Slashdot Mirror
Bookmark Syncing Service Xmarks Closes For Good On May 1 (betanews.com)
Remember that popular browser extension that let you sync your bookmarks on multiple devices?
Launched in 2006 by Foxmarks (a company created by EFF co-founder Mitch Kapor), it was saved from death in 2010 when it was acquired by the password-management service LastPass. But now BetaNews reports:
If you're a user of Xmarks, there's some bad news for you -- the service is closing down... The bookmark syncing tool, which is available as an addon for Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari, is to be shuttered on May 1... Emails have also been sent out to registered users notifying them of the impending closure.
"On May 1, 2018, we will be shutting down Xmarks... After this date, your bookmarks should remain available in any previously accessed browser, but they will no longer sync and your Xmarks account will be deactivated... After careful consideration and evaluation, we have decided to discontinue the Xmarks solution so that we can continue to focus on offering the best possible password vaulting to our community."
It was apparently especially popular with long-time Slashdot reader vm, who writes "I have held on to my Xmarks account over the years because I can always get to them despite changes in operating systems, browsers, employers, etc.
"What do other folks use that may also have a mobile option?"
"On May 1, 2018, we will be shutting down Xmarks... After this date, your bookmarks should remain available in any previously accessed browser, but they will no longer sync and your Xmarks account will be deactivated... After careful consideration and evaluation, we have decided to discontinue the Xmarks solution so that we can continue to focus on offering the best possible password vaulting to our community."
It was apparently especially popular with long-time Slashdot reader vm, who writes "I have held on to my Xmarks account over the years because I can always get to them despite changes in operating systems, browsers, employers, etc.
"What do other folks use that may also have a mobile option?"
APK IS GOD
My previous post was unjustly modded down. This is censorship.
No. It's called 'garbage removal'. You don't know what censorship is.
... and just use Google Chrome everywhere, and so bookmark syncing is built in (and works great).
Iâ(TM)ve been using pinboard.in since itâ(TM)s early days. They started as a del.icio.us clone with a good business model and last year acquired delicious. Canâ(TM)t say enough good things about this service.
https://blog.pinboard.in/blog/
.
XMarks was an excellent, even superb, product in its heyday. I wonder whatever happened to them?
Obsolete project.
I used it with eGroupware. I normally selected the "Sync with your own Server" Option that stored the Book Marks in a JSON File over DAV in eGroupware on my local domain controllers. Thw issue became, it started to update itself to disable that functionality whenever it could in favor of LastPass. I'd still like to get the whole "Sync on your own Server" Functionality as a JSON file if possible.
I've never used one of these bookmark syncing services, but admittedly I'd love to. I am reading of a lot of options on the comments here but, as a security researcher and privacy advocate, I wonder: are these services able to read your bookmarks? Because that would be a big no-no for me.
Ideally these services should store an encrypted database of your bookmarks, and the user only inserts their password locally (i.e. when they set up the client/browser extension on a new device). Possibly the size of the database should be fixed, or increasing by fixed amounts, so it would be harder for the remote service even to see when you add or remove a bookmark.
I don't know if that's exactly how they work, if someone knows more I'd be happy to be informed. I find bizarre that this crucial feature is not openly mentioned. I don't think I will ever use a syncing service where the [insert your favorite 3-letter agency here] can just knock at their doors and request a list of my bookmarks.
Even better would be the availability of open source server code, so you can run your own syncing service, e.g. on a VPS or home server.
Pale Moon has a syncing service, and it's not connected to any giant corporation that makes a living sucking the marrow out of your privacy.
http://www.palemoon.org/
I'm sure something that uses Dropbox and apps on the clients will do the same thing. If all else fails, DDNS and a local solution.
What sort of idiot stores their bookmarks or other data on someone elses computer?
That's almost as gay as digital radio.
I use chrome occasionally, but I don't want to be tied to it. I use Windows, Mac and Android. I've been looking, but haven't found anything as simple and effective as xmarks. Anyone had any better luck?
I started using EverSync when XMarks recently reminded me it was stopping. Seems to work okay so far... and it's cross-browser.
Nice work comrade, here is a rubel.
I use Chrome and Firefox sync, with Eversync bridging across. Mobile and desktops stay managed quite nicely.
RoboForm.
https://roboform-blog.siber.com/2018/04/02/looking-for-an-xmarks-alternative-roboform-has-you-covered/
vi ... I mean what more do you need?
The killer feature for me from XMarks was the ability to browse the list of open tabs on my various browsers, especially from my phone. That made it easy for me to be reading something, then later continue reading it from my phone.
If anyone knows of another service that does this, please let me know. I use Chrome at home and am forced to use Firefox at work, so I do need a cross-platform solution.
Seems like eventually third party solutions go belly up. Did Xmarks ever charge for this service? Or was it donations or just free? Not a big fan of Chrome but itâ(TM)s syncing canâ(TM)t be beat.
I liked Xmarks because I like running different Linux distros off of live media. Most of them included Firefox as the default web browser. Adding Xmarks was a quick, easy, and reliable way to get your bookmarks into Firefox. I also have a bunch of Linux distros installed on my hard drive and Xmarks was a good way to synchronize bookmarks between them. So I'll miss it when it's gone.
As someone else mentioned, Xmarks wasn't the same after Firefox switched to the "WebExtensions" API. For example, among other things, the new version would bother you via popup to put in your username and password multiple times during a Firefox session, even though it was set to remember them. It would sometimes list all your bookmarks twice after a synchronization. And it wouldn't delete bookmarks that you told it to delete.
So I'm not surprised LastPass is discontinuing Xmarks; it didn't seem like it was putting much effort into it lately anyway. For now, I'm using Firefox's sync, but I'll be looking for an extension with more features.
No Keyword Sync led to its demise no doubt, which will soon happen to Chrome and FF clowns. Viva Vivald (with keywords but lousy Sync still )i !
I have a file named bookmarks.html. I update it with vim as needed.
That file is set as the home page on all of my web browsers.
So all you need is a webserver to keep it on and point your home page to that (if you want it automatically updated to all of your devices), or just copy it across to each device.
I just copy it between devices because my bookmarks don't change very often.
If you're a zombie and you know it, bite your friend!
Wasn't last pass recently bought by Log Me In who's current business practice is double their prices every year.
We have been looking for a corporate password manager, and last pass was a contender until we found out who owned them.
46137
There was a point in time when you could use Foxmarks but keep all the information required for synching on a machine under your own control. When that feature was taken away (quite a long time ago, obviously), I stopped using it.
It's too bad they haven't chosen to release the source code on this - it seems like something a community would be willing to keep going. But I imagine at this point there'd be so much crap in the code - mostly centered around failed monetization attempts - it would be quite a chore to get it back into a decent state. Plus they probably don't want their remaining customers to see what all they've been doing with people's data.
#DeleteChrome
I have used xmarks for 10 years. It was one of the best addons out there. the first one I install on all of my computers and browsers. I tend to use more than one browser and tend to play around with different linux distros so it was a godsend for my bookmarks.
I have been playing around with eversync lately once I heard that xmarks was shutting down. It is not xmarks but from all the different extensions and addons I tried, at this point, it is the closest to xmarks. I hope someone will either purchase the rights to xmarks or whatever to keep it from going extinct. It is wanted. I do not want to see it go the way of permatabs and disappear forever.
I haven't bothered saving bookmarks in over twenty years. Any hostname I can't memorize I just use a search engine for.
https://sourceforge.net/projects/fitwit/
Chrome extension in /miscellaneous/wordassociatorwithremotelog/
There's no cloud.
Just other people's computers.
I asked this a few weeks ago,
I *specifically* paid, up front for 10 years of Xmarks and 10 years of Lastpass at the same time, when I heard those Logmein bastards had purchased them.
That was, I think about 2 years ago. I've got somewhere between 7 and 8.5 years left (I can't recall)
Now, if I recall the pricing model, I think it was 12$ each per year, discounted if you buy rolled together.
I want to know, am I going to get 7 MORE years of Lastpass on my account at the rates which I had previously paid, or are they going to refund the value of my time in cash, then re-purchase at the new Lastpass rate, which I believe is now much higher?
Does anyone here know? Reddit posts? Etc? I will not be pleased if my 7+ years remaining Xmarks ends up buying me 3 years more Lastpass.
(I tried emailing support, explaining this to those wallies is impossible)
https://shaarli.readthedocs.io...
In answer to the question, I use Bookmark Ninja. It's cross-platform and costs money. I use it because I like its presentation mode called Dashboard that puts your tabs into boxes in columns that you can arrange visually on your screen.