SHIFT: What Google Gears means for cloud computing   One of the
big trends of 2008 was cloud computing, or the idea that you
don't have to use applications or store information on your
computer's hard drive, because you can do it easily and
efficiently online. We've been able to store e-mail, photos and
documents online for years, but never has there been so much
good, free Web-based software to let us do it. Many of Google's
applications are so user-friendly that they've led some to
announce the impending death of the operating system and
software as we know it.  But 2009 may mark the beginning of a
new trend: reverse cloud computing, where you store data from
the cloud on your hard drive. Sound counterintuitive? It is, and
it isn't. Last week, Google announced that Gmail would work with
Gears, Google-developed software that lets Gmail work seamlessly
when it's not connected to the Internet. Hit the Continue jump
to explore the ups and downs of using Web applications when
you're not online.  Getting into Gea