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Google is phasing out Gears, phasing in HTML5
Google Gears has been pushing web applications forward since 2007, allowing them to use local data and run offline. Although Gears is still relevant, Google has announced plans to let it fade away in favor of emerging HTML5 features that do the same things. The big difference is that HTML5 will be universal, and won't require Google to offer support and ensure compatibility. Google told the LA Times "We are excited that much of the technology in Gears, including offline support and geolocation APIs, are being incorporated into the HTML5 spec as an open standard supported across browsers, and see that as the logical next step for developers looking to include these features in their websites." There are still some issues, though, because HTML5 is still far from universally-adopted, and Google isn't supporting Gears for some browsers. Even Google's own Chrome doesn't work with Gears on a Mac.
Google will continue keeping Gears up and running so that existing users don't experience problems, but it's encouraging developers to choose HTML5 in the future.
[via VentureBeat]
Comments
8
Subscribe to commentsGrant RobertsonDec 1st 2009 4:08PM
I'm at least 7 times more confused as to the purpose and mission of Chrome OS now. Thanks Google!
Sigh.
r3loadedDec 1st 2009 4:46PM
Essentially, Google will eventually drop Gears as HTML5 duplicates much of Gears' functionality. Chrome already supports many key HTML5 features, so this isn't a huge deal for users.
David RonDec 1st 2009 6:40PM
It would be nice Google actually lived up to that promise. The Linux Gears package for Firefox has been broken for weeks:
http://code.google.com/p/gears/issues/detail?id=975
jojo97321Dec 1st 2009 10:12PM
agree
AndyDec 2nd 2009 2:04AM
IMHO, this is a loss for the web development community. The HTML5 local storage spec only allows the storage of key/value pairs. Gears has full SQL support using SQlite as the DB engine - this is vastly more powerful and useful. Google, can't you open source this and allow the project to live on?
ProlornDec 3rd 2009 10:32PM
Google Gears is open source, I believe. Someone else will have to pick it up, though, if Google's own developers are moving on.
Henrik SherlingDec 2nd 2009 8:30AM
Is there any possibility of testing this HTML5 function in for example gmail or google wave?
And what else can HTML5 do?
Is there any sites built on HTML5 that I can view now, just to test it ?
joeyjuviyaniJan 27th 2010 7:16PM
What is HTML 5?
HTML vs XHTML
Read more from the complete guide of HTML-5 at:
http://forums.techarena.in/guides-tutorials/1296792.htm