Goodbye, Firefox
This entry was posted on November 21, 2007
I’m not exactly what you’d call “cutting edge”, but I do like to think of myself as open-minded. So when Smashing Magazine came up with a list of interesting web browsers we’ve never heard of, I thought I’d try something new.
Cue Flock, “a free, next generation web browser.”
When using Flock, people can easily discover, access, create and share videos, photos, blogs, feeds and comments across social communities, media providers, and popular websites.
I downloaded it and installed it, which was a painless process. Flock was even kind enough to import all my favourites and browsing history from Firefox, so I couldn’t lose my toolbar full of favicons and the link to that tutorial I was reading the other day.
Upon loading Flock for the first time, you’re taken to a page called “My World” which has your favourite links, some recently-visited links, as well as news feeds and other tidbits. It’s a bit intimidating at first, but I can see why it’d be useful for some people. It’s basically a portal into your e-life.
Flock also has multiple 3rd-party connection facilities. I can post to my blog, see my friends on facebook, update my status on Twitter, upload photos to Flickr, and see my youtube videos, all from the sidebar in my browser. How awesome is that?
To me, Flock looks and feels a lot like Firefox. Some Firefox add-ons even work with Flock. Of course, Flock has its own extensions as well, and so I’ve got my beloved screen-grabbing add-on back. I don’t have my StumbleUpon toolbar back yet though… I’ll have to see if the Firefox version will work with Flock.
So far, I can’t think of anything that Firefox can do which Flock can’t do. I’ve got tabbed browsing, add-ons, favourite, bookmarks, and more. Flock seems to be like Firefox on crack. Let’s hope it continues to stay as good as it is right now.
25 lovely people have commented
Is it more stable than Firefox?
That’s the only thing I don’t like about Firefox, it uses too much memory and can be very unstable sometimes!
Plus do they do a Linux version, I guess I can find that out for my self!
I did try it way back when it first came out in Windblows, but I didn’t like it much then, maybe it’s improved?
Anyway, it’d be good to know if you (or anyone else) find it stable or not.
Peter, I’ve only been using Flock for 24 hours, but it’s been fine so far. Hasn’t crashed or been sluggish at all. It’s been much more memory-friendly than Firefox.
Wow, that sounds very interesting. I’m downloading it right now to use it when firefox becomes bitchy, which is happening more often that I’d like 
I have heard of flock so many times, yet I never read anything as useful about it as this post. Now you have me convinced to get it. I would be disappointed though if I couldn’t have my web developer toolbar thats why Opera fails me too.
That, and my many Firefox shortcuts and extensions.
I will have to try Flock no, you are very persuasive.
Bobbi-Lee, you could always see if the Web Developer toolbar will work with Flock. It might; it might not.
I used it for a while, after Rose (of impish.ca) blogged how a guy who worked on the developing team for Flock came to the store she worked at and promised a T-Shirt to her…
But it did more or less the same as Firefox. Though, since it was release 0.70something, it still had a few bugs here and there.
So, I don’t see a reason to exchange FF for Flock. Memory usage is not a problem I have enough, plus my add-ons are a whooping number of 5 (webdeveloper toolbar, IE tab, shazoo, firezilla and the spell check). That’s hardly going to crash any (reasonable) OS.
So, heard of Flock, and no thanks. I like my FF as it is.
Vera, I completely understand where you’re coming from. Useful and fun as Flock is, it’s not for everyone.
I used to love Flock; can’t remember why I stopped using it though. It is very similar to Firefox mind innit. *common*
I downloaded flock a while ago but stopped using it as I missed my extensions. Is there a mac version? I’ll have a look.
Flock sounds very interesting, but I’m pretty happy with FF for the time being.
That sounds very cool. My bf is usually very good with computers, but a virus (or something that he hasn’t figured out a solution to yet) has his computer acting up, and now he can’t open firefox. he hates IE, and he might really like this one.
I think he’d be open to most anything similar to FF, but his main concern is that he misses his stumble bar too
@Peter Green: Well you have probably noticed… but there is is linux version and it was easy to install (I don’t know which linux you’re using but for Ubuntu I found this:http://www.getdeb.net/app.php?name=Flock)
Anyway. I’m commenting from Flock now. Seems a lot like FF and quite nice too. It’s like FF and Opera had child. I guess I have to play with this and see how it works. 
(Nice that I was able to import everything from Firefox.)
I have no problems with Firefox, but I’m trying to decide if I should try it, just for the sake of something new. I think I will
http://loucypher.wordpress.com/projects/extensions/flockd/
It converts pretty much any Firefox add-on to work with Flock.
Interesting - I’ve never heard of Flock! I might just check it out. You present a very appealing picture of it.
Somehow, I just figured that the universe ran on IE and Mozilla. (Netscape? Netscape belongs with AOL in the department of obsolete!) … Talk about naive.
^ Chanel, there are millions of web browsers out there. Well, maybe not *millions*, but definitely more than two. There’s even this program called “Browser Bob” where you can make your *own* web browser program. It’s very cool.
Ooo…I might be tempted to try it out.
Are you honestly giving FF up? I might check out Flock, but like Vera, I haven’t been having any problems with FF, so I think I’ll just keep using it. It’s like that old saying “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.” Since there’s nothing wrong with FF for me, I’m not going to try to fix a non-existent problem. Browser Bob sounds really cool - I’m definitely going to check it out!
Clem, yes, I’m honestly giving it up… Of course, I have it installed on a memory stick so I can use FF on any PC I like, but for my main browsing at home, I’ll be using Flock.
I used Flock before and I loved it! However, due to the handful of addons that I use with Firefox that I can’t live without, I felt like I was browsing raw when using Flock so I ditched it.
Hang on, don’t you need to use Internet Explorer to view the Interwebz? LOLZ!!1!one!!111
I think I read Rose’s post on it too and vowed to use it then, but forgot. I like my Firefox, but won’t rule out giving it a spin if I’m bored later on!
Regina, you might not hear me, but I beg to differ — Rachael here graced me with a screenshot of my site that was different from both Opera and Firefox. The rendering engine is most definitely wonky, to say the least.
Leila, I think Regina was trying to say that Flock is more standards-compliant than IE…
Have you tried the Opera web browser? It’s amazing! It has “Sped Dial” for your top 9 sites. Instead of navigating through your bookmarks or typing in the address, you just type in a number 1-9 and hit enter, then you’re taken to the site of your choice. Also, if you open a blank tab, it takes you to a Speed Dial page, where it shows a current thumbnail of all 9 sites. You can even refresh the thumbnails to see if a site has updated yet. I switched to this from Firefox, and I love it! Also, it’s supposedly the most safe browser out there.
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Regina said:
Yeah, I have it too. I haven’t given it too many tries yet cause oh well, I don’t like changes. Anyway, I think I’ll start using more often given all the possibilities it offers.
And the good thing is your layouts look exactly as planned both in FF, Flock and Opera. The three of them are the love…