In another boost to Mozilla, Google has created a tool that lets users synchronize the settings of their Firefox browsers across multiple computers.
Google Labs releases the Google Sync Firefox extension, which saves your browser’s cookies, passwords, bookmarks, history and current list of open tabs to your Google account and downloads them to any other Firefox-running Google Sync-enabled computer you use so you can "take your browser with you."
Google Browser Sync is a free plug-in for the popular open source browser that continuously synchronizes across different PCs.
What could be worse than forgetting to bookmark the obscure page you found that maps out the perfect walking tour of Venice? Having bookmarked it on the computer sitting on your desk back at home, 6,000 miles away, instead of on the laptop you brought along? asked Google product manager Brian Rokowski.
To enable this continuous synchronization to happen, users have to install copies of the Google Browser Sync on every computer where they have Firefox, Google announced this week in its official blog.
This free tool also "remembers" the tabs and windows users had open the last time they used Firefox and gives users the option to open them. One downside is that the tool updates settings every time Firefox is launched, which will increase the time it takes a browser to open, Google warns.
Favoring Firefox
Google Browser Sync works with Firefox 1.5 and newer versions. It does not support Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, Opera Software’s Opera, or the Mozilla Suite, which includes the Mozilla Navigator browser.
In April, Google caused a stir when it promoted Firefox on its home page, a rare move and one clearly intended to help Firefox grow its market share. Google also includes Firefox in its Google Pack, a free, downloadable software suite that it distributes and that includes products from Google and other vendors, including Adobe Systems and Symantec, but not Microsoft.
Alleviating Browser Frustration
Google wants as much presence as possible and the presence that matters to them most are on the Web browser. This gives Google another way to stay in front of the customers using the browsers, said JupiterResearch analyst Joe Wilcox.
Rokowski also pointed out the frustration of using a new computer and not remembering your passwords because your browser on your old computer automatically filled them in for you. Those types of frustrations are what inspired Google to build the new Firefox extension, he said.
Not a New Concept
A portable favorite is not a new concept, however. Apple has a similar synchronization feature with its .Mac service. The utility allows users to sync their files, including Safari settings, between multiple Macintosh computers.
Microsoft also features portable favorites via its ‘Live’ service. This allows users to transfer their favorite Web site links from IE and access them from a portable favorites’ folder.
This is especially good for Mozilla because Firefox is available for so many different platforms. It is not inconceivable for somebody to be working on Linux or Windows at work and a Mac at home or maybe Windows at work and a Linux at home, Wilcox noted.
Firefox and its users stand to benefit from the new plug-in.
Contentious Relationship
Browsers in particular are a contentious area between Google and Microsoft because they are an entry point to Web search activity. Recently, Google has complained about the new IE, version 7, which is now in beta and contains an embedded search box with a drop-down menu set by default to use Microsoft’s search engine, but which includes other options.
Google also announced it has been improving version 2 of the Google Toolbar for Firefox. "We have fixed a bunch of bugs and made it more stable, so we are stripping off the ‘beta’ tag," Wilcox said, noting plans to update users on this new version sometime within the next two weeks.
However, some have criticized Google for being inconsistent on this point because its search engine is the default choice in the embedded Firefox search box. Firefox is a thorn in Microsoft’s side, because it is the most credible competitor to IE in years, holding now an estimated 10 percent market share.
Sundar Pichai, Google’s product management director, declined to comment on the Google-Microsoft rivalry but said several factors played into the decision to develop this tool for Firefox. Because the product is in an early test version, Google did not want to expose it to the wider IE audience, he said. Also, developers involved in this project use Firefox heavily and feel comfortable with its platform.
It is not surprising to see Google developing tools for Firefox that does not work with IE. Google has a close relationship with Mozilla that involves technology collaborations and cross-promotion efforts. Meanwhile, the relationship between Microsoft and Google is at best adversarial and often acrimonious. They compete in search, online services, and, increasingly, in desktop and hosted software.
More information and download instructions for Google Browser Sync can be found online.