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Slashdot Asks: Which Bookmark Manager Is Your Favorite? (ghacks.net) 47

In case you missed it, Google officially ended support for its Bookmarks service on September 30, 2021. But fear not, you can still export your bookmarks if you haven't already. Long-time Slashdot reader GPS Pilot writes: Google has dropped support for yet another one of its services. If you're like me, you don't visit Google Bookmarks very often, so you're not aware that Google dropped support on September 30th, 2021. The service still had its uses -- like being able to access a collection of bookmarks across different browsers, or when you're using a strange computer. You can still export your Google bookmarks to alternative services that are "arguably better." Some Google Bookmarks alternatives include Saved, Raindrop, Pinboard, and Mozilla Pocket. Which bookmark manager is your favorite?
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Slashdot Asks: Which Bookmark Manager Is Your Favorite?

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  • The browser (Score:5, Informative)

    by Mononymous ( 6156676 ) on Tuesday November 09, 2021 @08:22PM (#61972935)

    I don't use multiple browsers. My bookmarks are all here in Firefox. Nothing to sync with.

    • Re:The browser (Score:5, Informative)

      by markdavis ( 642305 ) on Tuesday November 09, 2021 @08:46PM (#61972999)

      >"I don't use multiple browsers. My bookmarks are all here in Firefox. Nothing to sync with."

      ^This. I don't want or need some third-party knowing my bookmarks. The bookmarks I use at home are not the same ones I use at work, nor on my phone. I have almost never had the need to access my bookmarks on some random system somewhere.

      And Firefox will happily export your bookmarks in html format, if you need. And you can go a step further- if you turn on about:config "browser.bookmarks.autoExportHTML" to true, it will even create and continuously update a "bookmarks.html" file in your $HOME profile directory, which can be sent or linked anywhere, in any way you like, in a form that is universal.

    • Re:The browser (Score:5, Insightful)

      by freeze128 ( 544774 ) on Tuesday November 09, 2021 @10:37PM (#61973305)
      I read the title and thought "What the hell is a bookmark MANAGER?"

      Does it automatically delete bookmarks that go to dead pages?
      Does it automatically update the bookmark when a site just gives a redirect to a new site?
      Does it automatically categorize the bookmarks by subject matter, or frequency with which they are used?

      If it doesn't do those things, it's not really MANAGING your bookmarks, is it?
      • Yeah, first I've heard of such a thing. I guess the fact that I'm totally uninterested in such a thing after hearing about it reflects the reason that Google gave up on it.
      • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        I started using Joplin instead of bookmarks. Joplin is a note taking app, a bit like OneNote or Evernote. It has encryption and sync options, you can use your own cloud via WebDAV or a number of different services.

        When I'm researching something I clip relevant information into a note, with URLs. If a whole page is highly relevant and useful I might clip the whole thing as a separate note. That way even if the page goes away I have a copy of it. Yeah there is archive.org but often it either doesn't have some

        • Wish I had mod points for you. Just discovered Joplin a few months back when looking for a multi-platform equivalent to Apple Notes. Joplin is a true gem, and I now use it for (among other things) the same thing you do: quick bookmarking, copied/clipped info, and maybe a few lines of context.

      • I read the title and thought "What the hell is a bookmark MANAGER?"

        Long story short, it's a paradigm shift that leverages mission critical bookmark synergies at the end of the day.

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      I like having the ability to sync bookmarks (and saved usernames/passowrds, open tabs etc.) between machines. Of course I expect everything to be encrypted and not available to anyone else.

      FWIW both Firefox and Chrome support that, with encryption using your own passphrase.

    • by Toad-san ( 64810 )

      Ditto.

    • I was perfectly happy with Firefox bookmark syncing until it decided my carefully organized bookmarks all needed to be moved out of their folders and put into the top level of the bookmarks menu. Oh, then let's sync that across all Firefox instances. Had a backup so I brought those SQL files back into my profiles directory, then tried many things to get it to stop doing that and it would not. So I had to kill off Firefox syncing and I'm looking for a replacement.

      Yeah, not something you expect. I should file

  • My favorite bookmark manager is opening every site I will ever visit and turning on the resume last session feature.
    • Same! All my friends too. I also never use folders, I just search for the link and same with files on my computer. I also use EA Play.
  • by mtmra70 ( 964928 ) on Tuesday November 09, 2021 @08:26PM (#61972945)
    When XMarks was perfect and it was solid. You could have different profiles on a single account in order to sync different buckets to different computers. I could have personal bookmarks appear with my work ones on my work machine, but only personal bookmarks on the personal machines.

    Worked across browsers, sync'd open tabs, sync'd history, etc. It was amazing...until it all got canned.
    • by slaker ( 53818 )

      There is a tool called EverSync which replicates that functionality. I use it in preference to browser-specific tools, since I prefer niche browsers but sometimes find myself working from a Chromebook or Android/Firefox.

      EverSync has been fine for me. No notes.

  • by bill_mcgonigle ( 4333 ) * on Tuesday November 09, 2021 @08:38PM (#61972979) Homepage Journal

    The dev went full time a year or so back.

    The problem is he expanded capacity for speed and pinned you to the closest server, which may be in a jurisdiction not to your liking.

    I didn't have a problem with latency to Russia before but switching back wasn't an option.

  • by Anonymouse Cowtard ( 6211666 ) on Tuesday November 09, 2021 @08:39PM (#61972983) Homepage

    Ask Slashdot: would this be better as a poll? * Yes, there aren't enough polls * No, I just export my tabs * No, I use RSS * What are bookmarks? * What are books? * Cowboy Neal manages my web browsing

  • xBrowserSync, it is still working pretty good after many years.
    • I second this. Been using xBrowserSync for a while now.

      It got off to a rocky start (had trouble syncing if a browser made a lot of changes quickly), but it's getting better and better.

  • I remember trying XMarks, way back in the day - but it turns out it wasn't really solving an actual problem.

    Do people really use multiple browsers AND change their bookmarks that often?

  • by bbos ( 1048782 )
    I used to use Del.icio.us, but when Yahoo shut it down I moved to Diigo since it was able to import the delicious bookmarks. I use a bookmark manager because I use multiple browsers. I'm pretty happy with Diigo.
  • I used del.icio.us for many years, and switched to pinboard.in when that became a viable alternative.

  • It's an awesome app.

  • I just use the built in bookmark manager that came with seamonkey.

    All I've ever needed.

  • Some Google Bookmarks alternatives include ... Mozilla Pocket.

    I disabled Pocket in Firefox a long, long time ago, so I can't imagine why I'd ever want their separate app.

  • I use TagPacker, http://tagpacker.com/ [tagpacker.com]. I'm reasonably happy with their service. When I had to decide on an alternative after delicious kicked the bucket, if I remember correctly, Raindrop wasn't an option because it didn't have an API.
  • Toby is the way to go.. tabs and bookmarks: https://www.gettoby.com/ [gettoby.com]

  • Shaarli!

    • Nice idea, but list of things which should be installed on server is very-very-very long.

      • by jon3k ( 691256 )
        I highly recommend running it with docker [github.com] (or podman).

        As easy as pulling the git repo and running "docker-compose up". Just note the env variables in the compose file.
  • I use WebScrapBook, which comprises a (local) server and a browser plugin that lets pages be scraped rather than just listed. It makes dead pages a thing of the past, and it's a great help when storing some references offline.

    Some features I think are particularly cool:
    - Can remove unwanted elements from pages before or after capture (imagine a sticky header that takes up 1/3 of the screen real estate)
    - Can modify the page before or after capture (for example to correct an error in a recipe, or to add a not

  • Somebody here old enough to remember http://del.icio.us/ [del.icio.us] (sorry, no HTTPS) and "social bookmarking" ?
    • I remember not knowing what it was for and not bothering to find out. I always thought it was a cool domain name though.
  • Safari
  • I simply copy stuff into a plain text file. If the link itself isn't obvious just write some text above it to remind yourself.

    Totally transportable between all O/Ss and browsers, takes all of 2 seconds to copy and paste a link back into the address bar, and you have zero issues with software updates breaking things, support being yanked, file formats being changed, corrupt files etc. etc.

    At a later point I also knocked up some simple code that turns the plain text file into an HTML page so the links are cl

  • Like many other commenters, I started on del.icio.us â" and from there moved to Instapaper as that made the content searchable.

    I looked at Pocket but didnâ(TM)t see anything that it provided that Instapaper didnâ(TM)t offer.

  • They just clutter browsers with useless code and widgets
  • I have been using Bookmark Ninja for several years it is very convenient. For passwords I have been using Firefox Password Manager (Lockwise) but at some point will go entirely to Apple's keyring.
  • I run a Nextcloud server at home. There is a browser plugin called Floccus I use that syncs my bookmarks back to my Nextcloud (but the plugin also works with Dropbox or other cloud locations). Anyways, using this plug-in keeps my bookmarks synchronized between any browsers or desktops I have it installed on. I could get away with just using the browser itself and the sync capabilities built in, but usually that means you are limited to 1 browser, and the sync is actually happening on Google or Mozilla's ser

  • Braintool (https://braintool.org) calls itself a "Topic Manager". It only works with Chrome-based browsers, but saves everything in org-mode (plain text) which is a big plus.

  • I did a fairly extensive search for a bookmark manager, and arrived at linkace [linkace.org]. It's been great. Simple enough to install and host, and supports tags.

  • While its primary purpose is to store passwords, there's no reason you can't use KeePass (or other password managers) to hold bookmarks as well. Just store a URL and a label without a password and you're done.

  • I wish there was a way of categorising all my bookmarks, I've got years of browsing behind me and a lot of bookmarks. Maybe I should print them all out for a very random bound book!

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