Xmarks Comes to Google Chrome (Update: Invites Available!)
Xmarks, the bookmark-syncing service which began its life as a Firefox add-on, is now adding yet another browser to its supported list. Already available for Firefox, IE, and Safari, the company announced yesterday that it will now support Google Chrome, too. The feature is currently in closed alpha testing, meaning there are a limited number of spots available, but you can sign up to get your name on the invite list now.
Click through to read information about how you can get immediate access.
What Xmarks Does
If you haven't yet used Xmarks, you're missing out on one of the better bookmarking services available on the net today. Instead of having you bookmark and share your favorite sites with a network of friends like social bookmarking services Delicious and Diigo do, Xmarks lets you make use of the bookmarks you have saved right in your web browser itself. Once installed on your computer, the Xmarks add-on will keep that bookmark list in sync with any other computers you use, assuming they too have Xmarks installed.
That alone would make Xmarks a useful service, but it doesn't stop there. The company uses the data collected (anonymized of course) to recommend sites to you through integration with Google search. In your search results, Xmarks icons highlight top sites based on how many people have bookmarked them. Hover your mouse over those icons to see quick site info like popularity, rating, and related topics or click though for more details.
Xmarks for Chrome
Unfortunately, early adopters who made the leap to the newest web browser on the block, Google Chrome, have had to go without Xmarks for some time. And it's definitely one of the add-ons which make you question whether going Chrome-only is even really possible. Luckily for this group, the wait may be up: Xmarks has built a version of their extension for Chrome users.
The Chrome extension program is still very much under development - in fact, unless you're running the dev release of Chrome, this feature is out of reach. (See our tutorial on installing Chrome and Chromium side-by-side for another way to play with the latest Chrome features.) But you brave early adopters are now invited to test out the Chrome bookmark sync feature by signing up for the closed alpha program here. As you test the new extension, you can check the Xmarks for Chrome news page for updates on known issues and recent changes. The alpha release doesn't yet support advanced Xmarks features like the discovery features mentioned above, nor does it support sync profiles or running Xmarks on your own server. However, those features will be added in time.
Update! Invites Available!
We spoke with Xmarks and they're willing to give 10 ReadWriteWeb users exclusive access to try the alpha service without having to sign up and wait for approval. To get your invite, be one of the first 10 people to leave a comment on this post. Remember you have to provide your email address (it will not be published).
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If you have the latest Dev build you can use Chrome's built in Google Bookmark Sync. http://lifehacker.com/5339482/how-to-enable-bookmark-syncing-in-chrome-without-an-add+on
Posted by: y0himba
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August 18, 2009 6:42 AM
I'd like an Xmarks invite please :) Thanks Sarah
One of the apps I truly miss from FF...would love an invite...thanks Sarah.
Well, First of all, I'd love an Xmarks invite. The service sounds amazing, and as an avid chrome user, I'd love a way to sync bookmarks between my work and home computers, especially since i often continue work from home or save article to read later on and end up emailing myself the links. Looking forward to testing it out.
Thanks Sarah!
Would like to test my xmarks on chrome. Thanks Sarah
would like to test it
Would love to get an invite, I miss bookmark sync. Thanks sarah.
I want!
I would love to test this, I can't live without XMarks
I'd love to give it a try!
Xmarks seems like the bookmarking service everyone needs, sign me up!
Woot can't we make that 12 comments :)
Ooh... 3 people too late. If you get a couple extra invites, please count me in :)
Trying out my luck being 13th!
Me too trying out my luck.. How about not limiting the invites to 10 and instead expand that to first 20 comments? :)
Heres hoping.
I think that is ultimately up to xmarks.
I still find it pretty funny that 10 people have already gotten there first and people are still asking.
Posted by: http://openid.aol.com/atomic1fire
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August 18, 2009 12:56 PM
Hoping also that it goes to 20!
Please make it 20!
Pleease!!
I doubt you have any invites left, but I'd love one.
xxdesmus @ Google's email service.
As you test the new extension, you can check the Xmarks for Chrome news page for updates on known issues and recent changes.
Poor little chrome users...I use thank xmarks everyday!
Having been a great fan of Foxmarks, I gradually found myself disquieted by the way it changed over time into Xmarks.
I didn't like the intrusive nature of the search results and, assurances of anonymity (which I don't recall) aside, I began to feel that I had a spy in my browser.
The final straw came after while of having problems logging into Gmail and other sites. It appeared that Xmarks' javascript was interfering with the form submission. This was probably a bug, only affecting FF3.5 betas on OSX. One disabled Xmarks later, the problem was gone.
Posted by: simonthompson.myopenid.com
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August 19, 2009 1:17 AM
I have been waiting for X-marks to release the extension for Chrome for a while, but now with the new Google Chrome 4 Dev version I don't see a need for this extension anymore.
The great advantage of Chrome's built-in sync features, is that it pushes out any changes from "the cloud" to your browsers, instead of waiting for xmarks to go and sync any changes.
I've been using delicious for years now, but I've been looking for a decent alternative.
Delicious works well for what I need it to... but it's soo damn slow!
i was going to look into moving over to Xmarks, but it only imports the last 100 bookmarks from Delicious. I mean, come on... I probably have several thousand links in there. What am I going to do with 100?
Sorry, all. I only had 10 invites to give out. But everyone should sign up at http://beta.xmarks.com/welcome - you will get in soon enough. :)
Invite me. I would love an xmarks invite crgrant@gmail.com
Yes send me an invite too please...
david wants xmarks
invite me!
I totally agree!