Mozilla has been investigating ways to make it easy for users to carry information (bookmarks, history, etc…) from one browser to another. What they came up with is an extension called Weave, and it can be used across several computers to synchronize data.
After signing up you will receive a confirmation email (I got mine in a matter of seconds). The link provided will give you the information to get started, which primarily consists of the link to download the extension. You’ll then restart Firefox and setup the extension using a Wizard. Don’t worry, you’ll be able to change the settings at anytime:
(Click to Enlarge)
The initial transfer of data may take a little while to complete depending on how much has to be synchronized, and after that Firefox will scan for changes every 30 minutes. In the future they hope to take a new approach much like what the Foxmarks extension has done, where it synchronizes changes immediately when they occur.
This is by no means extravagant, which is expected from such an early release. It will surely be compared to Opera Link (review), and right now I would say Opera is ahead since they have an online interface for browsing bookmarks. I’m sure Mozilla will capitalize on “add-ons” for Weave, which would allow users to synchronize data/settings saved in the browser and even extensions. All of this could result in the ultimate backup for your browser.
You must be using a pre-release version of Firefox 3 in order to test this out, and I would say that Weave still needs some polish before hitting the mainstream market. I tried out the extension, but for the time being I don’t really feel like I need it.
Tip: If you’re looking to install the add-on without signing up again, just go to https://services.mozilla.com/ and click on the Need the add-on? link.
Get Mozilla Weave for Firefox 3
Thanks to “S” for the tip!
I think I will stick with Foxmarks for now. When they redid it recently it was with the thought of supporting Firefox 3.0, and a new version should come out sometime in January to make this a reality. I prefer to keep my extensions separate from my bookmarks, so I find this the perfect way to have my bookmarks and yet keep the rest of my profile separate. My main reason for this is to be able to use different extensions at work and home. Also, I love to be able to access my bookmarks in a web browser when on the go.
Foxmarks is the way to go if you’re just looking to synchronize bookmarks. What’s cool with Weave is that it also supports synchronizing your browser’s history, and with some add-ons could probably also synchronize settings and such.
I got a mac for Christmas
and just wondering if this will work fine for it?
If I want to synchronize settings, extensions and the like I use FEBE to accomplish this. The reason I prefer this method is I can pick and chose without bringing everything into my profile. In this way I have control of everything. I however can see how being able to do this automatically would be nice. I have considered the Google Browser Sync extension in the past for this very reason. However I still prefer to have more control over my browser and what is installed, rather than using an automatic setup like this.
I don’t think it should have any troubles working on other platforms.
Weave won’t be for everyone, but people who just wish to get bits and pieces of their profile synchronized across multiple computers will probably love this. It’s still a little rough around the edges, so I’m saving my final judgment until they are able to get a few more releases out the door.
I have been using Gmarks, my bookmarks go where ever I go