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New Flock beta leaves Firefox for Chrome

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief June 23, 2010 · 1 min read

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I’ve been a fan of the Flock browser ever since I discovered it years back. The original one was based on the Mozilla code-base so it’s like a cousin to Firefox. However, the upcoming version of Flock looks like it gone Chromium.

I installed the beta copy here and was greeted by a more socially-aware browser. Facebook and Twitter streams are integrated into the browser.

The beta version looks spiffy and now runs on the same code-base as Google Chrome. Not sure why they decided to divorce Mozilla and start anew with Chromium.

It’s possible that Flock developers have seen how Google Chrome was eating into the Firefox and Safari market share and by going with Chromium, they might avoid becoming collateral damage. Besides, by being a Chrome cousin, it would be easier for Flock to partner with Google for in-browser search monetization.

I personally liked the extensions on Chrome because it doesn’t require a restart of the browser. The number of extensions is not yet as extensive as Firefox but it’s getting there. Flock might just grab those people who prefer the look and feel of Firefox but the robust and speedy performance of Chrome.

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Abe Olandres

Editor-in-chief

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and is considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines.

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40 Comments

ipad us · 15 years ago

Two Goldman Sachs analysts said this week that Apple is prepping the next version of the iPad for a June 2011 release. It will include a built-in …

The Oraâ€ or · 16 years ago

I dont need this, I have an Firefox browser that does have good facebook and twitter addon.

Unwired · 16 years ago

Well, chrome uses Mozilla source…

yohan · 16 years ago

a competitor for google chrome ? haha

bulagsakulay · 16 years ago

@abeolandres new Flock is cool. Thanks!

fr0stbyte · 16 years ago

Chrome’s the fastest in my experience.. But it’s not as full-featured as Firefox is. Still FF for me.

Oni · 16 years ago

i don’t use either Twitter or Facebook so will stick with firefox

Nonoy · 16 years ago

Hindi ba matagal na tong Flock? way before chrome

pj · 16 years ago

ha… interesting! firefox has been giving me problems lately but i still like having it around as i like to use both chrome and firefox (for the just in case it doesn’t work in one browser then i’ll use it on the other). i’ll give flock a try… thanks for the info!

Darren · 16 years ago

pretty cool Yuga!!

Doc Harry · 16 years ago

I’ve figured out how to add folders to the non-organizable favorites bar of Flock:

1. Install Xmarks (formerly Foxmarks) extension in your organized Chrome install.

2. When you install Flock, don’t sync your bookmarks.

3. Install Xmarks on Flock.

4. Sync Xmarks on Flock.

You’re still going to have to deal with non-organizable folders and such. And when you add bookmarks, they only go to the bar and not in any folder. Will have to open your main browser and sync from there.

LunaTech · 16 years ago

same here… i guess chrome is the one for mac users

sylv3rblade · 16 years ago

^
I had the same reaction :(

MyMaria · 16 years ago

awww :( no mac version yet.. tsk.

Teknisyan · 16 years ago

hmm.. interesting, there has been a lot of browser lately that either based on IE, Firefox and webkit, where Chrome and safari are based.

So far the browser that I use is firefox, chrome, safari, lunascape and IE (as if I have a choice) heheh…

might as well try this one.. :)

Doc Harry · 16 years ago

Trying it now… I’ve actually switched over from Firefox to Palemoon (another FF derivative). Unlike Palemoon, however, Flock doesn’t carry over extensions from my initial Chrome installation. Palemoon dug in and came up with my original FF extensions automatically. Also, very poor support for folders in the Favorite Bar. It also offered to carry over saved passwords but they didn’t really sync. Let’s see how it develops.

Jhay · 16 years ago

I’ve tried Flock two years ago when Chrome wasn’t even around.

It’s much lighter on the resources compared to Firefox but what kept me from switching are my personal set of plugins and extensions.

Nowadays though, I’m still in love with Chrome.

Jon · 16 years ago

There is probably another reason why they switched to Chrome code. It is mch stable and less a resource hog, unlike Firefox. It is also fast and lightweight a well. If only Chrome had most of the plugins I use in firefox, i would use it as my primary browser.