Chrome extension sync makes unsteady debut

The long-sought-after browser feature to synchronize extensions across multiple computers arrived on Thursday in the developer's builds of Google Chrome.

Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, Google Chrome dev 6.0.437.1 for Windows and Linux and version 6.0.437.2 for Mac include a rudimentary version of extension sync that users need to manually activate, a collection of the usual bug fixes and performance tweaks, and also combines the stop and reload buttons into one to streamline the omnibox and free up space for extension icons.

To enable the extension sync, users must go to a Chrome shortcut's properties and, at the end of the Target field, add the following command line switch: "--enable-sync-extensions" without the quotes. For novice command line switch users, note that a space is needed between the end of the "chrome.exe" and the sync extension switch.

For more on this story, read Shaky extension sync debuts in Chrome on CNET News.