Google® Business Solutions All-in-One For Dummies®

Chapter 4. Google Chrome and Gears

In This Chapter

• Installing Chrome and Gears on your computer

• Finding out what makes Chrome different

• Working offline with Gears

Google is essentially a Web-based company — almost everything it does is directed at your web browser and built around networked computers, servers, and software hosted at remote locations. In one respect, this makes it an invaluable resource. You can access it from any computer with an Internet connection, and you don't have to worry about losing your online data if your computer ever bites the dust. However, it also limits you if you're not connected to the Internet. Even with the plethora of connectivity options you have to get online, sometimes you just find yourself without an Internet connection. You do have some backup options, though, and they involve software written by Google and stored on your computer and other Web sites. Google has its own Web browser in Chrome, and it uses a program called Gears to help your Web browser access Google-based information even when you're away from the Internet.

Using Google's Machinery

Google uses very mechanical-sounding names to describe the two pieces of software examined in this chapter. You're already familiar with the functionality of Chrome if you've used a Web browser, but you've probably not seen a Gears function, although it is working in the background when you use certain software and Web sites. Before any of that happens, though, you have to install the software on your ...