BookmarkSync is an automatic synchronization service that allows users to access their bookmarks or favorites from any computer

Computer

A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...

 or any web browser

Web browser

A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...

. The BookmarkSync client runs as a small program

Computer program

A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...

 within the computer's system tray and monitors the bookmarks in the user's browser, automatically uploading any changes to a central server. This allows one to keep browsers across separate computers synchronized. Cross-platform

Cross-platform

In computing, cross-platform, or multi-platform, is an attribute conferred to computer software or computing methods and concepts that are implemented and inter-operate on multiple computer platforms...

 synchronization

Synchronization

Synchronization is timekeeping which requires the coordination of events to operate a system in unison. The familiar conductor of an orchestra serves to keep the orchestra in time....

 is possible by using the Mac OS X

Mac OS X

Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...

 client.

History

SyncIT.com Inc. was founded by Michael Berneis and Terence Way in November 1998 and the site went live in March 1999. At its peak, SyncIT.com grew to a community of over 350,000 users synchronizing their bookmarks and favorites using their BookmarkSync product. After a server failure in September 2003, the entire project was open source

Open source

The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...

d. The rights for SyncIT.com was taken over by Jack Dean who runs Sync2It.com, SyncIT.com and BookmarkSync.com He has developed a new client for latest browsers including FireFox and Mac platform, and works to continue this service.

Features

The BookmarkSync client software enables social bookmarking

Social bookmarking

Social bookmarking is a method for Internet users to organize, store, manage and search for bookmarks of resources online. Unlike file sharing, the resources themselves aren't shared, merely bookmarks that reference them....

 and bookmark data clustering

Data clustering

Cluster analysis or clustering is the task of assigning a set of objects into groups so that the objects in the same cluster are more similar to each other than to those in other clusters....

. The user data input requirements of web-based systems that incorporate tagging

Tag (metadata)

In online computer systems terminology, a tag is a non-hierarchical keyword or term assigned to a piece of information . This kind of metadata helps describe an item and allows it to be found again by browsing or searching...

 to build a folksonomy

Folksonomy

A folksonomy is a system of classification derived from the practice and method of collaboratively creating and managing tags to annotate and categorize content; this practice is also known as collaborative tagging, social classification, social indexing, and social tagging...

are eliminated by the automated bookmarksync client software. Sync2It.com has added bookmark clustering and user bookmark ratios to their search results.

Recent enhancements to the BookmarkSync client software include support for Unicode, fast search and locate, local backup and restore functions, local site validation, social bookmark browsing and multiple language support (German, French, Danish, Dutch, Czech and Spanish).

The BookmarkSync service is free.

Official Sites

• BookmarkSync Web Site The new website
• BookmarkSync Project Site The project homepage at SourceForge
• Sync2It The original website

Other sites running a BookmarkSync server

• LinkaGoGo Subscription based service
• Bookmark-Sync.de Free German server based on open-source project