How to Setup Firefox Sync

For those of you who pay attention to my other projects on the web, you might have noticed my post about getting a my first cell phone.  I picked up the Droid X the other day, and one of the first applications I downloaded for it was Firefox 4. The browser experience is simple and very lightweight.  So with Firefox 4 on my desktop and my cell phone, how did I get them to talk to one another?

From your desktop Firefox install, click on the Firefox button and set up Firefox Sync.  You will be asked to fill out your email address, password and fill in a recpatcha to make sure you are not a robot. Now, do the same on your mobile device.  You will want to swipe to Tools > Preferences and tap on Setup Sync. You’ll then be given a unique single use sync code.  Go back to your desktop Firefox and click on the Firefox button, click on Options and then go to the Sync tab. From this window, click on "Add a Device" and enter the code on your cell phone.

Note: If your using an iPhone, the sync process will be a little different for you, since you will have to use Firefox Home instead.  Check here for more details on how to get that set up and running.

Using Firefox sync has made my transition between my new cell phone and my desktop much easier.

Firefox 4 Beta 8 has been released and continues to show us all the promising world that Firefox 4 will deliver once the final product has been released. Along with patching a few glitches and holes, this recent beta also brings better support for Firefox Sync, expanded support for 3D graphics in the browser and a revamped Add-ons Manager window. 

Better Browser Syncing

Mozilla believes that syncing the browser between computers and mobile devices is really where the future is at. Firefox 4 Beta 8 now streamlines the Firefox Sync setup.  This makes it a lot easier to bring the Awesome bar history, bookmarks, open tabs and passwords with you anywhere. 

Add-on Manager Bliss

I am in love with the fact that they are doing more to integrate the Add-ons Manager with the rest of the browsing experience too.  It seems like common sense to put this in a tab, rather than a new popup window. Here is a quick preview of what the list view will look like inside of the new Add-ons Manager.

3D Graphics Come to Firefox

Rather than explaining the science behind the new 3D graphic support I think this video demonstration of Firefox 4 will give you a much more vivid picture of where the world of browsing might be headed in the future.

Are you excited yet? You can go pick up Firefox 4 Beta 8 from the Firefox 4 Beta website.

Xmarks may live? For those of you who were sad to see Xmarks close up shop, there might be one last thing you can do to try to save it.  Xmarks has launched a pledge campaign to stay alive.  So, what must you do?  If you want to show your support, all they are asking is for you to pledge $10 to $20.  This is not an actual donation, but instead is a vote of confidence saying that, "Yeah, I’d pay for Xmarks".

If 100,000 people express interest in seeing Xmarks stay alive, then Xmarks might get a second chance.  It is a pretty large goal to meet – however I do have to wish Xmarks the best of luck in chasing this new business model, and I do hope they are successful.

Your web browser history is something you should be able to take around with you, no matter the browser you use.  Unfortunately it is not in any browser’s best interest to talk to each other, so you must rely on a third party to get the job done.  Infoaxe does the trick.

This add-on for Firefox will save full text web history (and make it searchable).  They pretty much log all the websites you browse though, and then create a search engine where you can search through pages you have visited before in the past.

This video does a great job at explaining the basics about Infoaxe:

Overall, it is a neat tool and takes a different approach to this age old problem of getting your browser history in sync.  You can download it and try it out via the Firefox Add-ons web site.

Just to recap, the idea of Firefox Home is simple.  It uses the Firefox Sync service to keep your desktop history, bookmarks and open tabs accessible via your iPhone or iPod touch.

How to Setup

First, make sure you have Firefox Sync set up and running via your desktop Firefox installation. Next, go to the App Store on your iPhone or iPod Touch and search for Firefox Home (you can also install Firefox Home via iTunes). Then, all you have to do is launch the application on your iPhone or iPod Touch, enter your Firefox Sync account information and your secret phase.  You are finished.  Now you can take your Firefox browsing history with you, anywhere you go.

iPad Support?

So will we see iPad support soon for Firefox Home?  According to the Firefox Home FAQ page:

Firefox Home 1.0 for the iPhone will work on the iPad, but it is not optimized for the iPad.

So, sounds like it works – but might have to wait till a later version before it works really well.

Firefox Home brings your Firefox history, bookmarks, open tabs and the Awesome bar to your Apple portable products.  Not only are the sync features handy, but overall it is more convenient to browse using this great tool because you avoid having to type and re-type long and painful URLs or spend time trying to find that website you know you have bookmarked in your browser.  Firefox may not be allowed on the iPhone (due to Apple’s multiple browser rule) but Firefox Home is the next best thing.

If anybody has tried it out, please feel free to leave your own experiences in the comments.  Being an iPhone and iPod Touch-less person – I am waiting to see what your experiences are.

Well, we all know we are not going to see Firefox on the iPhone.  Then again, we might get the next best thing with Firefox Home.  Using the technology behind Firefox Sync, this iPhone app with give an Firefox user access to their browser history, bookmarks and tabs from their recent browser session. In other words, you are kind of getting Firefox – but exactly the way you use it in your day to day life now.

Want to see it in action?  Check out this short video tour of the unbranded version:

It it still looks a little rough, do not worry.  Mozilla promises to polish it a ‘bit more before submitting it to the Apple App Store.

Even though I do not have an iPhone, I think this “next best thing” project they have going on here is pretty nice.  You can learn more about Firefox Home and development process on the Mozilla Wiki.

Do you use multiple computers and want to sync your saved passwords between them all? LastPass is an extension for Firefox that will allow you to do that easily within the browser.  LastPass hides all your individual passwords behind one master password.  When you type in that master password, then LastPass automatically logs you in to any web site you have set it up to remember. 

Along with the whole password syncing and simplification, you can also set LastPass up to store secure notes for you, or automatically fill in forms for you.  This might possibly be the best Firefox password related extension on the market today, plain and simple.

Here are a few more features of LastPass worth mentioning:

• Access and manage your data from multiple computers seamlessly
• Share logins with friends and let others share logins with you
• Use One Time Passwords, and a Screen Keyboard to help keep you safe while on the road.
• Supports IE as well, so if you switch browsers you’re always in sync, as well as when you switch computers
• Supports Opera, Google Chrome, Safari, iPhone, Opera Mini, via Bookmarklets
• Supports importing passwords from other password managers such as Roboform, Keepass, PasswordSafe, MyPasswordSafe, Sxipper, TurboPasswords, PassPack, Firefox and IE’s built in password manager

So, if you have been in search of a way to sync up your online passwords, and need a tool to help you do so, LastPass is definitely worth checking into. To learn more about the LastPass service, go check out LastPass.com and to pick up the add-on go visit the Firefox Add-ons web site.

If you do a lot of work online, being able to take notes as you work is definitely a good thing.  Rather than scribbling on random sheets of paper or bouncing between Firefox and a notepad-like program, keep it all in Firefox with QuickFox Notes. This multi-tab note taking extension is awesome.

Some of the features include:

• Simple & Multi tab
• Auto save notes
• Check spelling
• Changeable font size
• Changeable background color
• Easy search tool
• Various keyboard shortcuts

Another nice feature is that it saves your notes in the bookmark files, so your notes will always be in sync, if you have installed one of the bookmark syncing add-ons like Xmarks or Mozilla Weave. If you are in need of a handy note taking application from within Firefox, give QuickFox Notes a shot.

So which bookmark add-ons for Firefox are downloaded most often?  Here are the top ten most downloaded bookmark extensions for the browser.

• SmarterFox – Browse faster by speeding up common tasks – faster downloading, searching, visiting favorites, copy & paste, and more.
• Xmarks (formerly Foxmarks) – Xmarks is the #1 bookmarking add-on. Install it on all your computers to keep your bookmarks and (optionally) passwords backed up and synchronized.
• Delicious Bookmarks – Delicious Bookmarks is the official Firefox add-on for Delicious, the world’s leading social bookmarking service.
• StumbleUpon- StumbleUpon discovers web sites based on your interests, learns what you like and brings you more.
• Speed Dial – Quicker direct access to your most visited web sites and saved links.
• Google Toolbar – Not sure why people are still using this, however it did make it on my list of non-evil toolbars, so go figure.
• Brief -  Brief makes reading RSS feeds as easy and intuitive as it gets. Designed to have exactly the right set of features, it is powerful and simple at the same time.
• Fast Dial – Much like Speed Dial, this add-on gives you a quick visual way to access a number of web sites all from one page; showing thumbnails for each.
• iMacros – Automate Firefox. Record and replay repetitious work. If you love the Firefox web browser, but are tired of repetitive tasks like visiting the same sites every days, filling out forms, and remembering passwords, then iMacros for Firefox is the solution you’ve been dreaming of!
• Multirow Bookmarks Toolbar – This add-on does exactly what you would expect, it gives you multiple bookmark rows.  Yes, I like it when they name add-ons about what they do. 

There you have it, these add-ons have been downloaded more times than any other, and all will help you in one way, shape, or form with your bookmarks.  Have another favorite that you think deserves to be on the list?  Leave a comment, and tell me why.

Why make the move?  Well, one would guess that sharing links might be a more profitable business model, more so than bookmark syncing alone.  Via the Xmarks blog, here are some FAQs for those of you who might have questions about the change:

• Xmarks is a superset of Foxmarks – it adds web discovery features to our world-class bookmark sync.
• If you choose to upgrade to Xmarks, it will work seamlessly with your existing Foxmarks account and will sync with your other computers running Foxmarks.
• Foxmarks.com and our existing Foxmarks add-ons won’t change overnight. We expect to have upgrades to all three Foxmarks versions available by the end of March and we’ll provide you with more detailed info once we return from the DEMO conference.
• We’re still hard at work finding better, faster ways to sync more things in your browser.

So what new features will be brought on with the new business model?

Smarter Search – In your Google search results, Xmarks will highlight the top three sites based on bookmarking history.  Put your mouse over the special icon to the side of the search results to learn more information such as reviews, and rankings.

Site Info Lookup – Clicking on the Xmarks logo in your location bar will bring up a detailed box letting you know more information about the site you are on, and help you discover other sites just like it.

Then of course, you have the bookmark and password backup and syncing capabilities that Foxmarks already brought to the table.  The Xmarks browser add-on is Firefox only right now, but they promise to have Internet Explorer and Safari versions running soon.  Firefox fans can grab the Xmarks add-on here to try it out.  It is worth pointing out that you can install Xmarks even if you have the Foxmarks add-on installed on your computer. Xmarks will upgrade your current Foxmarks add-on and continue to sync and back up your bookmarks (and optionally passwords).

So what do you think about the change?  Excited about the new features, or disappointed that an old Firefox friend is changing its ways?