New Flock beta leaves Firefox for Chrome

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.

Abe Olandres

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 considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

https://www.yugatech.com

20 Comments

XposedMonster says:

15 years ago

@abeolandres gonna give it a try!
- Reply
deuts says:

15 years ago

Thanks for the heads up! Gotta really try this beta sometime.
- Reply
Jon says:

15 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.
- Reply
Jhay says:

15 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.
- Reply
Doc Harry says:

15 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.
- Reply
Teknisyan says:

15 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.. :)
- Reply
MyMaria says:

15 years ago

awww :( no mac version yet.. tsk.
- Reply
sylv3rblade says:

15 years ago

^
I had the same reaction :(
- Reply
LunaTech says:

15 years ago

same here… i guess chrome is the one for mac users
- Reply
Doc Harry says:

15 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.
- Reply
Darren says:

15 years ago

pretty cool Yuga!!
- Reply
pj says:

15 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!
- Reply
Nonoy says:

15 years ago

Hindi ba matagal na tong Flock? way before chrome
- Reply
Oni says:

15 years ago

i don’t use either Twitter or Facebook so will stick with firefox
- Reply
fr0stbyte says:

15 years ago

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

15 years ago

@abeolandres new Flock is cool. Thanks!
- Reply
yohan says:

15 years ago

a competitor for google chrome ? haha
- Reply
Unwired says:

14 years ago

Well, chrome uses Mozilla source…
- Reply
The Oraâ€ or says:

14 years ago

I dont need this, I have an Firefox browser that does have good facebook and twitter addon.
- Reply
ipad us says:

13 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 …
- Reply