Like many of the bloggers I read, I became infatuated by Flock, a Firefox derivative browser assembled and maintained by a talented group of programmers and designed to incorporate the new web, Web 2.0, into a single browser. It is an amazing piece of software. However, I never came to grips with the way that it hands the links bar. Flock allows you to create additional links bars which you can toggle between. I had a basic links bar, a presentation bar, a projects bar, and an entertainment bar. Flock, and most other browsers allow you to put folders in your links bar, creating drop down menus, so that I can have a presentations and projects menu in my single links bar.
In addition, a continuing nuisance to me was the lag that occurred every time I clicked to a popout page. I stayed because of its integration of flickr, and how well flickr pictures could be integrated into the browsers wonderful blog editor. But the lag finally drove me to investigate Firefox 2.0 — and I’m back with the fox.
With the addition of a number of extensions, I now have very close to the functionality that I had with Flock, but with a faster browser, Firefox. Flickrfox gives me a side bar where I can scan through my flickr photos, those of my contacts, and even search for tagged photos. I can’t drag them directly into my editor, like I could with Flock, but just a couple of mouse clicks gave me access to the 240 x 180 version of the image in flickr, which was draggable.
For blogging, I am using Deepest Sender 0.7.8, which cleaned up a lot of the quirkiness of the earlier version, includes inline spell checking (a must for me), and, by switching something on in my Mac’s Accessibility preferences, I can highlight text in my blog, and have the computer read it to me (another necessity for me).
So I’m as happy as a tick on a hound dog, and will probably hope back over to Flock, after the new year, when they’ve unleashed their new version.
Technorati Tags: warlick flock firefox deepestsender flickrfox browser blog
Two things I’m thinking:
1. I know a lot of people who tried using Flock, me included, who have switched back over to the Fox. What fascinates me those is that (I’m trying not to sound ageist here) my generation seems to have given up on it before your generation. I know a lot of people my age who used it for a week, maybe two, got frustrated and went back to the Fox. I tried it twice because people were talking about how great it was and little things just frustrated me. You are the 3 person in your generation this week that have given up/moved back to the Fox.
What does that say? My generation doesn’t have the patience to work through/ stay with a developing program? That we become frustrated with web tools that aren’t perfect the first time we use them. I then think about my students and when I compare myself to them, I have loads of patience with computers and software compared to their one click, didn’t work, forget about it attitude. I think about the software that is big with this generation. Myspace and youtube were great sites when they launched not very buggy and easy to use…is that what made them popular? When you have grown up with this technology, when it’s what you know do you have less tolerance when it doesn’t work? I think of my generation with TV. It’s always been color and I can barely remember it without a remote…so if the remote is missing, yes the TV is broken.
2. Have you tried the Performancing extension (https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/1730/)? If you do you can also put in Oakflickr4PFF (https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/3359/). Really cool. Once you set it up, you can drap pictures from your desktop into performancing as you write a post. Then when you submit your post, Oakflickr automatically uploads the picture to your flickr account and links it into the post. Of course you can drag and drop pictures that are already on the Internet into performancing as well.
Welcome back to the Fox. 🙂
Hey David, the good news is that we’re aware of all the issues you noted and our devs are working hard on adding folders to bookmarks (done) and improving performance (never done, but much progress). Hope you give Flock another go when the next version comes out and I hope we can mak you an even happier blogger 🙂