the dust. Webapp Blog.gears uses Google Gears to synchronise with a Blogger account to bridge that gap. Blog.gears allows Blogger authors to create new posts and edit older ones and synchronises the data upon connection. The offline editor doesn't offer any of the rich text features as the online site, but it could work great for ideas you don't want to forget about later. Blog.gears requires a free Blogger account and Google Gears, and runs wherever Internet Explorer or Firefox do.Blog.gears
