Google offline, Gmail as default email, and Linux gOS!

Today, I wanted to set the default email client to the generic Gmail account used in our lab.  In the 20 minutes I spent figuring out how to accomplish this goal, I discovered three beautiful things worth sharing with the world.

1.  Gmail can work even when you are offline.  Look in your gmail settings for "enable offline" somethingand follow instructions to install Google Gears.  Then enjoy writing emails and so on even when your internet connection gets dropped as happens occasionally over DSL at my home (grrrr! At&T).  Note that Gears also enables offline functionality of Google Calendars

2.  Gmail can be the default email client on your operating system.  Google Notifier enables this functionality by routing the email generation to Gmail in your default web browser.  My quick test of Google Notifier on Mac OS X showed that it isn't perfect.  It failed to bring in a PDF file or a large amount of text, but it managed simple text messages.

(Of course if you're like me, you may already have a mail handling program which automatically does all the above.  Google Gears and Notifier take the work out of setting up this kind of functionality, so if you don't need the mail program, this might be the way to go.)

Finally, for the discovery I am most excited about!

3.  gOS, "good Operating System" fully integrates a version of Ubuntu Linux with all the standard Google applications and widgets in a beautiful user interface that reminds me of the grace and beauty of Mac OS X.  Finally, I'll brush the dust off of the old desktop at home and give it some new life with the gOS.

Update:  It appears that thinkgOS has left Linux gOS as is and shifted to making a netbook operating system where the browser is the os.   Sad news for a product with so much possibility.