The auto-detected search engines in Google Chrome are one of those niceties that makes the browser outshine Firefox among power users. Without it, all those shortcuts that are burned into your muscle memory are useless. Or at least they were. You can now enable search engine (and open tab) syncing in the dev channel of Chrome. More »
Windows only: PureSync is a user-friendly file syncing and backup application. If you’ve been putting off messing around with syncing files, PureSync’s simple profiles and smooth interface might just lure you into data safety. More »
Reader hominid.todd says that a Google rep emailed him about the long-awaited status of the Browser Sync extension for Firefox 3. Turns out they’re discontinuing development on it. Here’s Google’s response to hominid.todd’s inquiry: Thanks for trying out Google Browser Sync and for all of your feedback. It was a tough call, but we decided to phase out support for Browser Sync. Since the team has moved on to other projects that are keeping them busy, we don’t have time to update the extension to work with Firefox 3 or to continue to maintain it.
Mac only: The newest beta release of Senuti—a utility that copies music from your iPod to your computer—now supports the iPhone and iPod touch. Just install Senuti on your Mac, hook up your iPhone or iPod touch, and the Senuti beta will list all the songs on the device and place a blue dot next to songs that already exist in your iTunes library. Select the songs you want and press the Transfer button to copy them to your Mac. The touch-friendly Senuti version is a beta, but it worked like a charm on the one iPhone I tested it on. Senuti is a free download for Mac only; be sure to hit the beta link lower on the homepage for iPhone and iPod touch support. Thanks, smackswell!
iPhone/iPod touch only: The lamest omission in the whole of iPhone development is the lack of sync for Notes. Let’s be honest—the iPhone keyboard is nice, but you don’t want to have to use it for all your notes. That’s where RemoteNote comes in, a donationware iPhone application available through Installer.app. Whenever you run it, you can view, edit, create, delete, back up, and even print your notes through your web browser. Similar shareware tools have been available, but RemoteNote is the first no-cost option I’ve seen. RemoteNote works with both the iPhone and iPod touch, requires installation of the Jiggy Runtime (also from Installer) and a jailbroken iPhone. Thanks Lee!
FuseCal is a web app that does something so useful, yet so seemingly rare, that it’s hard to believe it’s both free and easy to use. The app, currently in alpha, lets you add iCal-based calendars (and a few other formats) to a master calendar, then choose whether all those events, just the ones you pick, or events filtered by keyword will be synced to Outlook, Apple iCal, Google Calendar, or another program. I’ve only had time to test the Google Calendar->FuseCal->Outlook setup, and it seems to work. Those with web sites can also publish their combined FuseCals on their site. FuseCal is free to use; a sign-up lets you keep your calendars in sync.
Mac OS X only: One conspicuously yet-to-be-implemented feature of the iPhone and iPod touch is the ability to sync notes between your computer and your device. Until Apple figures out what should be a simple feature, freeware application iPhoneNotes wirelessly syncs notes between your jailbroken iPhone or iPod touch and your Mac. The set up is simple, but not obvious, and since the main site is light on documentation, hit the jump for setup details.
Nothing sucks worse than getting to the office in the morning and realizing you left the most recent copy of an important file—whether it’s your to-do list or a PowerPoint presentation—on your home computer. No matter where you are and what computer you’re using, you always want the most updated set of documents and files you’ve got without having to carry ‘em around on a thumb drive. Luckily, several free solutions can automatically sync folders between computers—even over the internet, through office firewalls—no matter what operating system you use. Whether you want work files edited at home to magically appear on your PC at the office, or the family room Mac to have a copy of the latest batch of digital photos downloaded onto the computer in the den, three free applications can help.
