Bookmark Managers: Programs vs. Web Services
By: Andrew Nemets
The rapid development of the World Wide Web in recent years has led to an explosive growth of information on the Internet. Our contemporary lifestyle would be unimaginable without access to such a super-abundant cornucopia of valuable information and web surfing has now become an everyday occupation for even the most diverse sections of society.
This rapid expansion of web resources raises some new issues for all of us. How could you possibly remember; after a long search, the address of that crucial web page? How will you be able to return to the page without repeating a tedious web search through hundreds and thousands of pages?
The answer is obvious, you need a program that will allow you to easily create and manage a database of web resources. Of course, this database must be quick, intuitive and convenient to use.
One way to resolve this problem is to use your web browser's bookmarks feature. Bookmarks are a popular term for the lists of web page links stored in web browsers, although they are called 'Favorites' in Internet Explorer. These web browser bookmark systems have some severe limitations. For example, each bookmark list will only be compatible with a specific web browser. If you use several different web browsers you will have to manage the bookmark system in each one. Web browser bookmark lists may become cumbersome to use when your bookmark list grows beyond a few items. Important features missing from web browser bookmark systems include:
- Powerful search functions
- Synchronization of bookmarks between different computers
- Detection and automatic deletion of duplicate bookmarks
- Checks for availability of bookmarked web pages.
Here are some examples of web-based bookmark managers:
iKeepBookmarks.com - www.ikeepbookmarks.com
LinkaGoGo - www.linkagogo.com
Murl - murl.com
You can find more links to online bookmark managers here:
http://dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/On_the_Web/Web_Applications/Bookmark_Managers/
Bookmark management software can be found here:
Link Commander - www.resortlabs.com/bookmark-manager/linkcommander.php
Linkman - www.outertech.com/index.php?_charisma_page=product&id=5
Powermarks - www.kaylon.com/power.html
Any software catalog will contain plenty of links to bookmark managers. For example: www.snapfiles.com/shareware/misctools/swurlorg.html
Offline and online bookmark managers each have relative advantages and disadvantages due to their differing methods of database storage and access.
An online bookmark manager does not depend on any particular computer. If you have an Internet connection you can access your bookmarks from any computer in the world. You don't need to synchronize the bookmarks on your home/work PC or notebook because they will all access the same bookmarks database. With an online bookmark manager you can access your bookmarks even when you are in an Internet cafe! Another advantage is that most of them are free. They will cost you time, though, because you access your bookmarks via an Internet connection. More importantly, most of the web interfaces are not as convenient as software based bookmark managers and don't have so many useful features. For example, they can't search for and delete duplicate database items. Here are some of the other potential disadvantages of using online bookmark managers:
1) You risk losing all your bookmarks if, for some reason, the web service closes down.
2) There is a danger of unauthorized access to your private bookmarks because your bookmark manager server may not be secure against hackers.
The advantages and disadvantages of offline bookmark managers are almost exactly opposite to those of online bookmark managers and will be discussed next.
Any offline bookmark manager is tied to the computer on which it is installed. It stores your bookmarks in a database (which usually has its own proprietary format) that is located on one of the hard drives. To use your bookmarks on several computers you will need to install the program on each computer and find a way to synchronize the bookmark databases. Most of the currently available bookmark organizers do have a database synchronization feature. Also, there are now devices with high data transfer speeds (e.g. flash drives) that can store an independent bookmark database and allow it to be shared between several computers.
Another disadvantage of bookmark manager software is the price. There are some free programs out there, but they don't have a great number of features and technical support is often weak or unavailable. The programs that require payment are inexpensive, though, usually costing from $20 to $40. The user licenses of such programs will normally allow you to install the programs on all of your computers.
In my opinion, the disadvantages of standalone bookmark managers are minimal compared to their advantages. The location of both the program and database on the same computer guarantees you fast access to your bookmarks and high security from hacker attacks. The convenience of the program interface and the number of useful features are limited only by the power of the computer and the skills of developers.
So, how should you organize your bookmarks? Should you use an online or offline bookmark manager? I don't think there is a definite answer. It all depends on your preferences and working habits. If mobility is your priority, if you travel often and wish to access your bookmarks no matter where you are and from any computer, then you should consider an online bookmark manager. If speed, ease of use, security and functionality is most important to you then an offline bookmark manager might be a better choice.
Author Bio
About the author: Andrew Nemets is co-founder and CEO of Resort Labs - www.resortlabs.com, the software development company specializing in developing human to computer interaction systems, user interface improvements and routine tasks automation software.
Article Source: http://www.ArticleGeek.com - Free Website Content
More Resources
Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting
Custom Search
More Software Information:
- Group 1
- Group 2
- Group 3
- Group 4
- Group 5
- Group 6
- Group 7
- Group 8
- Group 9
- Group 10
- Group 11
- Group 12
- Group 13
- Group 14
- Group 15
- Group 16
- Group 17
- Group 18
- Group 19
- Group 20
- Group 21
- Group 22
- Group 23
- Group 24
- Group 25
- Group 26
- Group 27
- Group 28
- Group 29
- Group 30
- Group 31
- Group 32
- Group 33
- Group 34
- Group 35
- Group 36
- Group 37
- Group 38
- Group 39
- Group 40
- Group 41
- Group 42
- Group 43
Related Articles
How to Get The Best Accounting Software For Your Small Business
Buying accounting software is a major investment. It's an important decision and you need to be sure of all the facts before you buy.
Top Questions to Ask Before Buying a Help Desk & Asset Management Software
#5 All your hardware components like Printers, PCs etc come under various maintenance contracts with different maintenance vendors. Do you know which batch of PCs are under warranty & for what number of PCs is the warranty about to expire (so that you can plan for an AMC)? Can you split up & tell how much AMC charges do you pay for each hardware component & how much for each vendor? Can you re-calculate the costs if an AMC with a vendor is to be renewed?#4 Typically your company gets hardware parts and accessories from different vendors.
ERP Remote Support: Microsoft Great Plains Analysis - Pluses & Minuses
Former Great Plains Software Dynamics/eEnterprise and currently Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains serves midsize and corporate clients as ERP system in the following countries and regions: USA, Canada, Mexico and Latin America, Brazil (where MBS actually promotes Navision and has GP for multinational corporations), Saudi Arabia, OAE, Egypt and the rest of Middle East, South Africa, Nigeria and the whole African continent, U.K.
Lotus Notes Domino and Web: Application Development - Tips for Programmers
Beginning with Domino version R4 it has integration with the Web, and the server itself becomes a HTTP-server. The next releases of Domino Web-server add new functionality (for example servlet managers, supported JVM versions upgrade, etc).
Microsoft Navision Customization and Reporting - Tips For Programmer/IT Specialist
C/SIDE (Client/Server Integrated Development Environment) - The core of Navision is the C/SIDE. C/SIDE is the foundation for all the business management functionality of Navision.
Corporate ERP: Microsoft Great Plains For The Plant In Brazil - Overview For CIO
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains as new ERP for multinational corporation manufacturing facility in Brazil.If your company plans to outsource manufacturing in Brazil by purchasing existing facility there, the first step would be to implant new management team and revise business processes and procedures.
Protect Your Computer...and Your Business!
We all take the computer for granted. I mean, all we have to do is switch it on and it's ready to go.
Does Microsoft have any real competition?
Does Microsoft Have any Real Competition? Copyright (c) 2003 Gregory S. Diehl In a word, yes.
RSS: Get Notified When Your Favorite Websites Are Updated
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a way for a site to publish it's updates. RSS readers can read these notifications and display a listing of the updates to you, the user.
Beware of The Pirated Software E-Mail Scams!
You have gotten those E_Mails buy software at deep discounts. It is very tempting to save 85% to 95% on your favorite Software Titles.
Corporate Accounting System: Microsoft Great Plains - Overview
Corporate ERP/MRP selection might be tough one, especially considering very turbulent ERP world and fierce competition between Microsoft Business Solutions (Great Plains, Navision, Axapta, MS CRM), Oracle (Oracle Financials, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards), IBM (including Lotus Domino), SAP, Microsiga (Brazil, Portugal). We recommend you, IT director of large corporation, make your home work and decide on Microsoft or Java/EJB/J2EE platform (however you should consider vendor dependence minimization, and stake on both with XML streams integration between the two).
Microsoft Great Plains Implementation for Large Corporation - Overview for VP IT
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains was historically designed to serve mid-market first and then with addition and acquisition of new modules - Great Plains Dynamics architects planned to enter into corporate market. When Microsoft SQL Server took its place as relatively reliable and stable database platform, Great Plains gained scalability.
Free Software for Newbies and Web Developers
Here is some free software tools to help you build your own websites and create web products.Learning new skills is not difficult.
10 Things You Can Do With Photoshop CS2 That You Couldnt Do Before Now
Is Photoshop CS2 worth the upgrade? You bet it is! Here are just 10 things you can do with this fantastic new version of Photoshop that were impossible (or difficult) to do with previous versions:1. Manipulate objects in the Adobe BridgeThis new generation of file browser enables you to look at photographs and artwork in detail before you open the file, process multiple Camera Raw images, flip through pages in PDF documents, size, rate and organise your work in a convenient and highly user-friendly way.
Great Plains Dexterity - Microsoft Great Plains Customization Overview
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains, former Great Plains Software Dynamics and eEnterprise are Dexterity-written applications. Also small business line: Microsoft Small Business Manager or Small Business Financials is written in Dexterity and uses the same code base as Great Plains.
Navision Sales Module & Reporting: Jet Reports, C/ODBC, XBRL, Business Analytics - highlights
Microsoft bought Navision, Denmark based software development company, along with Great Plains Software. Now Microsoft Business Solutions offers the following ERP applications: Navision (former Navision Attain), Microsoft Great Plains (former Great Plains Dynamics/eEnterprise), Solomon, Axapta.
Crystal Reports for Microsoft Great Plains - Overview for Developer
Microsoft Great Plains is main accounting / ERP application from Microsoft Business Solutions, targeted to the US market. It serves the whole of vertical and horizontal market: most of the industries and company sizes.
What is Fleet Maintenance Software?
Simply put, fleet maintenance allows companies to monitor and maintain their fleets of commercial vehicles more efficiently.Fleet maintenance requires a great deal of organization and management skills.
Basic Tips and tricks for Windows XP
Running Applications in Compatibility ModeWith Windows XP, you can run programs as if though they were being run under a different operating system. (This is known as "emulation".
What is Shareware?
Shareware is software that you can try before you buy; shareware is a kind of marketing method for software. Software developers post trial versions of their software on websites.