Google Gears, a Firefox and Internet Explorer extension that allows users to navigate on compatible websites offline and synchronize them when going back online, is dead. Instead, Google is relying on HTML5’s native features for the same functionality.
While it’s common knowledge that Gears was going to die, Google recently edged it on its way by switching to the use of HTML5 for those features in its Chrome web browser. Going forward, support for Google Gears will be extremely limited, although it will be maintained until developers are able to port entire apps and their userbase to the new standards-based methodology.
Some of the functionality of Gears has already shown itself in Chrome, which features functions such as geolocation and database-related APIs. Google is asking developers to speak up in its Chromium HTML5 discussion group.
