Chris Bobbett

This is a screenshot from my Google Calendar window in Firefox.

This is a sad day. I have been using Foxmarks/Xmarks for some time to keep my browser bookmarks in sync and have been very thankful for the service.  Most recently, I have been able to take advantage of the bookmark syncing offered not just in Firefox, but in other browsers such as Chrome and IE. This has been especially helpful for me as I test application UIs and websites in several browsers. Just 2 days ago I was extolling the awesomeness of the service to a coworker and encouraged her to get started with it!

Xmarks has been kind enough to recommend some alternatives to replace their service once it is decommissioned, but none are as good and won't get the job done for me due to the lack of cross browser support. The Xmarks team made a GREAT product and I would love for it to continue. I would even be willing to pay a yearly fee to keep the service. Would you?

So while we spend ever increasing amounts of time and energy trying to "utilize" the Internet, what happens to the people around you? You know, the ones you ignore when you are on the computer? They are still valuable and worth your time and attention. Or have you forgotten that? Do you think this preoccupation with statuses, viral videos, web-apps, etc. is part of the reason families and communities are more disconnected than ever? I do. And by the way, I think statuses, viral videos and web-apps are OK, but we need to learn to say NO to them more so we can say YES to the people in our lives. I suspect that if we spent less time connected to technology and more time connected to people (and nature), we'd be generally happier and more fulfilled with life. The Internet doesn't refresh my soul, soccer does.

Am I off base? Do you agree? Would you be willing to disconnect more often? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts, your OWN thoughts. Please don't regurgitate an opinion from an RSS feed you read last week!

Now that I have robbed my wife of several minutes creating this post, I must go meet her face to face and make up for lost time. Lucky me she has such a beautiful face. :)