Yesterday, Google made ‘Google Gears’ available for open beta testing. An open source browser extension, Google Gears lets users access online applications even when they’re not connected to the net. Currently, Google Gears works with Google Reader, Google’s RSS feed aggregator, and will presumably soon work with Google Docs & Spreadsheets and Gmail. Google Gears tackles the biggest stumbling block to convincing users to give online apps a serious look. If all you need to create and use office documents and email, whether online or offline, is a free Google account, Microsoft may find its Office monopoly in jeopardy. If you can’t wait to try Google Gears click here.