Browsing the Browsers

Create a free edublog to get your own comment avatar (and more!)

28 Responses to “Browsing the Browsers”

Ken Callaway, on July 13th, 2008 at 5:59 pm Said:

I had tried Flock before, and had found it annoying. There were just too many buttons, tabs, and do-dads for my taste. I tend to like my browser stripped down. As a long-time Mac guy, I prefer to use Safari for it’s speed and simplicity, but also use Firefox for it’s compatibility with more sites. Now that I am being forced into the blogging world, Flock has some real advantages. It’s simple to set up RSS feeds, (don’t worry, yours is already added), and to keep track of blogs. I have not been successful yet in getting the Edublog added to my blog list, but the one on Blogger went in no problem. Flock makes it easy to add photos and keep in touch with people, but that is not something I do a great deal of. I find that there is more remote connectivity in the world already; often I try to keep away from it. It looks, however, that I won’t have a choice for awhile, so Flock has been added to the Dock.
tbrent, on July 13th, 2008 at 7:58 pm Said:

Flock was overwhelming with way too much going on at this point. I will experiment with it for a little while, but I already have switched from Safari to Firefox recently, and it took a while to get my wife to switch over to, so I don’t see dropping a new browser with 50 gazillion things on it as our new default browser. Once I am blogging more and developing in other areas, it may have more appeal, but for now…
mrscummings, on July 14th, 2008 at 10:00 am Said:

Today I experimented with both Firefox and Flock. I realized that I am getting older and might be a little bit more cautious about trying new things. I have always used IE, even though I’ve heard that Firefox is far superior. My first experience with Firefox today was OK, but it will take some getting used to (and I can’t say for certain that I will continue using it). I’ve been having a lot of problems with my PC lately, so I am reluctant to download anything. Flock seemed too much for me. I don’t share anything on the web. I don’t even like having my name on the web. I am a very private person and am not comfortable having a lot of personal information floating about on the web. I prefer not to have photos of myself or my family accessible to others. It took me a long time to include my full name on a website. So as using Flock, where a lot of it is sharing, I don’t see myself fitting into that environment very well. I will continue to explore Firefox and try to be open to a new browser.
Richard Dysinger, on July 14th, 2008 at 10:44 am Said:

Hi all,

My experience with flock was not a great one. I was completely lost and out of my familiar element, which I guess was the point of the exercise. I downloaded the program which was a pain and then spent an hour trying to surf the web and use the program accurately. I agree with Ken in that there was way too much to do with the program. Too many links and buttons that I did not realize were necessary. I was apprehensive to press anything as my first attempts ended up with me at pages of information I didn’t recognize or want. I’m not sure if I’m technically savvy enough to handle this type of a program. I’m familiar with firefox due to a close friend that uses the program but even that is too much for my tastes. Maybe I have grown complacent and overly accustomed to IE. I like that I know how to fix mistakes and that I am able to backtrack and fix problems that may arise. Even then it is sort of the chicken way out, I suppose. I always tell my kids to try new things even if at first it feels awkward. I should take my own advice it seems.

Since I am still on Japanese time and having a hard time sleeping at night, I’ll mess around with it some more. Maybe I’ll get used to it and use it more often.

Rich

P.S. My avatar cannot get past the crop image faze. Anything I can do to maybe move past this part?
Richard Dysinger, on July 14th, 2008 at 11:01 am Said:

I think my avatar works now. If not…d’oh!!
cwilsie, on July 14th, 2008 at 12:24 pm Said:

Flock is awesome! It made my head swim a little at first…lots of bells and whistles…but after a little while it all started to make sense. I signed up for Digg as well and tried to find friends that also have accounts…I didn’t have any. Oh well. It’s all very cool, it’s just learning to navigate everything that is tricky but it seems to have really good support (YouTube videos, etc.). I haven’t used IE since I started the program. Firefox is great. The classroom web site I built works so much better on Firefox; I encouraged all the parents to download Firefox but I know many of them didn’t. I especially like the extras, like Speed Dial for bookmarks is awesome. I will have to check out the ITunes feature that you mentioned since I just got a Nano and I’m ready to fill it up with music.
For anyone reading this that is still in love with Internet Explorer, it’s time to move on!
martyjay75, on July 14th, 2008 at 7:45 pm Said:

I had never heard of Flock before reading this last posting. I had been using Safari until last year when I switched to FireFox. To be honest, I didn’t really see much of a difference between the two (Firefox and Safari, that is).

Flock is interesting, but I’ll have to agree with a few of the comments already flowing in. There’s just too much going on with that browser. It seems anytime I visit a site that requires a log-in I get all flashing buttons and tool bars. If get bigtime into blogging and cruising RSS feeds, I might consider a switch to Flock. But I find at this point it has too many features to keep track of. I played around with it for about a half hour and found that it actually took me longer to accomplish anything. I realize that once I get everything set up on Flock it might save some time in the future. But at this point I’m a little leery of doing that since it might make it easier for an “intruder” to sift through my personal information. I would definitely not set up a flock browser at my school site. However, I might consider using it in the near future at home. It’s just a matter of getting used to which buttons to push. At this point, I don’t want to learn an whole new interface. I’m sticking with Firefox for the moment because with that browser I know where everything is.
mamim, on July 14th, 2008 at 11:53 pm Said:

Wow… what is Flock? I’m on way to check it out. I will be back with my interpretation… seems like it might be a little much.
hbeezley, on July 15th, 2008 at 7:08 am Said:

I really liked Flock, but I agree that is overwhelming at first. I love the idea of being able to post to your blog from your web browser without the effort of actually visiting your blog. I’m often very busy throughout the day, but I always have my browser open. So having that convenience would probably help me to post more often.

The other thing that I really liked was the feed sidebar. I don’t know if Firefox (what I use) has this. Once again, finding time to check feeds can be rough, but if you can just have the sidebar open while you surf, then you can scan and when something comes up take a quick detour.

It reminds me of iGoogle, but it is fully integrated into the browser itself. So once again, I don’t have to go anywhere.

For some reason I haven’t gotten into Social Networking stuff as much, so I probably wouldn’t use those features.
angw1068, on July 15th, 2008 at 11:02 am Said:

Technology detour for me this week. The MAC I was given from work (which I use all the time) crashed and left me in a frenzy. I do have a lot of class info on my PC but much prefer using my MAC for many reasons. One is I use firefox there and it works great. I havent experimented with Flock yet but will check it out. I am hesitant to do to much right now as I may be getting my MAC back in a few days.. UGH….
mrpayne, on July 15th, 2008 at 3:46 pm Said:

Wow! Talk about bells and whistle. Flock is overflowing with them. I am a Mac user and have used Firefox for about a year now and love it. It’s comfortable for me and allows me to have complete access to all websites (unlike Safari which still misses out on a few). I liked Flock but did find it overwhelming. I found it had more then I needed, but so does my Mac. I think Flock will change the way people use the web by allowing them to multitask and have information come to them through the feed bar instead of them going to it. I remember when multiple tabs in the same window came out and how excited I was about that, but this is far beyond that.
lnettels, on July 15th, 2008 at 4:56 pm Said:

OK…I had heard about Flock before, but I had never tried it. I have a MAC, and I love my Firefox. I thought it wouldn’t be a big deal to try Flock, but it is weird. Actually, it is overwhelming. There is just too much going on, even for me. I feel that there are just too many buttons and things going on. I didn’t know where to start, and I felt as though my page was getting too cluttered. I love Myspace, but that is as far as my social networking goes.

I can see how the blog posting feature would be really cool, but other than that it is just a bit too much.
denisekhenry, on July 15th, 2008 at 5:40 pm Said:

There’s a lot going on in Flock which makes it appealing to my ADDish web habits. It will take a while for me to figure the whole thing out. I watched a few “how to Flock” YouTube videos and found a whole bunch more that will check out when I have more time.

I’m a die-hard Firefox and Thunderbird user. The only time I use IE anymore is to check how something I make for the web renders on a IE or to “Watch Instantly” from Netflix.
Jenni, on July 15th, 2008 at 7:41 pm Said:

I have been using Firefox for about a year and am really happy with it, I find it is much more compatible with iGoogle and has many other attributes making it better for me than Safari.
I downloaded Flock, which is a very interesting browser, I did enjoy that it has items set up similar to an iGoogle page, you are able to manipulate it making it your own personal page. I typically like having many links and widgets up so I can quickly browse and see if there is anything that is interesting to me instead of wasting time going to each site. Flock is good for people who are multi-taskers which I consider myself, so I do enjoy this browser and feel I will be using it more often.
Kimrie, on July 15th, 2008 at 10:44 pm Said:

Madera Unified stopped using Internet Explore over a year ago when Microsoft’s IE stopped supporting Macs. We soon discovered that even Apple’s own Safari browser could not hold a candle to Firefox; I have discovered that Firefox’s speed and search capabilities makes it far superior to Safari not to mention the hundreds of available plug-ins.

Like others, I have heard of Flock, but I have never used it. I don’t like the idea that it is a “social” web browser. That leads me to believe that this is going to be a “friendly, personal network browser” instead of the workhouse that Mozilla provides in Firefox. But the fact that it is a Mozilla product gives it some validity. I do appreciate the fact that it is equally available for Macintosh, Windows and Linux in a universal installer; sort of one size fits all! What a novel idea, Open Source and standardization!

“Getting ready to meet my new browser?” I almost expected an avatar to come out of my computer monitor and greet me! The site touted that Flock should be an “experience”. I don’t really want to have an experience with my web browser. At first glance the navigation bar was almost overwhelming, much too complicated, but once I better understood the purpose of each icon it became a “friendly part of the social browser”. The “tabs” feature is similar to Firefox, which works well when using multiple sites simultaneously. Call me old fashion, but I really don’t want a “social web browser” so I didn’t register in Facebook for that reason. Sharing photos and videos with the world is way too social for me. I use Skype as a resource to contact people remotely; it’s simple, yet effective.

I did however like the idea of being able to organize all my accounts in one location, that would simplify navigation to various sites. Organizing multiple blog sites sounds interesting since I am currently using Blogger and EduBlog.

The jury is still out on this browser… Too social for me, but some of Flock’s features are excellent.
kgranfield, on July 15th, 2008 at 11:46 pm Said:

I originally started browsing the web with IE; actually when I first started I have to admit I did think that was “the web.” I was comfortable with it and it did the trick, so I used it on my PC for years and years.

About a year ago I started using Firefox. Immediately I began using it over IE. There ere certain features I liked about over IE; and maybe just that it was new and different to me. I didn’t like it better ofr the features mentioned in your blog, rather usability features that I deemed better over my use with IE. For example, I really like the “new Tab” feature and being able to open up multiple tabs of pages in one session whereas IE opens a new window for everything. Additionally, I like that when you go to “x” out of a page, Firefox checks to make sure you are trying to close out of the multiple tabs you may have open. It’s the little things……

I had never even heard of Flock before. That is why I love and are so excited about all of the new pieces of technology I am learning about in this EDTEC Masters program, and are so excited to share all of this with my student and my friends.

I really like that Flock is affiliated with many of the internet sites I am currently using, such as facebook and gmail. I am excited about playing around with it more and I could even adopt it as my new browser! Something new to show the students too! Share the knowledge!!!
burnworthedu, on July 16th, 2008 at 7:14 am Said:

What the Flock? This web browser is too busy for my. However, I bet my daughter, the social butterfly of the net, will love it. I am going to have her download and play with it, and I will get back to all of you. I had a really hard time. Maybe because I’m getting old. I just want my web browser to be simple and straightforward.
I do like using Firefox. I love the tabs although I sometimes close them on accident. They take a little getting used to. I have just uploaded Firefox 3 to my students’ computers, and I like the look of it.
cassie5150, on July 16th, 2008 at 1:42 pm Said:

I’m a firefox gal, and while flock certainly has some cool bells and whistles, I think I’ll stick with mozilla. I agree with the others who said flock was overwhelming. It’s not a browser that you’re going to have everything rolling in five minutes. Not if you want to take advantage of all of its features. If you use a lot of the sites that it is associated with, it could make you a convert.
screllin, on July 16th, 2008 at 2:17 pm Said:

I have been using firefox for about a year now, and am now far more comfortable with it than with IE, which I still use on certain computers at school because our district’s webportal looks kinda tweeked on firefox. Tried flock for a while today, and while I liked that it uses the mozilla code and has many features that I am comfortable, mine has been a slow transition into the social networking side of the web, and so it may take some getting used to. Right now the only sites I use that are associated with are gmail and facebook, and I only really use facebook because it is the best way for me to keep in touch with my brother in Canada. In time I think I may make the transition into flock or perhaps it may share some of my time with firefox.
amyrauen, on July 16th, 2008 at 6:03 pm Said:

I tried downloading Flock multiple times, but could never get it more than 11% downloaded. But, I get the gist of what it offers and, like many of us, feel that it’s more than I need. Firefox is nice because of all the ways you can customize it. Is that stuff even possible with IE? I love customizing things, so Firefox is more fun for me than IE, even though IE is what I use everyday. Maybe I’ll start using Firefox now…we’ll see!
rharmon527, on July 16th, 2008 at 10:11 pm Said:

I am a Mac user using Firefox and Safari. Safari came with the Mac and I downloaded Firefox because our district uses an on-line grading web-site called WebGrader. Some of the site’s most important features (like auto-save) do not work in Safari. I am encountering more and more sites that just seem to work better in Firefox. I had heard a rumor at one time that Apple was going to buy Firefox and use it as their ‘default’ web-browser, but nothing ever came from that.

I have tried Flock for two days now and find it to be way to busy for me.
There seems to be a steeper learning curve for me with Flock than there was for Safari and Firefox. Since I don’t do any on-line social networking (too busy in my FirstLife), those features in Flock are of no use to me.

Love Firefox, use Safari, not sure about Flock. As a ‘Tech Coach’, arguing web-browsers is like arguing Ford vs. Chevy. They all get you to the same place, so go with what you are most comfortable in.
gjedtech, on July 16th, 2008 at 11:16 pm Said:

I won’t be Flocking to Flock……

It’s a social browser (I don’t even know what that means….), and I have used it in it’s most basic form for the last few days. I had it import my favorited from Firefox when I first set it up and it didn’t copy all of them over.

I have asked some people that I have been working with in passing if they have used Flock before and the replies range from “What did you call me?” to “Yeah, its for social networking and it’s based on the Firefox engine…” But nobody that I know has said it’s “the bees knees” or “the cat’s pajamas”…So my social browsing skills probably won’t be enhanced anytime soon.

If I was more consiitent and active with blogging, subscribing to RSS feeds, and had some type of photo account established so I could use the Photo Uploader button, I might be into it.
But I just downloaded Firefox 3 and the jump from FIrefox 2 was enough to last me awhile with a new browser look and some new features.

GregJ
ningrande, on July 17th, 2008 at 12:04 pm Said:

I am pretty much a basic internet guy. I am still having trouble learning about all of these different things we could do on these sites. When I downloaded Flock, I was a bit overwhelmed with all of the buttons and links. I think I will need more than a week to figure out if I like the browser or not.

So out of the three, I prefer Firefox. One, because I like the logo, and two because it is so much easier to use.
isurewould, on July 17th, 2008 at 4:08 pm Said:

I really liked Flock. I’m always looking for a way to bring all of my different web activities together and I appreciate the way they are all 1 button away in flock. The button for blogging is cool because I don’t have to spend time logging into the different sites. In fact, in Firefox, I got around this by adding on a bunch of toolbars like “Scribefire” and “All in One Sidebar” to enable me to have quick access to more information. So, with them all being right there in Flock simplifies my life because Firefox is continually updating one of my toolbars or add-ons.

The more I click the more I like it. I have accounts with GMAIL, BLOGGER, WORDPRESS, EDUBLOGGER< YAHOO, FLICKR, YOUTUBE, GOOGLE NOTEBOOK,…and the list goes on. I like the way FLOCK can bring them all together quite easily.

My only concern is whether or not it will be able to connect all my bookmarks across different computers like Firefox does. This is essential if I am going to switch to Flock.
suhilives, on July 17th, 2008 at 9:42 pm Said:

I think I might have to get used to using Flock. I’m so used to using Firefox, that change is not easy. Come to think of it, I said the same thing when I changed from Safari to Firefox. If I can find it in my heart to give it a try, I might like it enough to actually use it.
room207, on July 17th, 2008 at 10:40 pm Said:

I tried Flock today and plan to use it for a few days without giving in to the temptation to use Firefox. I recently used Opera and liked the fact that I can set my speed dials, but i went back to Firefox after one day. As for Flock, I found it very busy- I usually do not have time to read most of my RSS Feeds. It is a slight learning curve, but I loved the easiness of posting to blogger. I will use it when I am working on PowerPoints and I need web images. Sliding images to the side bar saves SO MUCH time if you are looking at images and planning to use them. I see the 2.0 aspects of it, and will stick it out for a few days, but got to say, I love Firefox.
jliebke, on July 18th, 2008 at 6:13 pm Said:

I thought Flock was cool. I am already a mac user who quickly went from Safari to Firefox. So far, Flock seems to be comparable to firefox, and I liked that all my bookmarks transferred.

I have to admit that Flock makes it really easy to log onto just about all web-based activities that I use. From gmail to blogger, to yes, now Facebook. I’ve been resisting Facebook for ages and having just traveled abroad I was slowly getting talked into it by fellow travelers. I sort of diverted and, well, got signed up. Edited my profile, invited and found friends, uploaded photos of my trip. Before I knew it, I had spent the better part of the afternoon playing around on Facebook.

I thought I’d try something practical like checking my bank account–it worked just like Firefox. All in all, Flock is busy but I can see there is so much to learn with it. I’m always open but I’m not quite ready to place the icon in my tool bar i.e. use Flock as a default. The browser seems to be supported by yahoo (it’s the default search engine) and I’m all set up with google and gmail so I may be impartial to firefox right now. You may convert me, but not just yet.
mamia, on July 18th, 2008 at 8:21 pm Said:

Wow! Flock has a lot going on. As an anti-social networker I have no patience for the whole thing but I like that it is customizable-if you like taking photos, drag photos to your sidebar. If you’re on Facebook, drag your friends to the sidebar, etc. I like that it has tabs like the latest version of IE, especially that Google and MSN are two of those tabs. So far it seems pretty cool, I might start using it but it will take me a while to get used to it-I’m an IE girl all the way.