If you are the type of person who likes downloading and trying different web browsers (like I am), then today was chock full of goodness. Not only was Firefox 3.0 officially released today, but the Flock 2 Beta is out as well! (Thanks to Ars for the head's up on Flock.)

Here are links:

• Firefox 3
• Flock 2 Beta

Give them a try. Maybe you'll find a replacement for Internet Explorer if you haven't already. Seriously, if you are viewing my site in Explorer, trust me that it looks better in just about anything else!

Tags: flock, browsers, firefox

Flock 1.0 was released for general consumption late last week, and it offers another browser alternative for Mac, WIndows, and Linux users. It bills itself as a social web browser, and it integrates functionality with several social networking and media sites to bring a richer experience to your web browsing. If you never use online services like Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or Flickr, Flock may not be for you. However, if you are a fan of Web 2.0, you might want to give this browser a try.

Cool Features

Flock stands out from many browsers with some very sleek and useful features, though some could use some refinements in their implementation.

The Media Bar is unique and presented well. It's function is to allow access to media streams from various video and photography related sites like YouTube and Flickr. The Media Bar can either appear along the top or the bottom of the browser window.


interesting images from Flickr


top rated YouTube videos

The Media Bar allows you to interact with the videos and photos in various ways. You can save media or send videos and images to online friends trough simple drag-and-drop. You can copy code to embed objects web pages, and, if you are using a blogging engine that Flock recognizes, you can add these images or videos to your blog with a single click. It's a handy addition for individuals who browse a lot of online media.

The People Sidebar is another unique interface feature to Flock. It allows you to integrate services like Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr directly into the browser. For example, Flock can track recent Tweets made from Twitter as well as recent comments made about your Flickr images. I couldn't test the Facebook or YouTube integration since I do not have an account on either, but I did have problems with the Twitter interface sometimes not showing the most recent Tweets (when compared to my Twitter page or results in Twitterific). Still, for individuals hooked on social websites, these features may be great time savers.


twitter in the sidebar and the web clipboard

Another interesting sidebar feature is a Web Clipboard. This clipboard allows you to save links, text, and images from websites for later use. I immediately found this useful in gathering information to possibly use in link posts. The tool is self-explanatory, and it worked flawlessly.

Complimenting the Flickr and YouTube integration, Flock allows for direct uploads to these services. The Flickr uploader was pretty good, but it lacked the ability to add a photo to a specific album. However, it does support writing descriptions, tagging, and privacy settings.


uploading to Flickr

RSS integration is a standard browser feature these days (though I still prefer using a dedicated aggregator), and Flock provides a nice interface for subscribing to feeds. When a site has an RSS feed available, an orange icon lights up in the address bar. Pressing this button will open the feed up in Flock.



Once you are viewing the RSS feed, you have the option to subscribe to this feed with a single click. Flock offers single column or double column views, and articles are marked as read once you scroll past them. You can also choose to view article titles, truncated posts, or full posts (for those RSS feeds that supply full articles). It's well implemented, but I wish there was a way to customize how often it refreshes subscribed feeds.



Flock can additionally be used to edit blogs if you use a service like Blogger, Typepad, or WordPress. (I am unfortunately unable to test this feature thuroughly.) Other nice touches include instant search results, and you can add any site to the search bar that has an integrated search engine. Finally, links that would usually open in a new window automatically open in a new tab, avoiding the hassle of multiple browser windows. In all, Flock contains many unique features that cater to primarily individuals who enjoy social networking, and these features are implemented pretty well. There's some room for improvement, but the package is enjoyable to use as a whole.

The Interface

One of the challenges with creating an application containing so many features is in creating an interface that remains simple and accessible. Here, Flock runs into a couple of small problems. For one, the interface can become very cluttered very quickly if you have the Media Bar and sidebar open simultaneously – a natural side effect of so much accessible information and media.


Also, the default theme is pretty busy. Fortunately, Flock will support themes later this year, so hopefully something a little more subdued will become available soon.



Otherwise, there are some other small elements and widgets that look a little out of place (especially in the bookmarks bar and the preferences window), but this is standard for Firefox-based browsers on OS X at the moment. We'll see if any of the work on the upcoming Firefox 3 addresses those issues.

Technical Issues

I ran into few real issues while testing Flock. The RSS reader does not seem to automatically update your feeds without a relaunch of the browser, nor could I find a way to schedule feed updates. (Someone correct me if I missed something.) Likewise, the Twitter sidebar seldom had the most recent Tweets from individuals I'm following, and I would have to visit Twitter to see their most recent comments anyway – negating the usefulness of the sidebar. Finally, I ran into some slowdowns if I had more than a couple tabs open, and the application crashed a couple of times while I was using it. However, none of these issues negate the usefulness of Flock. They merely diminish that usefulness.

Update: About refreshing feeds (from the Flock FAQ):

Every hour Flock will check feeds for updates. You can refresh individual feeds by using the Reload button while viewing a feed.

Final Thoughts

Saying all this, I do like Flock. Does it need work? Sure it does, but it functions well as a 1.0 product, and it has something going for it most other browsers lack. Flock has personality. It's fun to use. Take Internet Explorer, Camino, Firefox, and a myriad of other browsers. They all have unique features and issues, but they all essentially feel the same to use. Flock stands out from the pack because it dares to be a little different, and, as a Mac user, I can appreciate that. I seriously doubt Flock will be replacing my usual browsing routine of WebKit + Vienna + Twitterific anytime soon, but it's caught my interest. I'll be keeping my eye on this browser as it continues to grow and receive updates, and I recommend you check it out as well.

Tags: software, flock, browsers