Mozilla Weave – synchronize Firefox among multiple computers

Anyone who uses multiple computers has the struggle of maintaining productivity across different environments. Web browsers store passwords and bookmarks and preferences on each computer. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were a way to have each computer automatically synchronize your bookmarks and passwords?

If your browser of choice is Firefox, you’re in luck. A product from Mozilla Labs called Weave is currently in the final round of betas for it’s maiden version 1 release.

Here’s the official description from the Weave site.

As the Web continues to evolve and more of our lives move online, we believe that Web browsers like Firefox can and should do more to broker rich experiences while increasing user control over their data and personal information. Weave is a Firefox add-on that is aimed at exploring this opportunity.

Weave is a plugin you install on Firefox on each computer you use. Weave then uses a very secure method of synchronizing your encrypted passwords, bookmarks, tabs, history, preferences, add-ons and personas to the Weave server. These types of synchronized data give it a leg up on the other player in this space, Xmarks (formerly Foxmarks), which only synchronizes passwords and bookmarks. Xmarks also has a social element, tracking your history and suggesting sites. Weave simply ensures that your experience is the same as you move from computer to computer.

Weave supports Fennec, the version of Firefox for mobile devices. We’re looking forward to the release of Fennec for Android so the experience is the same among our computers and our devices.

We’ve been using Weave since it was initially announced as version 0.1. For a while they weren’t accepting new registrations. It’s been very fast and easy to use, and now that it’s in beta Weave is accepting new users.

Here’s how to get it. Select Tools > Add-ons and search for Weave in the add-on search. When you install the plugin and restart Firefox, you’ll be presented with a box to create a new Weave account. Enter your preferred user name and password. You’ll then need to enter an encryption key that is in addition to your password. This key ensures that your data can’t be accessed by anyone other than you – including the folks at Mozilla. It’s quick and painless and you’ll be up and running in no time.

Are you still using Xmarks? Will you switch to Weave? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments.