[noleli2]

After reading this article and taking a peak at Google Gears, I couldn't help but wonder if Google apps using gears might be a part of the next generation of .Mac.

Imagine a Mail.app plugin that uses the "server" portion of Gears (not the client-side scripting part) that allows for true access to Gmail from Mail.app (not POP access, but real access, so messages statuses are always in sync and even labels can be read/written from within Mail)---online or offline.

Other ideas exist, too, and some parts of Gears looks like it provides the interface---at least on Google's end---to the Google apps.

Originally Posted by http://www.macnn.com/articles/07/06/08/google.apple.partnership/ Meanwhile, an InfoWorld article speculates on some specific technology tie-ins: Google spreadsheet joining Apple's Pages and Keynote; iWork as a caching front end for Google Docs and Spreadsheets; a Leopard virtual machine that functions like Parallels in Coherence mode booting from a Google hosting OS.

Where do you see .Mac going, and do you think Google will play a role?

[Kickaha]

Here's a fun tidbit... Google Gears is JavaScript and XHTML, no Java.

The iPhone doesn't have Java, it has... JavaScript and XHTML.

The possibilities are interesting, no?

"iLife" - a social network based around Apple's iTunes (music and film) property and Google's YouTube with Google providing the back-end to Mac webmail, bookmarks, isynch and idisk and offers a new web calendar functionality. That's what I would like to see.

[BuonRotto]

With the Yahoo! sync framework added in 10.4.10 and the push email service Apple is touting for the iPhone, I wonder if .Mac email might be rolled into Yahoo! mail in lieu of, or perhaps with other Google services. I still don't know how Apple plans to revamp dotMac, and how they or anyone else plans to charge and therefore make money on a bunch of services that are free to a point (given advertising, for-pay upgrades, etc.)

[DaveGee]

Originally Posted by Kickaha Here's a fun tidbit... Google Gears is JavaScript and XHTML, no Java. The iPhone doesn't have Java, it has... JavaScript and XHTML. The possibilities are interesting, no?

Potentially fun tidbit #2... Google Gears makes use of SQLite as its data-store and as we all know OS X has SQLite and it was said (but I can't personally confirm) that as part of the Safari for Windows installation process one of the items installed was.... wait for it... thats right SQLite!

Now we all know how much Safari (on its own) relies on SQLite (zero?) so what I wonder would be the need for Apple to include it?

...Edit...

Just found confirmation in a round about way:

http://coderseye.com/2006/sqlite3-ma...ari-crash.html

That's a story about Safari crashing under OS X when the person upgraded to SQLite v3... So it would seem that Safari does indeed need or in some way utilize SQLite. So it would seem to pretty much deflate my 'why would Apple include SQLite conspiracy theory' but none the less it's potentially interesting.

I'm just curious as to why Safari is using SQLite... Cache or history perhaps?

Dave

[Brad]

I believe Safari uses SQLite for managing its bookmarks.

[MacGregor]

Man, I've been slow on the uptake for this, but if Google can take on MS apps outright, then Apple can just play both sides and not have Steve publicly competing with Bill! Brilliant! Hopefully the Google apps are elegant, fast and with small footprints so that they scale from phone to desktop easily.

.mac with a Google backend would be awesome, but I don't see Steve giving up that much control.

If only Steve would open up widget development a little more, we might have a perfect storm a brewin'- Apple/Google/AT&T

[TednDi]

.mac + ATT = voip for the home and potentially from roaming overseas through .mac website via att.

ATT can thus make $$ on the transaction and improve .mac and iphone functionality.