A laptop that can access information found on the net without having to go online? It sounds like a pipedream, but Webaroo - a hi-tech start-up, is aiming to provide a service that does just that. The company has already signed a deal with Acer to provision their laptops with technology that will enable a snapshot of the net to be put on. Ultimately, there will be a "web-to-go" package that crams the most useful parts of the web into a block of data 40GB in size. This is truly impressive stuff.
To start with, Webaroo has put together software that lets people download the bits of the web they find want so they can use them when they are mobile, and fast net connections are thin on the ground and even thinner in the air.
Those that download Webaroo will be able to pick sites to download to look at on a laptop or a Windows mobile device. Alternatively they can get "webpacks" that bring together a series of sites Webaroo thinks are most appropriate to a topic.