Thunderbird only: Thunderbird extension Google Contacts automatically syncs contacts between your Google and Thunderbird address books. The sync is bi-directional, and the extension is smart enough to detect Gmail accounts you've already set up in Thunderbird, so setup is a breeze. Beyond that, there's not much to it—Google Contacts does exactly what it sets out to do. Now that you can easily sync any desktop calendar with Google Calendar and sync Google Contacts with extensions like this one, it's easier than ever to keep your Google data synchronized. Thanks Pranesh!

Adobe Air: Sure you can export your RSS feeds from Google Reader and import the feed file into desktop RSS reader for offline browsing. Scoop takes offline browsing a step further by allowing you to not only read your feeds but have them remain synced to your Google Reader account. Removing and tagging items in Scoop modifies the feeds in your Reader account as well. The interface is easy to use and includes most of the commonly used keyboard shortcuts from Google Reader. On the downside images are not currently downloaded for offline browsing, so if you've synced and now no longer have internet access you're out of luck until you're jacked back in. Scoop can be used independently of Google Reader, with manually added feeds, but it's Google integration is where it shines. Scoop is freeware, cross platform, and requires Adobe Air to run.

If you've been playing around with Microsoft's Live Mesh syncing technology and tried it on your Windows Mobile device, then Flickr2Mesh, a simple application to download photos from your Flickr account onto your hard drive or mobile phone, might be of interest. As Aussie Live Mesh guru Angus Logan points out on his blog, the code could also be used as the basis for an application giving you access to your photos on multiple devices. If you want to mass-download Flickr shots but aren't ready for Live Mesh yet, check out previously mentioned Flump.

Google Sync for BlackBerry updated today, adding support for bi-directional contact sync between your BlackBerry and your Gmail contacts (in addition to the existing calendar sync, which I believe only supports one-way sync). While you're doing your Google sync dance, check out how to sync Google Calendar with any desktop calendar. [via Official Google Mobile Blog]

Web application Soocial promises hassle-free contact management, seamlessly syncing contacts between a handful of potential buckets including Gmail, Outlook, the OS X Address Book, Highrise, and over 400 phones (including your BlackBerry). To get started, just sign up with Soocial and start adding accounts and apps using their simple setup wizards. Some syncing will require you to download a utility (Outlook and Address Book, for example), while others simple require that you enter in a password (e.g., Gmail). The site is currently in beta, and though it's gotten a lot of positive feedback from users, keep in mind that you could run into a bug or two. If you're concerned with the privacy implications, Soocial makes it clear that if you decide to cancel your account, all of your data will be permanently deleted from their servers. Keep reading to get a clearer picture of how Soocial makes contact syncing a "hassle-free" process from their demo video.

Read More »

Windows only: Some browsers stash all your bookmarks and their metadata in a single folder that's easy to import to any other browser. For everything else, Transmute makes the work of shuttling bookmarks between Windows browsers much simpler. The simple but powerful application, also available as a no-install portable folder, supports nearly every major browser for Windows—Chrome, Chromium, Opera, Safari, and, of course, Internet Explorer and Firefox. You can set Transmute to export bookmarks to a particular folder, with or without timestamp dates, and have it create its own backup files in case things get messy. That's about it, but that's certainly no small feat. Transmute is a free download for Windows systems only, requires .NET 2.0 framework to operate.

Previously mentioned syncing app Syncplicity (one of your top five favourite syncing tools) has graduated out of beta, but still retains a free account option with 2GB of space to start (up to 7GB if you invite your friends). It's still Windows-only as well, though Mac and Linux clients are on their way.

Windows/Mac/Linux: Looking for a quick way to upload and download files from a Google Docs account? If you're familiar with command line tools, check out GDataCopier. Once I installed a new version of Python (2.5 or higher required) and the GData API for Python, it was just a matter of running gdata-cp.py and I had every document in my Google Docs account backed up to a folder on my desktop. It would also work great for uploading a batch of documents to Google Docs. And of course you can set it up with a crontab to schedule regular backups. Looking for alternatives to futzing in a terminal window? Windows users can use DocSyncer or sync between OpenOffice.org and Google Docs with OpenOffice.org2GoogleDocs. GDataCopier is a free download for Windows, Mac and Linux, requires Python to run. Thanks, TerrenceMarburger!

Telstra today rolled out MyConnect, a set of email-related services designed for mobile phone users. While the concept -- the ability to access multiple email accounts on your Next G phone and synchronise contacts -- is appealing, the pricing is not. The offering consists of three services: MyInbox (essentially web mail with MMS and SMS access), MyEmail (up to five accounts accessible on your mobile), and MySync (contacts synced from your mobile into the cloud daily). MyInbox is free if you're a BigPond or Next G customer, but MyEmail is $7 a month, and MySync is $3 a month. Admittedly, rival email sync services like the BlackBerry or MobileMe aren't free either, but $3 a month for contact syncing -- something you should be able to achieve for free via Bluetooth to your PC -- sounds way overpriced.

Dear Lifehacker,
I have Firefox installed on three separate computers, and I find it difficult to keep the same Add Ons/Preferences synchronised between all three machines. Is there an automated way to synchronise my Firefox installation between all three machines? In other words, if I add a new Add-on or Greasemonkey script to one Firefox installation, can it be automatically added to my installation on my two other machines?
Signed,
Three Firefoxes, One User

Read More »