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Posts with tag synchronization

Keep your bookmarks in sync with BookIt

I have an admission to make: I change browsers on a fairly regular basis (normally, I'm found swapping between Camino and Safari in short succession as I struggle to find a nirvana between the two of them). But what to do with my favourites? Some people I know like to keep browser favourites separate, but I can't stand that. If anything, I've yearned to be able to simply use the same bookmarks (and keyboard shortcuts for Bookmark-bar items) on all the browsers I possibly can.

That's where Bookit comes in handy. There's three options: Manage, Migrate or Restore. You can manually edit bookmarks, and compare them to a 'master' set (in my case, Camino); Migrate will allow you to take a browser's bookmarks, and completely over-write existing bookmarks on any other browser (or overwrite a synchronised copy of your Bookit bookmarks on .Mac), while Restore will allow you to retrieve a previous configuration. With only Safari able to synchronise bookmarks via .Mac, the ability to do so with Camino and Firefox is a welcome relief for those of use who don't (always) use the default OS X browser.

I've used Bookit on three of my Macs around the home and office, with the application working perfectly in bringing my bookmarks across to all of them. Given that the application costs just $12, if you're working with multiple browsers, favourites and machines, I'd highly recommend Bookit.

Beta Beat: Simple sync with Changes

Changes BetaThis one is ostensibly for developers, but if you ever rock a revision control system or get excited about a little late-night diff-and-merge for whatever reason, your life may have just gotten easier. Changes is an app designed to simplify project synchronization and differencing for groups or individuals working locally or remotely. It provides a GUI and an impressive list of features for an initial release, including MacFuse support, Subversion and other SCM integration, a TextMate bundle and a command line utility.

Yes, it bears a resemblance to FileMerge, but Changes offers features and options well beyond Apple's aging utility. Because it uses existing systems (chdiff) and provides a plugin SDK, it's both easy to implement and extensible. The command line utility and F-Script support provide additional options for incorporating Changes into your existing workflow. I appreciated the familiar interface and was impressed by how simple it was to integrate Changes into my existing TextMate/Subversion workflow with a few keystrokes.

Changes, which is a Leopard-only release, is currently in beta and is available for immediate download. As of today, the download requires registering for a beta key but the developer has let us know that an upcoming build will switch to a simple time-locked beta. If you dig the software you can get a pre-release discount on a full license, receiving $10 off the $39.95 release price, but the offer is only good until the end of the beta period. And, less importantly, I made it through the whole post without a Bowie reference. Phew.


Update: The new build mentioned above has been released and no longer requires registering for a beta key. An email address is still required for download, but it's less hassle now.

Getting the most out of synching and backing up with ChronoSync

I picked up a license for Econ Technologies' ChronoSync a little while ago, as I didn't want an app like SuperDuper which simply backs up an entire machine. ChronoSync offers a ton of options for fine-tuning your backup operations and synchronizing a machine with a backup folder or even another Mac, scheduling backups / synchronizations and even backing up to optical media. ChronoSync also has special options for performing operations like syncing Home folders between Macs, and even backing up to an iPod. Long story short: if you're looking for a highly flexible backup solution, I definitely recommend ChronoSync.

The one catch with ChronoSync can be summarized with a twist on an old phrase: with great power sometimes comes great confusion. ChronoSync has a slight learning curve due to all its flexibility, but thankfully, 43Folders just pointed out a great ChronoSync Tips page with backup scenarios for a number of different users. Listed on the page are a dozen sets of instructions with screenshots for setting up operations like synchronizing/backing up iPhoto, synchronizing to a disk image or another Mac and even using the Document Scheduler to automate as many different backup and synchronization operations as you can dream up. For anyone trying to wrap their head around what ChronoSync can actually do for their backup and synchronization sanity, this is a great one-stop case study page that should convince any potential customers to take the dive.

FoldersSynchronizer v3.6 goes Universal

FoldersSynchronizer, the backup and sync utility from softtoBe, has been updated to version 3.6, with the addition of Universal Binary status. This is one of the first backup utilities I ever found - I subsequently bought a license way back in the day and it's always done the trick for me since.

I've never seen it appear on any 'best utilities' lists, but its extensive feature set seems to match most of the other similar apps I've seen. Users can back up an entire Mac OS X volume and make it bootable. In addition, FoldersSynchronizer has extensive support for multiple backup sessions and configurations, synchronizing directories as well as backing up, setting backup timers, automounting volumes, filtering files and much more.

A demo of FoldersSynchronizer is available, while a full license will cost $40.

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