Xmarks - Bookmark Sync and Search [Bookmarking]

If you're like me who owns multiple computers (one for work and one for personal use), or if you like surfing the net in public places (internet cafe or library), then you'll find this tool very useful.

Xmarks started out as a Firefox browser addon that allows users to upload their own bookmarks to the Xmarks server, then sync them across different computers. When I bookmark sites and save them as favorites, they're usually stored local on one computer (PC1). If I went to visit them later, I would either have to go back to PC1 or manually export these bookmarks and then import into my other computer (PC2).

Although there are great addons out there that provides ease of exporting/importing bookmarks, this process can be cumbersome over time.

This is where Xmarks shines. Once the addon is installed to the Firefox browser (Xmarks now also support other browsers such as Internet Explorer and Safari), it's very easy to import bookmarks from a local PC to the Xmarks server.

Then, with any other PCs that you wish to visit these bookmarks, simply install the addon and Xmarks will synchronize all your bookmarks together.

If you're concerned that computers at Internet Cafes or Public Libraries would not allow Firefox installation, you can even download a portable version of Firefox (PortableApps.com, another great website to be introduced later), install Xmarks and save them all onto a USB flash drive, and take them with you wherever.

Lately, Xmarks also provides a password syncing feature that saves user IDs and passwords on sites that you frequently visit. By using the pin number system, it allows automatic log in of website info, without worries of leaking confidential information to the browser cookies.

Once inside Xmarks, you can even create various profiles that allows you to dynamically configure bookmarks. For example, to minimize distraction at work, I've create a "work" profile that I would use at work while browsing the web in the office. These sites would be mostly for research. At home, I would create another profile named "home", that would include my social networking sites (facebook, friendfeed, last.fm, etc).

I even created a "portable" profile that I can bring with me anywhere in a USB flash drive, and still be able to enjoy visiting my favorite sites.

Finally, Xmarks takes advantage of Firefox' built-in Live Bookmarks (syndication) feature that would fetch updates from blogs and instantly transforms into an RSS reader.