The need for Flock
When I first heard about Flock I asked the obvious question of what was going to make it better or bigger compared to Firefox. There were a couple of features that made me smile, however the one tool that I was seriously very excited about was the fact that blogging could now be integrated directly into my browser. That would definitely make things that much more fun for me. However the news we got back from the original launch however regarding this particular feature weren’t as favourable as I’d have liked. And so Flock sits on my desktop waiting.
Enter Performancing, a new Firefox plugin. Performancing made me actually stop and think about the need for the Flock browser. Right now Firefox is the single most important application I have on my computer. Oh sure I can’t live without Photoshop, but at the same time my link to the world, news, friends and entertainment is via this little engine that could. So changing it for Flock will be a tall order now that Firefox effectively has everything I could want from it. Oh sure it doesn’t look as slick as Flock, however it’s the main code. It’s where it starts. Flock will follow.
Many people call Firefox just a browser, but it’s a lot more. The plugin architecture has expanded it into a lot more in ways Internet Explorer can only hope to one day match, but never will. Open Source applications are the future and the sooner people realise this the better we’ll all be. If I get an RSS Aggregator included as part of the core code then I’ll be a happy bunny,…hang on a minute, didn’t the Flockesters ask for what we’re looking for in an aggregator?
Yes, it seems like they did. The Flock bunch seem like a pretty savy bunch. So now the single most important thing that is missing in a browser, will hopefully be integrated as well. I honestly can’t wait for this to happen, not that I don’t like Sage, however this could be so much more and honestly I can’t use a stand-alone application for reading my feeds. It just doesn’t work. Now if only someone can also link up my rss links from an online source that sits on my server or an internet service or whatever and links up to any Firefox application (provided I put the password etc), I won’t need multiple copies of my OPML file.
So apart from the nicer look and potentially a feed aggregator (which will no doubt be ported over to FF, what can the Flock guys do for their final launch to make me choose their browser over Firefox? You ask, but why oh why would they want me? I guess for the money that the browser gets from people like Google etc for using that tiny little search function in the top right hand corner.
I agree, Firefox is so much more than just a browser. It’s an HTML + CSS validator. It’s a way to check what websites look like with no styles applied. It’s a way to ensure degradable JavaScript. It’s the trend-setter for Microsoft’s new RSS icon. Like you, I get excited about Flock not because of what it can do, but because of the implications the improvements have for Firefox.
↓ Quote | 21/12/2005
Actually, we’d want you because you’re engaging in the conversation that is taking over the web. You’re a Flock user, even if you don’t know it yet. ;)
And hey, the web’s a big place, certainly big enough for two standards-compliant browsers (if not more). I’m a fan of Firefox and want it to succeed; I also want more people to get into blogging, sharing photos and video and being able to consume all this great content that people are syndicating in feeds. That’s the story of Flock; that’s what it will bring to the web. Hell, Performancing’s got a cool tool, but it’s not part of the Firefox story. In Flock, it’s a first class citizen: if not folks like you writing blogs like, then who? Yes, we need a tool that makes composition and publishing as commonplace as browsing and emailing. Maybe, just maybe (guarentees make people lazy), Flock will be useful to that end.
↓ Quote | 21/12/2005
Love your site, and now a Flock addict also. Thanks!
↓ Quote | 22/12/2005
I hope the guys over at Flock prove me wrong, I really do. But at this point, I just don’t see the need for it…
↓ Quote | 28/12/2005