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Flock, the New Browser on the Block

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the too-many-choices dept.

^tamago^ writes to tell us BusinessWeek Online is reporting that a new browser is stepping into the arena. This new competitor, Flock, hopes to change the face of web browsing by turning their's into the swiss army knife of browsers. From the article: "Flock's browser is built specifically for a new, emerging generation of Web users, one that isn't satisfied passively browsing media online. Flock hopes to turn the browser into a dashboard for collaborating, blogging, sharing photos, reveling in a raft of other group activities that have recently caught fire online"

17 of 380 comments (clear)

  1. So how will it generate sales? by powerpuffgirls · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Decrem expects to make money from running Google ads, as well as getting so-called affiliate fees for referring users to commercial sites such as Amazon.com (AMZN ). Moreover, he envisions getting money from other Web services, such as blogging or photo-sharing services, that might pay Flock for sign-ups sent their way from the Flock software.

    Is it Opera all over again in terms of its business model?

    Or does it sound like a legalized spyware?

    What would site owners feel if a browser is competing for Google Ads and referral bonuses with them?

  2. Yuck by MightyMartian · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Well, all I can say is that if the web site is any indicator of the design talents of its creators, I don't hold much hope for the "swiss army knife" of browsers.

    --
    The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    1. Re:Yuck by aichpvee · · Score: 5, Funny

      SPOILER: flock.com kills eyes!

      --
      The Farewell Tour II
    2. Re:Yuck by aussie_a · · Score: 5, Funny

      That's why I only install stuff like this at school.

  3. This is great! by anandamide · · Score: 5, Funny

    Instead of telling someone to visit a website, I can tell them to "Flock This!"

  4. Great! by Moth7 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    A link to a story about a press release for a private beta. Stuff that matters? Not really. Wake me up when the browser is publically available.

  5. I wonder what MBA thought this one up. by mumblestheclown · · Score: 5, Funny

    I what proactive MBA envisioned the synergies that would allow flock to become a knowledge portal center of excellence for podcasting core competencies of leveraging mindshare and paradigm shifts to achieve superlinear ROI.

  6. Covering the bases by saddino · · Score: 5, Funny

    Expect Flock to crash and, from time to time, lose all your data.

    OK, so apparently it's at least as stable as IE.

  7. umm, entirely new idea of thinking by skeletor935 · · Score: 5, Funny
    Flock also keeps a history of every Web page a user visits, so they can be found easily later.

    I've seen this feature before, but I can't recall where...

  8. Re:Based off of Konqueror? by nazh · · Score: 5, Informative

    Wired says it is based on firefox;http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,128 2,68823,00.html?tw=rss.TOP

  9. Re:No Invite by RangerRick98 · · Score: 5, Funny

    they can't develop a web page worth a crud...

    They probably spent all of their website design budget on this slashvertisement. :)

    --
    "You're older than you've ever been, and now you're even older."
  10. Re:A little thin on details. by tehshen · · Score: 5, Funny

    Oh and hey, wanna join the flock? We're hiring! So guess what? Send us your resume! ...Meet the Flockers?

    --
    Guy asked me for a quarter for a cup of coffee. So I bit him.
  11. Slashdot: The newest shill on the block! by RexRhino · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That's right... News for Nerds, and Stuff that matters, and now the coolest place to get corporate press releases and sponsered product reviews!

  12. Article summary by joe_bruin · · Score: 5, Funny

    FLOCK(2)            Linux Programmer's Manual            FLOCK(2)

    NAME
           flock - apply or remove an advisory lock on an open file
    SYNOPSIS
           #include <sys/file.h>
           int flock(int fd, int operation)
    DESCRIPTION
           Apply  or  remove  an  advisory lock on an open file.  The
           file is specified  by  fd.   Valid  operations  are  given
           below:
                  LOCK_SH   Shared  lock.   More than one process may
                            hold a shared lock for a given file at  a
                            given time.

                  LOCK_EX   Exclusive  lock.   Only  one  process may
                            hold an exclusive lock for a  given  file
                            at a given time.

                  LOCK_UN   Unlock.

                  LOCK_NB   Don't  block when locking.  May be speci&#173;
                            fied (by or'ing) along with  one  of  the
                            other operations.

           A  single file may not simultaneously have both shared and
           exclusive locks.

           A file is locked (i.e., the inode), not the file  descrip&#173;
           tor.   So,  dup(2)  and  fork(2)  do  not  create multiple
           instances of a lock.

    RETURN VALUE
           On success, zero is returned.  On error, -1  is  returned,
           and errno is set appropriately.
    ERRORS
           EWOULDBLOCK
                  The  file  is  locked  and  the  LOCK_NB  flag  was
                  selected.
    CONFORMING TO
           4.4BSD (the flock(2) call first appeared in 4.2BSD).
    NOTES
           flock(2) does not  lock  files  over  NFS.   Use  fcntl(2)
           instead:  that  does  work  over NFS, given a sufficiently
           recent version of Linux and a server which supports  lock&#173;
           ing.

           flock(2)  and fcntl(2) locks have different semantics with
           respect to forked processes and dup(2).
    SEE ALSO
           open(2), close(2), dup(2), execve(2),  fcntl(2),  fork(2),
           lockf(3)

           There    are   also   locks.txt   and   mandatory.txt   in
           /usr/src/linux/Documentation.

    Linux                       1998-12-11                   FLOCK(2)

    1. Re:Article summary by game+kid · · Score: 5, Funny

      I tried to install this newfangled Flock on Linux, but...

      [root@localhost] # make install
      make: *waves index finger*
      i KNOW you didn't try to overwrite the REAL flock
      with that browser and shit.
      See >man flock< and burn in hell.
      *throws root's clothes out window*
      Stop.
      [root@localhost] #

      My Linux seems a bit protective of its territory nowadays...

      --
      You can hold down the "B" button for continuous firing.
  13. I beta tested Flock. by IO+ERROR · · Score: 5, Informative
    Not only did I beta test it, I wrote a review of it about two months ago.

    In short, it's:

    • Based on Firefox.
    • A blogging and social networking tool.
    • Not going to steal your personal data.

    Read the review for more.

    --
    How am I supposed to fit a pithy, relevant quote into 120 characters?
  14. Re:more competition should be a good thing, I hope by foolswisdom · · Score: 5, Informative

    Yes, Flock is being developed on and for MSWin, MacOS, and Linux. A slight majority of the developers do their work primarily on Linux. It is not "written in java". I think you have us confused with a SourceForge project. The Flock browser is directly based on Firefox.

    Playing nice with other people and technologies is very important to us!