xmarks

It's not uncommon for people to have multiple computers these days: home computer and work computer, or desktop and laptop. Although the ubiquity of computers is convenient, spreading our computer use over several different machines can make it difficult to keep up with our data. Fortunately, bookmarks are something that you can easily sync across machines or browsers thanks to Xmarks for Chrome. This simple extension keeps your bookmarks consistent across locations, ensuring that you always have access to the sites you need to remember.

Like most Chrome extensions, Xmarks installs easily. The extension then guides you through a … Read more

In late September, Xmarks, the popular browser add-on that syncs bookmarks, saved passwords, open tabs, and so on, took its some 4.5 million fans on a roller-coaster ride.

It announced the imminent shutdown of the service because of lack of funding just to retract that a few days later when CEO James Joaquin hinted that a knight-in-shining-armor rescue was likely.

Now that rescue has been confirmed. In a blog posted today, Xmarks announced that it has been acquired by LastPass, a cross-platform password management service. This also means that Xmarks is now in transition from a "free" to a "freemium" business model.

The new model, which is similar to that of LastPass, allows people to utilize most of Xmarks' existing functions for free. More-savvy users, however, can also opt for Xmarks Premium, which costs $12 per year and includes new enhanced features such as support for iPhone iOS and Android, priority support, and more.… Read more

The public announcement last month that browser bookmark sync company Xmarks was out of money and options and preparing to shut down may be the thing that saves the service, even while the company itself ceases to exist.

CEO James Joaquin has been uncommonly forthright in his blog about the events, miscalculations, and market changes that led to the failure of the Xmarks business. He also told me he's been gratified and surprised by the serious interest he's been getting from potential acquirers now that the company has stated it has no independent future. Joaquin said in a … Read more

Earlier this week, free and cross-platform bookmark sync tool Xmarks announced it would be closing up shop come January of next year, but there may be some life left in it yet.

This morning, on the Xmarks company blog, CEO James Joaquin said that the company is "revisiting the idea of Xmarks as a premium service"--something it has never offered, and one of the factors that led to the company failing to turn a profit.

To gauge interest in that idea, Joaquin and the other Xmarks founders have set up a page on Pledgebank where they're … Read more

Two million users with 5 million computers storing 1.2 billion bookmarks doth not a business make.

That's what Xmarks, a company that for a time ruled the technical specialty of synchronizing bookmarks among different computers and browsers, concluded. After four years' effort, it's closing up shop in about 90 days after finding no good way to convert its popularity into profit.

The company got its start as Foxmarks, a Firefox extension, but eventually spread to Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Apple's Safari, and Google's Chrome. It let people synchronize not only their bookmarks but also passwords … Read more

With a virtual flood of new apps and updates coming in to the iTunes App Store every day, a few are bound to slip through the approval process that maybe should not have--or at least would not have passed muster with Apple guidelines. I personally don't think Apple needs to filter apps (as long as they work), but, at the same time, if they have a family-friendly vision of the App Store, I have no problem with that.

Two days ago an app that slipped by the App overseers was a real winner, but probably made a few too many people in high places angry. The app in question is called MiTube, formerly available to jailbroken iPhones only, that lets you easily search for and download YouTube videos. A couple of us here heard about MiTube (free) Wednesday morning, downloaded the app, then noticed later that it got pulled by Apple at around 7 p.m. By 5 p.m., MiTube was already No. 11 on the top-free-apps list.

I guess we all know why something like this usually doesn't get accepted. YouTube wants page views, submitters want to make money, and letting people download videos to local drives (like the iPhone) defeats their business purposes. It's sad, really, because as much as I'd like to recommend MiTube, it's no longer available.

Do you think Apple/YouTube/Google should let these apps get posted and not worry or do you think they have every right to keep these apps under wraps? Let me know in the comments.

This week's apps--both 99 cents--are a utility to bring your desktop browser bookmarks to your iPhone and a surprisingly fun and challenging labyrinth game sequel.… Read more

Browser add-on Xmarks has introduced a major new synchronization feature over the past few weeks for its multiple browser plug-ins that lets users sync open tabs across multiple browsers and computers. The new feature (download Xmarks for Firefox | Chrome | Internet Explorer | Safari) offers far better control over tab opening than merely forcing all your tabs to appear on all your computers and browsers. Instead, Xmarks politely tells you which tabs are synced under which browsers and lets you open them individually.

Once the add-on is installed, you'll be asked to create an account if you don't have one. … Read more

Some selected Chrome users who want to synchronize browser bookmarks with their other browsers now can get a start.

Xmarks, whose browser addition can keep bookmarks synced across Firefox, Internet Explorer, and the Mac OS X version of Safari, has released an alpha version of a Chrome extension to selected testers.

"We've been swamped with requests to create a version of Xmarks for the Google Chrome browser. We're hard at work on that and, thanks to some new APIs (application programming interfaces) from Google, are pleased to report that we have Xmarks synchronization working in the Windows … Read more