Flock Appears After Year in Hiding, Now Based on Chromium
The social media browser rears its head, moving from Firefox code to Chromium.
Flock, the social Web browser makes a return, this time based on Google's open source Chromium browser. The original version of the browser, Flock 1.0, was released in 2007 and based on Mozilla's Firefox browser. At a time when social media was first taking shape, Flock was designed with blog publishing options and social networking functions built in. Flock's most recent build, 2.6 continued to feature strong social networking features, other browsers had gained popularity through faster load speeds and a multitude of extensions that allowed for similar functionality.
Now Flock has returned with a beta based on Chromium, rather than Firefox. The resulting browser, which is currently available only on Windows, with a Mac release to follow, features the familiar minimalist design of Chrome with added features custom to the browser.
Most notable in these features is the Sidebar, which allows users to integrate their Twitter and Facebook profiles into the browser, streaming updates from both sources at the same time. These feeds can be customized and pared down to specific friends lists as well. Naturally, it's possible to post updates to one or both accounts from within the browser as well.
Flock also uses Google's search engine to crawl Twitter and Facebook, returning related posts in the search results.
To download the new Flock beta, visit beta.flock.com.
Comments
comments powered by DisqusSubscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you've found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Fedora 39 Beta is Now Available for Testing
For fans and users of Fedora Linux, the first beta of release 39 is now available, which is a minor upgrade but does include GNOME 45.
-
Fedora Linux 40 to Drop X11 for KDE Plasma
When Fedora 40 arrives in 2024, there will be a few big changes coming, especially for the KDE Plasma option.
-
Real-Time Ubuntu Available in AWS Marketplace
Anyone looking for a Linux distribution for real-time processing could do a whole lot worse than Real-Time Ubuntu.
-
KSMBD Finally Reaches a Stable State
For those who've been looking forward to the first release of KSMBD, after two years it's no longer considered experimental.
-
Nitrux 3.0.0 Has Been Released
The latest version of Nitrux brings plenty of innovation and fresh apps to the table.
-
Linux From Scratch 12.0 Now Available
If you're looking to roll your own Linux distribution, the latest version of Linux From Scratch is now available with plenty of updates.
-
Linux Kernel 6.5 Has Been Released
The newest Linux kernel, version 6.5, now includes initial support for two very exciting features.
-
UbuntuDDE 23.04 Now Available
A new version of the UbuntuDDE remix has finally arrived with all the updates from the Deepin desktop and everything that comes with the Ubuntu 23.04 base.
-
Star Labs Reveals a New Surface-Like Linux Tablet
If you've ever wanted a tablet that rivals the MS Surface, you're in luck as Star Labs has created such a device.
-
SUSE Going Private (Again)
The company behind SUSE Linux Enterprise, Rancher, and NeuVector recently announced that Marcel LUX III SARL (Marcel), its majority shareholder, intends to delist it from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange by way of a merger.
I Second, Why is this being reported here
A couple of things...
Now, a couple of things about the article itself. There isn't any confusion between Chrome and Chromium within the story. Chromium, as it's stated in the article's first sentence, is Google's open source browser, Chrome is the proprietary browser based on Chromium. But both browsers look similar, if not identical, so the sentence that likens Flock's look and design to Chrome (the more popular therefore more recognizable browser) is a factual one.
Secondly, for those new to the site, Linux Pro Magazine and LinuxProMagazine.com cover Linux distros of all shapes and sizes, new and upcoming hardware, and news from the open source world. While, yes, the build of Flock mentioned in this story isn't on the platform we cover, it still uses open source code and is therefore newsworthy to the open source community. This also explains why the OS and beta candidacy were mentioned at the end of the story. The news wasn't about the release platform, but the codebase and the shift from Firefox to Chromium.
Thanks for reading and check back in with us sometime. We always welcome commenters.
the END of the last traces of netscape
for srsly
...
Why is this being reported here?
Really?