Firefox sync

[kengr]

Ok, I've been using a Win2kPro box for ages. Friday I got given a better system. Most importantly it had a lot bigger HD, and WinXPPro.

I've been stick with Firefox 16 for ages because that's the last version that'd work on Win2k.

I installed the latest Firefox on the new-to-me box, and figured that I'd use Firefox sync to get the layout and settings over.

It's been a nightmare. I had an existing account I'd been using to synch a laptop and an XP system. Trying to use it didn't work at all.

So I grumbled and created a new account.

First off while it say it may take a long time to complete the initial synch, it doesn't give you any way to find out if it's complete or not. I foolishly thought the "complete" on the setup screen meant it was done.

So I tried pairing the new machine with the old on. Not only did I get "sync encountered an error", but it changed the layout on the win2k box to the layout on the XP box!

Why the hell can't they have something that'll tell if the initial synch ois still going on? Or at least not let you try to pair another system until it's done.

And more importantly, why the hell can't you tell sync that you want the setuip on a computer *replaced* by the one on the account.

Now I gotta go digging to find out how to restore the tab bar to where I'm used to having it.

This is yet another case of a program.function being designed without stopping to think that actual users may want to use it differently than the programmer would. Grrr

Comments

[fayanora.livejournal.com]

You should get Chrome. It's a much better browser than Firefox, makes Firefox look like IE. All you have to do to synch Chrome is log into your Google account, and once you've done that, it automatically does so every time you open Chrome. Synchs everything; settings, extensions, bookmarks. Dunno if it synchs history or passwords, I haven't tested that. (I have some issues with the Ubuntu version, Chromium, randomly logging me out of things, but I haven't had that problem on the Windows side.)

Also, you can open "incognito" windows to search for stuff and/or surf anonymously. Then, too, you can have different setups for different Google accounts. Every time I go to your place, I have Fayanora's up on one screen and Alex's up on the other. The only problem there is that extensions installed for one account do not also add for other accounts, and have to be done separately on the other accounts.

Oh yeah, and of course tons of useful extensions for Chrome.

And Chrome is a "lighter" program, in terms of the space it takes up on the drive, than Firefox is.

[kengr]

I'd rather use firefox. *Especially* given the way Chrome synchs. Consider... *which* google ID is it gonna use to synch?

I've got enough trouble trying to keep google from linking them now.

[fayanora.livejournal.com]

Well, whichever one you log into, obviously.

I've got enough trouble trying to keep google from linking them now.

Not sure what you mean by that. Each user in Chrome is separate and distinct, as long as the associated accounts are, too. They're no more connected than would be two entirely different accounts on any other site. You have to link them on purpose for Google to know they're connected. I know, I've been with Google for many years.

PS

[fayanora.livejournal.com]

I should clarify that purposefully linking two accounts in Google is something you do in Google's account settings, and merely having different accounts for each "user" on Chrome will not in any way link them. As far as Chrome is concerned, the different users are different individual people all using the same computer. Hell, not even that; sites don't recognize the different Chrome users as being from the same computer at all, just the same IP address.

Re: PS

[kengr]

I'm talking about stuff like gmail wanting a cell phone number as part of your info.

Re: PS

[fayanora.livejournal.com]

Meh, that's optional. It bugs you about that, but you can tell it to bugger off (I believe the link is "skip").