To further its quest for world (or at least could computing) domination, Google is adding new features to Google Chrome that will synchronize user data using a Google Account. The first feature that will use this framework is bookmark synchronization. Tim Steele released details on the Chromium developers group.
I know, tools for synchronizing bookmarks on Firefox, like Xmarks, and Weave have existed for some time, but for those of us who prefer Chrome, this is a nice addition. Since so many of us already have Google accounts, it’s nice to not have to deal with yet another Internet account. Unlike competing products, synchronization changes will be immediate.
According to the Sync design document, Google Sync will “… leverage existing XMPP-based Google Talk servers to give us “push” semantics” This means that changes are nearly real-time as opposed to competing technologies which poll every few minutes.
Further on down the road, Chrome will also synchronize other user data, like passwords.
It will be interesting to see what changes in the Chrome browser surface over the next year. As was announced a short while ago, Google will be revealing the Chrome operating system in 2010 that centers on the Chrome browser. This means we can expect Google to be aggressive with improvements in the browser arena. I hope to see integration with Google Docs and Google Voice.
I won’t be surprised if when the Chrome OS in finally released, we’ll find that Chrome has become a leading browser that cleverly blends the internet browsing experience into the desktop so that the user won’t be quite sure where one begins and the other ends.
Michael Scalisi is an IT manager based in Alameda, California.