TechBays

I tested Google Reader Offline function and it works well. You are required to install Google Gears to make the offline function work. It is an add-on to your browser. In my case, I initially used Firefox but when I tried to run the Google Gears executable file, my browser issues non-compatibility message. My current Firefox version is 3.0b2, which is not supported as yet. A popular version is Firefox 2.0, I think. So I opened Internet Explorer (version 7) instead and successfully activated the function.

I have created a procedure in activating Google Reader Offline, which included installing Google Gears. This is in narrative form with screenshots.

When you open reader.google.com, you’ll see in the upper right portion of the interface an Offline command. Click on the command and you’ll see a pop-up message requiring you to install Google Gears.

Clicking on Install Google Gears leads you to the install page. Click on Install Google Gears Beta.

You will be asked to confirm.

Click on Save File.

Once saved, run the application GoogleGearsSetup.exe.

You will need to restart the browser for Google Gears to take effect. As noted, I initially used Firefox to run Google Gears but I get a note that the version is not compatible as yet. I opened Internet Explorer instead and it worked with IE 7.

Once installed, you’ll see the green icon below indicating switch to go online or offline.

When you pull down the green button, click Offline and browser will show you status of download.

Once download is complete, a message tells you Google Reader is in offline mode, matched with a blue icon.

Well, you are now ready to read by Google Reader when you’re traveling by plane or when you expect not to have web access somewhere. Google Reader aggregates your subscriptions from news and blog sources.