Xmarks extension alpha for Chrome arrives

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 developer channel for Chrome," Xmarks' Colin Bleckner said on the Xmarks blog Sunday. Xmarks formerly was called Foxmarks.

"We're doing this (closed test) so we can catch any serious issues we may have missed before letting thousands of users try it out. Hopefully we'll be able to ramp up our user count quickly," Bleckner said in a mailing list message.

The move comes just after Google released its own bookmark synchronization feature in the Windows version of Chrome, but it doesn't synchronize bookmarks with other browsers or even with the Google Bookmarks service.

Google is working hard on its extensions support in Chrome, but the feature remains a work in progress. Indeed, Aaron Boodman, a Chrome extensions developer, marveled that Xmarks produced even an alpha given the pace of change. "I'm shocked you could get anything at all done with us breaking everything every other release," he said in a mailing list message about Xmarks' announcement.

Another early extension for Chrome, one for Yahoo's Delicious bookmarks service, also is available.

[Gunit7677]

it's a good start, I use it with firefox and love it. Once they get the extensions sorted out better I'll be more willing to give Chrome an honest try.

[forever4now]

Cool! I alternate between Firefox 3.5 & Chrome on Ubuntu 9.04 & keeping bookmarks synchronized is a bit of a problem. I already use Xmarks for Firefox, so this will be an easy transition, once it is available for Chrome on Linux.

[liquidmetalband]

What I would like to see is a feature where your bookmarks (and later, history) are ONLY stored online, Then you wouldn't have to worry about deleting everything once you get off the computer.

[mjconver]

No interest here. No Adblock Plus == No Chrome.

[jake3373]

So why did u click on this article, just to post that comment?

[exactlyy]

hopefully within 10 years we'll have ABP & no script for chrome , they have been working on a master password for about a month and i belive it'll be ready within 2-3 years :D