Flock

CNET Editors' review

by: CNET Staff on November 06, 2008

There's a lot to like in this beta release of Flock 1.0, if you're into social networking. Built on Firefox, it's designed to make interfacing with social networking sites extremely easy.

The browser loads pages well, but the Quick Search dialog box doesn't like it when you switch search engines, it just opens them in a new browser. Most, but not all, regular Firefox extensions work, too.

Flock's social network savvy sidebar is the reason to get this browser. Nine buttons at the top of the collapsible sidebar make accessing any of your social networking or frequently used Web sites easier than Twittering what you had for breakfast. Each button either helps you get your message out faster, like dragging-and-dropping photos into Flickr, or helps you read your friends' messages quicker, like the integrated RSS feed reader.

The People button turns the sidebar into a nifty way to track all your social networking accounts. Your avatar is displayed on the left, while the right contains links for new messages and new comments. The bottom holds the links to upload new media when applicable and a hot link to open or close your media stream.

There are also hot links to most major blogging sites, and if you choose to configure it for your own self-published blog, Flock guides you through the process. Even though it's resource-heavy, Flock is the way to go if Twittering, Facebooking, or YouTubing is how you spend most of your online time.