Ugliest program ever...at least it works well.

Xmarks is a great service, and works especially well in Firefox, where it originated, but Bookdog offers way more than mere synchronization, which anyone can see if you check out the feature list. The sorting ability is especially powerful and flexability, and gives you great control over which folders get sorted and on what criterion they are sorted. The "Watchdog" feature is also great.

I also like how I can verify bookmarks and find and fix/eliminate broken links.

As for migrating between browsers, where Bookdog excels over Xmarks is that it mirgrates descriptions and keywords while converting Tags to Hierarchy and back. Unless I missed it, Xmarks doesn't do that.

I have no relationship to the developer, but I've been using shareware since 1985, and this is about the best $22+ I've ever spent on a program. I constantly use it and it never lets me down.

The only feature I can see that Bookdog has over Xmarks is that it can check bookmarks is the ability to fix/eliminate broken links. A good feature, but not enough to trump the price tag. Xmarks can do sorting as well, this is a simple process by witch you upload a new set that you have organized on your Mac (or you can go to the Xmarks webpage) I am sure most rarely bother to ensure if keywords and descriptions are correct, most probably don't bother using them. Plus Xmarks is free - and again, I am sure that most would prefer a free app to one that they have to pay for. If Bookdog really wants to justify a 22 dollaar price tag, then it will have to beef up it's features, and make sure that they are features no on else has.

I've been using shareware (and freeware) for a long time myself. Anyone will tell you, free beats not free any day of the week. I constantly use Xmarks and it too has never let me down.

Hey Robert. I hear you. For you, Bookdog is not a sufficient value, since the only thing you value is syncing.

For those of us who want to not only to sync, but also to: fix broken links (the one thing of merit in your eyes), keep our keywords and descriptions in sync (for many Firefox users who use keywords to organize thousands of bookmarks, this is no small feature; I spend a log of time tagging!), to always have our bookmarks sorted the way *we* want (Watchdog), and with the ability to have way, WAY more flexibility in the criterion of how the bookmarks are sorted, Bookdog far outshines Xmarks.

Also, from my usage, it's so much faster and easier to syc my bookmarks locally on my machine, and not have to upload a new set every single time I make changes, which I find a real pain in the rear. (Plus, again, I just can't do the bookmark manipulation *in* Xmarks that I can while I'm in Bookdog.)

So, different strokes for different folks. Again, I hear and appreciate that you don't see the value. I do, and Bookdog has saved me hours and hours of time. Also, I'm only taking time to reply because your statement "the only feauture I see that Bookdog has over Xmarks is that it can eliminate broken links" you seemed to be saying that in fact, that is the *only* actual feature Bookdog has over Xmarks, when in fact, that's the only one *you* see any value in at all. Big difference!

Syncing osn't the only thing I value...it is the fact that Bookdog charges for a feature at what seems to be a much higher price than it's apparent value.

You speak of syncing like it is a manual process...when for both Xmarks and Bookdog it is largely automatic. If I need to delete a dead link, or reorganize some of the links, I simply do so and then hit "Syncronize Now" in my menubar. That simple. There is no labor involved in "manipulating" the bookmarks in Xmarks - since it is done within Safari to begin with - so it sounds like it is much less work than you do for Bookdog. You don't even need a live Internet connection to do it, since both will sync up when that Internet connection is reestablished.

Bookdog just isn't offering anything in the way of features that could justify it's price ($22!). However if you are ok with that, then that's fine for you. So as you said...different strokes for different folks.

I hear you loud in clear, that, in your opinion, "Bookdog just isn't offering anything [for you] in the way of features that could justify it's price ($22!)." This only speaks to *your* experience, and says nothing of the value of these other features to *other* users.

Thank goodness we can all choose in the free market to value software as we see fit! Since you see zero value, you don't have to buy it! Since it's a great value to me, I'm more than happy to pay $22, as have thousands of other happy users. You opinion that it's not worth $22 isn't an absolute, or definitive, as you keep seeming to imply, but simply that, your opinion. And again, I respect that.

I hope that our back and forth will prompt people to look into Bookdog, (and yes, FREE Xmarks), for themselves. Both are great products, in my experience, and one is definitely worth paying for, in my experience, but not in yours. Not much more to say than that.

"Thousands" of happy users...um, that might be stretching it a bit. But if you are okay with paying for an app that charges so much for such a small difference, then that's okay, too. I prefer the free app, it has exactly the features that I need.

For free.

I am very happy for you. Xmarks is clearly just what you need.

LOL! Probably the greatest counter-arguments I've ever seen... and all shed with a positive twist. Way to keep it civil while making me laugh. I'm a Steven fan now.

Oh and yes, Bookdog is also amazingly useful to me... except for that horrendous icon... but thankfully there are many nifty icons available online to use as an alternative.

MacJunkee,

Thanks for your kind words. I think it's important to be able to share views and to not lose sight of each other, so to speak, even when we may strongly disagree.

Steve

Steve

No, Google = Google Bookmarks (yes, gone since early 09 or so).

I have to agree the list up here may irritate.

It works fine with any Firefox 3.X, by the way. Including any beta I tried ;-)