Slashdot Mirror
RockMelt — Right Browser, Wrong Platform?
waderoush writes "A detailed Xconomy software review concludes that the new RockMelt browser is a labor-saver for heavy users of the desktop social Web, but it doesn't fully deliver on the startup's promise to build a browser 'designed around you and how you use the Web.' That's because the social Web is less and less about the PC desktop, and more about mobile platforms and appliances like smartphones, tablets, and Internet-connected TVs. What's missing today is software that can help bridge the gap: 'I'm not really looking for more reasons to spend time using my desktop browser,' the review states. 'Rather, I'm busy offloading as many old PC-centric tasks as I can to my other devices. It's nice to have better integration between Facebook, Twitter, news feeds, search, and standard Web content on the desktop. But what's really needed right now is better integration between the desktop social Web and the mobile social Web.'"
It's nice to have better integration between Facebook, Twitter, news feeds, search, and standard Web content on the desktop. But what's really needed right now is better integration between the desktop social Web and the mobile social Web
Its designed how they and possibly some other people use the web. There are plenty of people out there who don't give two shits about Facetube and Twitbook integration.
This is a very niche market, I don't see too many people using Flock either. This is, dare I say it a browser for Arts students.
Regardless of the utility of the social aspects of RockMelt, I'm mostly not on board because I like it when I barely even notice my browser. It's really not my focus when I'm browsing the web and I don't want it to be. Chrome is doing it right at the moment. Minimal gui 'chrome', even the kicker bottom on the bottom is gone, which is nice. If you mouseover a URL only then does any semblage of a kicker panel appear. With the direction JS and specifically libraries like JQuery are taking things, who needs clunky web browser based enhancements!
check out the Mp3 Garbler I built!
RockMelt
PaperBurn
ScissorsCut
LizardRun
SpockSmart
What did I win?!
This is the NSA, we're gonna geet U h@x0r5! Also, what is a h@x0r5?
It's built on a browser, but really, if it went laser-focus on just social sites and the such, it would make a good companion, especially if it gave the option to load the links in other browsers.
I would never use it because I'm reliant on 1password, and since this is not a supported browser, it makes my auth more difficult... I think the same could be said about many extensions on FF/Safari/Chrome. Maybe Rockmelt would be best done as an extension?
Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
*promo
How does it feel to be a liar with pants constantly on fire?
I don't get the name of this browser. Why the fuck is it called "Rock Me It"? What the fuck does the phrase "rock me it" even mean?
It sounds like the sort of broken English I'd heard dumbasses down in Arkansas and Alabama speaking, back when I had the misfortune of doing some contract work over there.
RockMelt is the first "social" app thats actually made me want to use it. I'm on Facebook frequently during the day, I work from home so FB is my "watercooler". So its nice to check it, quickly, once every few hours. RockMelt helps me do this quickly, I get my social fix and get back to my job.
I also follow several blogs and tech sites, they usually get skimmed over lunch or in the evenings RockMelt actually has an RSS mechanism I like. It saves me time because I can see who has updates. This also lets me see a usable RSS update from my ticket tracker at work. I'm expecting this to give me a consistent experience across OS's too. No more trying to remember if the RSS feeds are in the OS X dashboard, the Windows tray, or the Gnome taskbar. Its in my damn browser in the same place.
On top of all that RockMelt is based on Chrome/Chromium, which I already used anyway.
I do need to check and see if RockMelt is using HTTPS to chatter with FB and twitter.
There are a few things to smooth over:
- videos in FB chat: can't open video in new tab, clicking it *can* make multiple audio streams play for the same link
- Minimizing the main window with a docked chat causes the chat to undock when you un-minimize
- I'd really like to be able to theme it, I find the blue unpleasant. Its close to what Outlook uses.
- I'd like the edges to autohide
- I'm missing my Gmail plugin from Chrome, I expect this to be integrated before the final release
- The double search bars are redundant. Just one url bar like chrome would be great
- The on-hover actions in the edges are largely useless conveying no new information and taking too long to show up
I'm following RockMelt on twitter and they seem responsive to issues, requests, etc. They have a big "send feedback" button and I've been using it. They don't have the sleazy veneer of "web 2.0", the pretensions of a "social" company, or the "we're too good for you" attitude of geekier outfits.
Regarding the article: la-de-fucking-da. If you reviewed a desktop browser expecting it to tie into your mobile experience you're a fucking moron. /.'ers that don't use FB or twitter: You probably won't like this either. I hear theres a new Fedora release, go play with that.
For the inevitable
Really? What important work is supposedly being done on social media? Oh, here's a sampling.
"Jen is in a relationship with James."
"Carla likes Kid Cootie."
"Christy found some AWOL uniforms for Mafia Wars"
Yeah, real important "work" being done there.
its being exaggerated way too much here, and app sales for various phones are also good, but, is this 'mobilization' really as it is exaggerated to be in these articles ? i dont see anyone frantically tweeting, doing status updates in facebook this or that anymore. except kids, whom i also suspect are texting more than they are 'integrating' their various social website accounts.
really. sometimes i think we tech people make up our silly, shitty, irrelevant fads and then get adversely affected ourselves after all the dust clears out.
Read radical news here
Watching the video I'm wondering if this is really a new browser concept or is this is just a set of well-designed widgets neatly placed around the borders of the same of browser technology we've had for years? I don't see anything that could not be done using Firefox plug-ins or Safari extensions. I'm not saying that what they have isn't useful to people who live their lives on the Social Network, I just don't see how this idea warrants backing as a venture-capital funded start-up. How long will it be before there are half a dozen implementations of all their good ideas as plug-ins for the browsers we already use?
If intelligent life is too complex to evolve on its own, who designed God?
for me anymore.
Let's see: Mobile:
iPad 1024x768 screen resolution
Current Subnotebook (also mobile): 1366x768
iPhone4 960x640
Web design guidelines for a long time:
"Make sure it works on a 1024x768 screen"
We are beyond the WAP browser / Palm Pilot mobile interface.
You need a bit of clever web app design to make it easy to do
a few things well with relatively few clicks, for mobile use convenience
(can I get this done before the bus arrives / rain soaks my phone)
but there is a convergence in what you can do with mobile UI and desktop UI webapps.
Where are we going and why are we in a handbasket?
Humans =
Programmers / Engineers / Mathematicians / Scientists (5% ?)
+ The "Detail-Averse" (aka "users" aka "consumers") (95% ?)
Thus the success of blog technology, facebook etc when
a "home page" and a 2-page HTML 1.0 manual arguably should
have sufficed.
Where are we going and why are we in a handbasket?
Let's see: integrating Facebook, Twitter and search all on a mobile platform ... sounds awfully like WebOS ...
Why the hell do we need a new browser to do ":Social Networking" ? I watched the video and so totally dont get it maybe I'm just past my years ...
But whats the point ? All the social networking sites have perfectly fine apps and plugins that work with existing browsers and devices why on earth would anyone switch to a new browser for this ?
The way browsers are nowadays its like switching to a new OS just to use Facebook ...
Is the world insane ? People actually invested time and money on this concept ?
WTF?
iPhone4 960x640
At three times the DPI of the screen for which the web was designed. You have to treat iPhone 4 like it's 480x320 blocks of 2x2 pixels each; otherwise, people need a magnifying glass to read text.
It basically looks like Chrome with facebook grafted on the left and right sides. The only problem is that the layout is not nearly as good as the full facebook page. It's actually much easier keeping another tab open with facebook then to use the Rocketmelt interface. The friend list didn't even recognize my groups settings and the icons of most of my friends have nothing to do with their actual face so it was just a bunch of useless things down the left side. The news feed on the right loaded noticeably slow - i.e. it wasn't just "there" when i wanted it. What's the point of having to wait when I can keep the page open in the tab?
I'm really, really starting to get sick of "social networking" and all the crap that deals with it.
Is life so different now from 10, or even 5 years ago that we have to update everyone on what the fuck we are doing all the time?
Are we so shallow that we have to know whats going on with everyone we know all the time?
Can we not live our own lives without everyone comparing themselves to us, and us without comparing to them?
Am I cool because I have a facebook account, or am I cool because I don't use it?
Oh, i better go tweet I just farted, because the smithsonian is going to save all tweets for future generations to most likely, ignore.
Though, back in the 80's, when i was in high school, twitter would of been cool to know where all the parties were happening on the weekends, but that's about it. But even then, word of mouth is better.
How about more social responsibility and less social networking crap?
Be seeing you...
Remember when innovation was something tangible you could see and feel all around you, instead of more ways to share the nothings people do with other people who share their own nothings?
Why should the two be different? The only reason they are now is that mobile devices are generally low power and low bandwidth. BFD