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As Internet Explorer and Firefox fight for the lion's share, a new web browser has launched itself into the collective web conscience, hoping to corner a niche market.
Current Web BrowsersSince 2002, Internet Explorer (IE) was the web browser of choice, cornering over 80% of the market. Now, six years later they still hold just over 50% of the market (split down the middle between version 6 and 7 with about 25% each) but they are about to lose out to the newcomer Firefox, a decidedly user-friendly and more streamlined browser. In fact, IE has only maintained its percentage throne because its programmers wisely mimicked the Tab function that made Firefox so popular. Browsers could visit multiple websites without opening new browser windows; they could simply open new tabs within the same window. Flock OverviewFlock is not a broad, cross-demographic product; it's designed specifically for the social networking websites (YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, etc) that revamped the internet so drastically that we actually coined it a new name: Web 2.0. From a single Flock window, internet users can browse their favorite videos, update their Facebook status, upload pictures to Flickr, and post cool web discoveries to their blog ... all without logging into a single website. Cool Flock ToolsThe amount of information and tools available in the Flock interface can be overwhelming, but the design is surprisingly intuitive. Most of the features are automatic; if a user browses a website that has an RSS feed, Flock will automatically detect it and ask if the user wants to add it to Flock. These RSS feeds show up in your MyWorld homepage, which opens automatically when you open Flock. Also handy are the Media Bar and People Sidebar, which display a constant feed of videos, pictures, and friend status updates from any of your favorite social networking sites. Basic functions on these sites, including changing your Facebook status or uploading pictures to Flickr, can be done without going to the actual websites. Flock Blog EditorFlock's best feature is the Blog Editor, a simple tool that allows you to write text, embed videos and picture, and generally write a complete blog entry completely within Flock's interface. Then, with a few simple clicks, users can simultaneously post the entry on all of their blogs. The most common blog sites, such as Blogger, LiveJournal, and Xanga, are preset in Flock; once users sign in once, all entries afterwards are a simple mouse click. Blogs that are hosted privately are a little more work, but can be added as well. Future Versions of FlockThe second version of Flock is only available in beta form, but promises the future addition of MySpace into its interface (the one social network that is still missing from Flock) and security and UI enhancements modeled after the popular Firefox 3 web browser. With all of its bells and whistles, Flock may not be for every web surfer, but for bloggers, Twitter junkies, and anyone with one too many login accounts, it’s the best web browser available.
The copyright of the article A Review of Flock in Web Browsers is owned by James Roland. Permission to republish A Review of Flock in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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