Google Browser Sync Vs. Foxmarks

david's picture
Submitted by david on 17 June 2006 - 6:09pm

After hearing about Googles Browser Sync, a Firefox extention that stores your bookmarks, passwords, history, cookies and tabs on their server so you use the same information on another machine, I decided to give it a try. I also decided to give Foxmarks a try. Foxmarks in a Firefox extention that syncs bookmarks from one computer to your others.

Both extentions are in beta, which is probably why they don't work. At least for me. (My 10.2.8 iMac is running Firefox 1.5.0.3, and my Windows XP is running Firefox 1.5.0.4. And I'm on dial-up. Slow - errr, painfully slow. So that may be taken into account.)

Google's Browser Sync doesn't work at all. Well, the first time I ran it it did. But after that, I haven't been able to connect my browser with Google, getting an error 51 time-out. So I haven't been able to sync up my Mac with my Windows.

Foxmarks is a little better. Syncing works, most of the time. Last night before I went to bed, I rearranged my bookmark folders on my Windows machine, putting all of them together, then putting all my livefeeds in a folder. I sync'd it with the Foxmarks server, and went to bed. This morning I fired up my Mac, re-synced it, and no changes were made.

Plus, I lost a bookmark I made after I sync'd.

(I just checked my Windows set-up, and Foxmarks has disappeared from it. Gone. Vanished. It's not even installed. Yet it was there last night.)

My Bottom Line: It's a crap shoot. Google doesn't work (for me.) Foxmarks almost does (if it decides to exist on your computer.)

This is new stuff, but still needs a lot of work. My experience with this has definately been sour.

Guess I'll be looking for other alternatives....

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Comments

wholesomedick's picture

wholesomedick (not verified)

4 August 2006 - 4:15am

Google Browser Sync runs painfully slow for me on any connection. It really can't be moving that much data. Why won't Google Fix it?

jason's picture

jason (not verified)

11 August 2006 - 8:16pm

it runs really slow for me too. not only that, it makes Firefox slow to a crawl on my Mac (PPC Mac Mini, 1GB RAM). Firefox randomly consumes vast amounts of CPU, switching between tabs takes forever, typing into text input fields on forms causes 100% cpu usage. I disabled the extension, restarted, all is back to normal.

Neat idea, but not totally there yet.

ephebus's picture

ephebus (not verified)

28 September 2006 - 1:42pm

Well I'll have to blame it on your connection (or MAC!) because Foxmarks has been working non-stop to give me the best bookmarking service ever. Lost bookmarks between computers have been a pain in the ass for me for some years now, but looks like it's solved with this little 131 KB addon. No fuss, either. And it's instantaneous, synchs even before I start browsing. I'm on a 2MB ADSL connection, running windows XP on a AMD Athlon XP 1800 ... Well, better luck next time.

Robert Kennington's picture

Robert Kennington (not verified)

20 December 2007 - 5:58am

I just started playing with Foxmarks and noticed it is slow. Although, it is not as slow as you initially reported. But, I have a broadband connection. On the other hand I use del.ciio.us which is an entirely different way to manage and navigate (i.e. no hierarchy) bookmarks. Its add on to Firefox is really slick and I do not suffer from performance problems when it synchronizes. I just type Ctrl-B, type in a key word, and click the bookmark of interest. However, I keep a handful of Foxmark bookmarks for the quick access to sites I use often.

Framer chees's picture

Framer chees (not verified)

2 June 2008 - 4:04am

... Which is why I use both Google Browser Sync and Foxmarks - the former for cookies and saved passwords.

Now if only we could convince the authors of the new Yahoo! del.icio.us Firefox extension to work with Google Browser Sync sans bookmarks, and we'd really have something. (If you haven't seen it, try it - you'll switch back, but it's a real paradigm shift, and I think while it's a so-so first implementation, it will improve.)

Felix's picture

Felix (not verified)

25 March 2009 - 10:09am

I really do NOT need a new browser smiley

david's picture

david

15 April 2009 - 10:21am

I'm sticking with Firefox.

Anne's picture

Anne (not verified)

15 June 2009 - 2:45am

I do not need a new browser

Robert Neumann's picture

Robert Neumann (not verified)

16 June 2009 - 7:14am

I also tried it, but it was really slow. Furthermore there are much more important thing in the world than a new browser. So I decided to be with my Internet-Explorer smiley

Firefox's picture

Firefox (not verified)

9 July 2009 - 9:43pm

Foxmarks is now actually called Xmarks. It's also now available not only for Firefox, but for Internet Explorer and Safari as well.

Jeffrey's picture

Jeffrey (not verified)

4 November 2009 - 2:06pm

If it aint broke don't fix it. I tried it though ....for a day or two..then moved back to fire fox and will stick with it until further reviews talk me into turning back smiley

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