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CNET Editors' review
Flock is designed to streamline and emphasize how you interface with social networking sites, RSS and media feeds, and blogs. Because it's built on Firefox 3, its behavior will feel familiar and it supports most--but not all--Firefox extensions. And yes, the "awesome bar" is part of the latest version.
Flock's social network savvy sidebar is the reason to get this browser. 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. Feature-focused, 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 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. New users will likely find it overwhelming at first, but it really does give you a more comprehensive and real-time view into your social network than you can get otherwise.
Publisher's Description
From Flock:
Flock is an award-winning browser, built on Mozilla's Firefox technology and designed for the way we use the web today. With Flock, you can easily connect with friends, share with them, and receive updates effortlessly. The Flock browser is safe, free, and fun.
What's new in this version: Fixed the Facebook login detection issue.
More Popular Web Browsers downloads
- Mozilla Firefox
18,298 downloads
- Google Chrome
5,195 downloads
- Opera
1,210 downloads
- Apple Safari
576 downloads
- Google Chrome dev
564 downloads
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All versions:
3.7 starsout of 19 votes
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Current version:
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My rating:
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"interestngly different"
Version: Flock 2.5.6
Pros
pretty quick
Cons
full-screen display, want it or not
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"Awesome social browser"
Version: Flock 2.5
Pros
Integration with other SNSs
Cons
speed, maybe
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"Great Social Networking Browser"
Version: Flock 2.5
Pros
Stay connected with most major social networking sites.
Easy to navigate it's features.
Based on FireFox technologies.
Tabbed Browsing (pretty much a standard now)Cons
Not faster than Safari
Due to large amounts of feeds, the browser can seem slower than usual even on a fast connection.Summary
Outside of the speed issue, this is an incredibly useful browser for those who use social networking sites. It's FireFox under pinnings means it has a solid foundation, but does not get updated as often as it's FireFox cousin. This gets a 4 our 5 stars, simply because its not as fast as Safari, but Safari doesn't have all of Flock's features. If I could this would get a 4.5 stars.
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"Superb-o development. And a word on Shiira 1.2.2 Metal."
Version: Flock 2.0.3
Pros
Netscape once belted IE, for many reasons - before disastrous design change. This Flock does just that to the rest of the flock It has presentation 'solidity' and reliabilty developers chasing chrome are missing. It also outdoes its Firefox lineage..
Cons
At first I thought its boot was slow, and it is a bit. That unhappily conveys an impression the browser is too ... but it isn't. Also, apathy may be a problem in a crowded field but that springs from an insufficient exploration of Flock's potential.
Summary
I might be in a minority of two here, Mr Editor but - the question of speed aside - Flock 2.0.3 is far and away the best Internet browser available. I was also surprised to see it is built on an increasingly bloated Firefox 'technology' riddled with flaws. Read: prone to stalling interminably and crashing.
If one reads through Flock's menus and explanations and applies the geegaws one realizes it can do everything any other browser, even Apple's Safari, can do. More importantly it does them often not only just as well but better and more reliably. These include its vaunted social networks capabilities and its neat sidebar arrangements and their capacities.
Theme and GUI freaks might take exception to some of these statements, but does one really need 500 different appearances, endless extensions of varying and sometimes dubious quality - yer know, what is politely termed 'capable of endless customisation' - slowing down and halting performance?
(And Flock has that presence, reliability, solidity ... call it what you will ... of the original mid-period 'Scape and its edge then over IE). For my money it is the best all round browser going.
Now. Real speed. There's a light download (in English) from the Japanese, the browser, Shiira, (Note two 'I's. I and I, thanks Bob). It is, well, turbocharged and based, I'm not sure but think, on Chrome and/or Webkit developments). And - contrary to circulating opinion - it has just been updated.
Shiira Metal is not great if you just want to flip open a sheaf of windows or photographic images but it is - without a doubt - at least two times as fast as any other browser out there. And usually three. And that includes all the Chrome-based outfits [Crossover, Stainless, Demeter &c &c) cropping up in the wake of Google's Chrome. Talking about which why, after many months, does that company - reputation for speed and all - still have to deliver its Mac version. not that I can see it coming naywhere near Shiira's ability to zip around the Net.
So Flock 2.0.3 is right there. And Shiira is at the next set of traffic lights two blocks ahead.
You owe it to yourself to try both these underexplored and brilliant works of design. -
"This browser is the BEST yet. Nothing else compares!"
Version: Flock 2.0
Pros
Flock is built for the age of social web multi-tasking. This browser makes keeping in touch with your friends so easy that it's difficult to imagine going back to Firefox or Opera ever.
Cons
I would like to see a Flock service that would allow me to save my configuration to the web, so that I could log-in from multiple Flock browsers and always have my config available.
Summary
You have to give this browser a shot. If you blog, upload photos, use Facebook or MySpace, or subscribe to newsfeeds...you need to check this out. You won't be sorry.
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"Works as promised."
Version: Flock 1.2.1
Pros
Flock does what it promises and helps organize your online life. This includes centralizing your social networking sites, RSS feeds, photo/video sharing sites, and blogs. The accessibility to all these sites from Flock is the primary benefit to this program. It's clean and fast (enough) and does what it promises. Been using it since I installed it.
Cons
If you're not a serious surfer, this browser can get a bit confusing. There is a lot to see on the interface. (Inherently, anyone needing to use Flock would not have this problem.) Flock does not seem to run as fast as Safari, which is only made up for it's features.
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"Flock made me pee a littel bit."
Version: Flock 1.2.1
Pros
Browsers are boring - except for Flock. With Flock I actually DISCOVER things. I played with it for a while and found around 15 useful features and several ways to make my online life richer. Try the media bar searching..! WOW. Try dragging and dropping your favorite youtube videos on a facebook friend in the sidebar...! WOW. Damn. I peed again.
Cons
There is nothing I don't like about this browser.
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"Great for people who use multiple social networks and blogs."
Version: Flock 1.2.1
Pros
Great if your a blogger, if your not it's useful if you use multiple social network.
It's worth a download.
Cons
It can be a bit challenging to figure out if your not a tech geek.
Brandon,
swinkle.net
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"Useless"
Version: Flock 1.2.1
Pros
Good for connecting with people (the social networking features).
Cons
Slow compared to Camino and Safari and it's bloated.
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"CNET doesn't work"
Version: Flock 1.2.1
Pros
How would I know? You can't actually download anything from CNET.
Cons
How would I know? You can't actually download anything from CNET.
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