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Flock: social browser gets significant update

blogs.zdnet.com — Flock has released a preview of a major update to its social web browser. New features include an improved Media Bar with YouTube support, much simpler account management and web service discoverability, and blog editor support for all the major platforms.

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  • slugicide, on 10/11/2007, -4/+11I stopped using Flock a long time ago, mostly due to their abandoning of the "top bar"--and idea which I loved (imagine having a set of toolbars you can scroll through. Saves lots of space. I'd really love one you could hover over and scroll through with a mouse wheel.)
    • danakin, on 10/11/2007, -2/+7The top bar idea is still being used for media, and it looks and functions much better now than in versions past. However, if you want the Technorati and Mapper topbars they are available at http://loisant. org/flock/conversations/ and http://flock. spatialviews.com/ respectively (remove the spaces for the proper URL).
    • hiPpymIck, on 10/11/2007, -6/+1nothing to do with toolbars.. but

      the latest TabMixPlus lets you hover over and scroll thru your tabs
  • DextaRussell, on 10/11/2007, -3/+10Wow, I haven't heard news about this in awhile. I loved the idea of flock. Glad they updated it
  • fuzzies, on 10/11/2007, -9/+4I might download this browser. Anyone know if I should stick to Firefox or download this?
    • lys3rgic, on 10/11/2007, -3/+3It's based off the firefox source code...
    • ozid, on 10/11/2007, -4/+2It's mozilla based. it's not much of a jump. if you're willing to take an extra step, you can use a lot of the firefox extensions in flock. that said, I still use firefox.
    • rpgmaker, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Try it out for yourself.
  • gmprunner, on 10/11/2007, -7/+2I just use it as a big Flickr uploader.

    I've always been a big fan of killing flies with sledgehammers.
  • Visceral, on 10/11/2007, -13/+3This thing flopped a long time ago. The ideas it uses would be better off as Firefox extensions rather than the poop they call flock. Dugg down for lame.
    • RyanWilliams, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Possibly not the most eloquently written comment in the world, but does anyone seriously disagree? Flock built up a massive amount of hype, but unfortunately didn't follow through that well and it did sadly end up flopping and basically hasn't been talked about to any great degree since it was released.

      The idea might be great, but in practice it's just not that useful. The parts that are useful could very easily be Firefox extensions instead, and the fact that the entire browser is forever destined to piggy-back on Firefox's core code means it'll always be one step behind on Firefox's security, fundamental improvements, etc.

      Of course, if it weren't a standalone browser then maybe they wouldn't have gotten capital funding and a nice bout of cushy employment? ;D
  • SoZo, on 10/11/2007, -11/+0Please make out checks to "Flock.com"

  • trinest, on 10/11/2007, -12/+1Should be a Windows Program
  • Visceral, on 10/11/2007, -3/+14I *will* say this positive about it though. I just checked out this new version and the UI/Theme is very, very well done.
  • ozid, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7Flocks a good browser. Just not for me. There is too much going on, and I just gave the new version a try. I perfer firefox because of the simplicity. Any of the extensions I use, just make it simpler.
  • colsim, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6I've been using Flock for more than a year now and I'm very happy with it. (And remember that it's not even at version 1.0 yet)

    I like the ease of using social bookmarking and other social web tools, it performs well, supports all of the Firefox extensions that I need and it just seems more streamlined.

    I do miss Pimpzilla though :(
    • AkshayGenius, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Ive been using flock for more than a year myself, no particular reason, it just works and the RSS reader is really nice.
  • AZooYorkMystery, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3Is it faster than molasses yet?
    • kuyman, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Unfortunately, it's not, especially when you're used to the new Safari. But in other ways it makes up for it.
      • Thomasson, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2It kind of is; It may be slower than safari, but if I race you to blog something with rich html and flickr/photobucket images, flock'll win the race.
    • EvanHamilton, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3A lot of speed issues have to do with how many extensions you have installed, how many feeds you have, how many bookmarks, etc. Extensions can especially use memory. We've done a lot of work to make Flock faster and we will be spending considerable time optimizing the browser before 1.0. If you run into any specific speed issues, we'd love to hear about them at http://www.flock. com/feedback (minus the space).

      Evan Hamilton
      Flock Community Ambassador
      evan at flock dot com
  • jasonb33, on 10/11/2007, -2/+0just got myself the krawler platform..totally rocks.. file sharing is better than ever before..
  • xxbrighteyed, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5i've never understood why ANYONE would use firefox over flock, and i know i'm gunna get flamed something shocking for it, but basically, it's firefox but it comes with a nicer ui and some cool plugins

    all firefox plugins i've tested (and there's been MANY) work with flock, and all of the flock-exclusive ones i've found have been great

    it's the best browser out there, and has some great digg functionality to boot
    • drgmdp, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1actually i hate how it looks. and you can't change its skin.
      • EvanHamilton, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Hey drgmdp,

        We will be implementing theming functionality this year, as well as releasing a few extra themes of our own.

        Evan Hamilton
        Flock Community Ambassador
        evan at flock dot com
  • drgmdp, on 10/11/2007, -2/+4what's wrong with the guy from the article?
    http://i.zdnet.com/images/ms/ms_sohear_105x110.jpg
  • postlogic, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Oh, this is nice. I've been using Flock 0.7 for a while now, but it's been acting up lately.

    But that "My World"-feature looks pretty much like a ripoff of iGoogle, doesn't it? Will have to check this out when I get home.
    • mrgordon, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1I find the idea of ripping off iGoogle to be somewhat hilarious given that iGoogle is a rip off of Apple's habit of naming with the i-prefix (ie. the iPod, iPhone, iLife, etc.)
  • Xenoxi, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Anyone got any screenshots of the current version for Linux and Windows? It sure looks pretty on a Mac but I'd like to see how well it carries over to the other competitors.
  • gotamd, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2When it first came out, I wasn't that interested. But this rundown of the new features and enhancements has me excited enough to download it. It seems promising.
  • TonySoRetro, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Nice improvement on the interface. Gmail Notifier Firefox extension works on Flock which is a big plus for me. Quality back-up to Firefox along with Opera.
  • Thomasson, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2I'm *way* into flock.

    I haven't had a keystroke count comparison between blogging from flock (using flickr images) and blogging from firefox, but I know flock tears the time expended and the pageviews in half, and probably smaller.

    If it'd only build in a one-shot uploader for imageshack/bayimg, it'd be good as perfect for casual bloggy content creators.

    It's nice when blogging doesn't feel like coding rough html by hand. It's also nice that a firefox derivative can outperform firefox on macosX too.
    • EvanHamilton, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Hey Thomasson,

      Thanks for the kind words. We will be integrating with other photo services later this year. Details, when available, will be posted on http://www.flock. com/blog (without the space). Flock on!

      Evan Hamilton
      Flock Community Ambassador
      evan at flock dot com
  • MikeonTV, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1Often with I'm in Social website mode I will log into my Flock and go crazy, But most of the time i'm just checking out each site while doing routine surfing.
  • sirjtaa, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Lousy JPEGs.
  • CrankyMcGuy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I have been using Flock on a Mac since it first went public. Very promising, but the main feature I want is on again/off again depending on the release: blogging. Perhaps blogger.com's new API is at fault, but once I couldn't post to my blog using Flock I stopped using it. I'm curious to see if the new version has improved blogging support. I usually don't work with the nightly builds because they're unstable (duh, beta) but this feature list seems intriguing.
    • EvanHamilton, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Hey CrankyMcGuy,

      Blogger should work great with Flock 0.9. If you run into any problems, please let us know at http://www.flock. com/feedback (minus the space) or at my email address below. Working with numerous API's does occasionally cause breakdowns.

      Flock on,

      Evan Hamilton
      Flock Community Ambassador
      evan at flock dot com
  • bumcode744, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0A great update, worth the look if you're a social web fan.
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