Mozilla's Firefox syncer Weaves out of beta
Separate machines, same settings
Mozilla has released the first official non-beta version of Weave, the open source "sync everything, everywhere" add-on for Firefox.
The release is the culmination of the Mozilla Labs' Weave project's web-wide test flight, the last leg of which began with the synchronization utility's first beta release of version 1.0 last November.
The add-on grabs a wealth of browser information, including your choices of browsing history, bookmarks, saved passwords, open tabs, and contents of Firefox's love-it-or-hate-it drop-down Awesome Bar, then encrypts it and pumps it up into the cloud Mozilla's servers, where you - or your designated compatriots - can access it all automatically from other Weave-equipped devices: laptops, desktops, and compatible phones.
Mozilla's Weave slips your browsing life into the cloud
Syncing of bookmarks and history items is done in chunks, a scheme that Mozilla claims improves performance. However, according to Mozilla's release notes, your first sync can "take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours," depending upon the power of your computer, the speed of your connection and - of course - the amount of info you're syncing.
In addition, your first sync will deal with your most recent 1,000 history items, with others being synced in subsequent sessions. In addition, the new version will sync only your 25 most-recent tabs. Tabs from other computers can found in the rationally named Tabs From Other Computers choice in the History menu. Also, favicons have not yet been invited to the syncing party.
According to Mozilla, future versions of Weave will include support for browser add-on and search plug-in syncing, and "ultimately everything that makes your Firefox and Web experience personal."
To begin your journey to that ultimate goal, you can download Weave 1.0 here. Do take a look at those release notes before you sync away, though - there are a number of installation niggles for different configurations. ®
COMMENTS
Xmarks
Xmarks has been doing the password and bookmark bit for me for quite some time and it's all I need. I think Mozilla were a little late to the party with this one.
yes, sounds very familiar
I wonder which browser they "borrowed" that idea from
As I've said before, Opera is what firefox and chrome want to be when they grow up :D
Sounds somewhat familiar
I suppose the next step will be an innovative and revolutionary integrated personal server with Web 2.0 apps...
PS. Did they ever get Spacial Navigation working in the end? The last I heard they reckoned it would take several years to 'invent', and that was a couple of years ago.
Do we really want....
all of our browsing details residing on Mozilla's servers, even encrypted? I can see the utility, but it's not hard to see the exposures too. Surely we've heard enough stories about "Sorry mate, someone's hacked all your secure data". I think I'll just keep mine to myself thanks.
it all just works
The key is generated from a passphrase.
Well, It's a /little/ more complex, with the key the data is encrypted with being kept on the server, but encrypted with the passphrase that you provide. but that passphrase never leaves you. Which means that Mozilla never have a chance to look at your data, without having to commit a lot of resources to crack it. (No encryption is perfect. It's all a matter of making it too expensive, or take too long, to be worthwhile)
You need to provide a username, a password, and an encryption passphrase. The first two are used to retrieve the encrypted data. The last is to then decrypt and use it.
Oh, and if you're bothered about storing it in 'the cloud', stick it on your own server. It's simple to set up. And if you're really bothered about mozilla stealing it, well, they have easier ways. like building it into the binary releases of the browser itself.
