Those of you who have upgraded to Firefox 3 may be feeling the loss of Google Browser Sync, Google’s free Firefox addon that previously allowed you to sync bookmarks, stored password, cookies and more across multiple computers. For folks like me, who work on multiple computers throughout the course of the day, this was an invaluable tool for keeping track of passwords at the very least.
I was heartbroken to discover that Google had effectively abandoned the project around the time that Firefox 3 came out – so much so that I delayed upgrading Firefox for a while. I was hoping they’d change their mind, or get around to updating it – but eventually I realized that Google Browser Sync has been discontinued, and the download has been replaced with the following text:
Google Browser Sync is no longer available for download. Instead, to get similar functionality, we suggest using Mozilla Weave, Google Toolbar for Firefox, or Foxmarks. Support for current Google Browser Sync users will continue through 2008. We’ve also posted the code to Google Code in hopes that someone will use it to develop something cool.
As such, it will not be updated for Firefox 3. However, the code has been made available to the public
Fortunately, the folks at Mozilla Labs came to the rescue, with their new project, Mozilla Weave. Mozilla Weave syncs forms, history, cookies, passwords, tabs and bookmarks – and even has support for Weave add-ins. Plus, you can mount your storage slot using WebDAV – although Mozilla strongly warns against using this space for general storage, as they may delete the contents
at any time.
I’ve installed it so far on Win XP and Mac OSX (Leopard), and it’s working smashingly. Learn more about the Weave project, including the basics of how it works and the fundamental principles, at the Mozilla Labs Weave page, or try it out by downloading it today!
