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browser-sync posts

Filed under: Mozilla, Beta, Browsers

Mozilla Weave version .6 boosts performance, adds new features

Today, Mozilla Weave took another step forward. The browser synchronization add-on is now at version 0.6 and better than ever.

Apart from the old Weave sync kung fu - bookmarks, history, and passwords - the newest version can now keep your Personas up to date across multiple machines. Performance has gotten another boost, and there's a new about:weave page that allows for easier management of your preferences and Weave account.

[update] The first-time sync also now includes the option to specify which direction you want to sync. That's a welcome change, since it means no more deafult Firefox bookmarks sneaking into my Weave profile in the cloud.

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Filed under: Google, Open Source, Beta, Browsers

Early stages of sync functionality appear in Chrome nightly (gallery)

Announced just over a week ago, Google is working on resurrecting Browser Sync in Google Chrome. With the recent development jump to v4, it seems a good bet that sync will be an integral part of the next major release of the speedy browser.

In the most recent nightly builds, the pieces of the puzzle are starting to come together. Looking through the Chrome command line switches, I noticed the following lines:
   // Enable syncing bookmarks to a Google Account. const wchar_t kEnableSync[] = L"enable-sync"; 
Like any good dev channel tester would, I immediately appended the switch to my Chrome 4.0.202.0 shortcut and launched the browser again. With sync enabled, there is a new entry in the wrench menu as well as on the Personal Stuff tab of the options screen.

Don't get too excited when you press the buttons. Like Marvin the Martian learned after Bugs stole his Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator there won't be any Earth-shattering kaboom. For now, we can look. We'll have to wait for Google to flip the switch to see syncing in action.

Check the gallery after the break for screenshots, including early designs for the login and merge/sync pages!

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Filed under: Mozilla, Beta, Browsers

Mozilla Weave gets faster, adds Fennec support on WinMo in .5 release

I've been using Weave for a while now to stay on top of my browsing syncing chores. While it's still in beta, Weave has already come a long way since its initial release.

Yesterday, Mozilla Labs debuted version .5. The most noticeable change? Weave now stays out of the way while you're actively browsing in Firefox, waiting to go idle. On a mostly bare Firefox install (the only other addon I have installed is Personal Menu), Weave .4 caused the occasional performance hiccup. So far with .5, it's been smooth sailing.

The official blog post also reports improved performance in uploading and downloading - which I also noticed when setting up Firefox on my office system. While I can't provide an exact time, I'd estimate that it took roughly half the time to sync my profile from scratch as it did with .4.

Weave .5 also supports password and passphrase changes, handling for bookmark tags and smart folders, and adds support for Fennec on Windows Mobile. OpenSolaris users are now able to get in on the fun as well.

If you install Weave and you're concerned about security, you may want to head to its preferences screen and take the check out of the "automatically connect" box and choose not to remember your Weave password when you sign in next time.

Filed under: Internet, Google, Open Source

Google Browser Sync: I'm not dead yet!

Google Browser SyncGoogle may have decided to cease development of the Google Browser Sync plugin for Firefox, but that doesn't mean the utility will never see another update. Because rather than simply boxing up the source code and packing it away, Google decided to release the source code publicly under the BSD license.

Google Browser Sync is a utility that lets you synchronize your Firefox bookmarks, preferences, and cookies across multiple computers.

Now anyone can check out the source from the Google Code project page. While nobody's done anything really cool yet like make a version of Google Browser Sync that works with Firefox 3, it may just be a matter of time.

One thing that's particularly interesting is the fact that Ars Technica reports Google posted the source code online on June 13, the same day that Lifehacker confirmed the death of the official project. It's not clear which came first, the chicken or the egg. But either way, we're not complaining. If Google isn't going to continue developing this useful utility, then we're just glad that someone else may be able to pick up the torch.

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Graveyard Shift - zombie-busting Time Waster

With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet. They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...

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