Why only Chrome, you ask? Well, Google says that other browsers haven’t implemented the specifications that are needed to run their Offline Mode, specifically the FileSystem API. Will we see Mozilla make room for Google’s Offline Mode anytime soon? Probably not.

To get your sans-Internet Gmail shenanigans going, you’ll need the Gmail Offline app from the Chrome App Store. From there, it’s just a matter of clicking on it whenever you don’t have a connection. The interface should look very familiar to tablet users, since it looks almost identical to the Gmail tablet web interface. Once you establish an Internet connection, the Gmail Offline app will automatically synchronize everything.

Offline Google Docs and Calendar are a little different from Offline Gmail. You won’t need an extension or app, since they both work seamlessly between online and offline modes. All you have to do is head into the upper-right corner and click the gear icon. From there it’s just a matter of checking the box for offline access. If you’re not yet seeing this option, Google is slowly rolling out the new feature throughout the week, so be patient.

At the moment, Docs and Calendar are view-only in offline mode, but Google is making it a point to edit offline in the future.

The post Google Brings Back Offline Support to Gmail, Adds Offline Docs and Calendar first appeared on Techerator.

Once I logged in, the app was an absolute breeze to use and setup. CloudPull did its job perfectly. Once you download the app, there is no installation to go through. Instead, you just navigate to your downloads folder and drag the CloudPull app into your applications folder.

When you launch CloudPull, you will be asked for the username and password to the Google Account that you would like to back up. Enter your information and look below to find a few check marks that let you choose which Google services you would like to back up to your computer from the following list: Docs, Reader, Calendar, and Contacts.

Once you’ve submitted your choices, the app begins to work automatically, pulling all of your files from Google’s cloud and saving them into the app. From there, you can keep them stored within the app, which means they are saved in the following location by default:

[code lang=”bash”]

/Users/(Your Home Folder)/Library/Application Support/CloudPull/backups/

[/code]

Or you have the “Restore to file…” option that lets you save specific files to your hard drive in a location of your choosing.

Additionally, there is the Preferences panel which is accessible from the top menu bar: CloudPull > Preferences. In this area of the program, you can add multiple accounts that you would like backed up (as shown below).

There is also the Advanced tab where you can set a specific folder that you would like to have your items automatically saved. I changed mine to my Documents folder, for example, and created a “Google Back Up” folder within it so that it would be more accessible. The Advanced Tab is also where you can change the frequency of back ups, as well as the length of time that you’d like to store outdated files. Another option you have is to toggle whether or not you want CloudPull to start automatically when you first sign in to your computer and whether or not you’d like it to run in the background.

I highly recommend the CloudPull, especially if you don’t completely trust Google with all of your important stuff. It does exactly what it says it will and it does it very, very well.

The post Back Up Your Google Docs, Reader, Calendar and Contacts with CloudPull for Mac first appeared on Techerator.

But then, they did something even cooler and bolder than diving into the social networking realm: they updated Gmail with new themes and revamped Google Calendar! Isn’t that amazing! These new changes are a direct result of the Google+ launch in order to make Google’s products look more streamlined and uniform, as well as continuing the progress towards cleaner aesthetics.

The new look for Google Calendar will be turned on automatically, but you’ll have to activate the new Gmail themes yourself through the use of special new “Preview” themes. Gmail themes can be found by clicking the settings icon in the top right corner of your Gmail account (by your email name), selecting “Mail Settings”, and then going to the “Themes” tab. You can then select either “Preview” or “Preview (Dense)”, the latter having less padding between each item in your inbox.

And for those of you still living under rocks without a Google account, here’s a few pictures to show off the neatness.

Before:

Old Gmail

Old Google Calendar

After:

New Gmail

New Google Calendar

I’d say that Google cleans up quite nicely for its couple hundred million users. And that’s something you can truly leave the rock behind for.

The post Google Releases New Themes for Gmail and Google Calendar first appeared on Techerator.