Flock, The Social Web Browser Editor's Review

Based on the Chromium engine, this is a cool addition to the web browsers family. It is built on the same lightning fast, cutting edge code as Google Chrome' as the producers suggests.

When I first opened it, the resemblance with Chrome was pretty obvious. But after a close look I've noticed that something is missing. There is no 'stop' button so you can't stop loading a page or navigating away from one is a link is accidentally clicked. Actually, the 'stop' and 'refresh' buttons are one button which changes it's state.

In case you typed a wrong URL in the address bar, Flock will re-direct you to the Google search page. This is very odd and I don't think it's an improvement. There's no button for opening a new tab but 'Ctrl+T' shortcut works here too. The tab interface can be reordered via drag-and-drop. Unlike Mozilla, Flock doesn't have a Java console but it features some blog editor as well as other blog options.

When first starting the application you can import options, bookmarks, history, passwords, and other similar data from other Internet browsers that are already installed on your computer. Flock offers some interesting features like 'My World', 'People Sidebar', 'Media Bar', 'Feeds Sidebar', etc.

'My World' is structured on three columns: 'Favorite Sites', 'Favorite Feeds', 'Favorite Media'. Here you will find your most recently viewed sites, feeds, or media files. I mentioned above the 'People Sidebar'. From here you can log into Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, or YouTube instantly after you configure these accounts. During the test I've discovered that resemblances with Chrome didn't stop at the aspect and usability, but extends further. Memory and CPU consumption are low providing a quick navigation.

Pluses: Being based on the Chromium engine technologies, makes this web browser very customizable, easy to use, and very good for browsing and visualizing online multimedia content. Developer tools included.

Drawbacks / flaws:

In conclusion: I think this is a very good web browser overall. You should try it.

version reviewed: 1.2.213