Firefox vets build a new browser

Is there room for one more? Bart Decrem, the founder of Flock.com, thinks so. Decrem is weeks away from debuting what he calls a next-generation Web browser that combines blogging software with easy access to Web services such as photo sharing and RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds.

Born in Belgium and educated at Stanford Law School, Decrem has helped several tech ventures in business and marketing roles. One of them was the Mozilla Foundation, developer of the Firefox browser. Now he and several other former members of the team there have developed a new browser. An example of its layout and features may be seen in a posting from Decrem’s own blog.

Robert Scoble, a blogger at Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), compares Flock to Microsoft Office, which combined several applications in one program. “Today, we’re using too many different services to share our stuff on the Internet,” he told Wired News. “Blogging, photo sharing, wikis, maps, podcasting [and] video blogging are all separate services. They probably will be joined in one system with common user interfaces.” Visit Flock.com.

Investors.com - Frank Barnako

Believe it or not, Firefox 1.0 has been around for less than a year. In that short time, it has gained at least 10% of the browser marketshare and spurred Microsoft to finally bring back Internet Explorer from its innovation stasis.

This fall, the plot will thicken even more with the beta launch of a new kind of browser called Flock. Although it’s built on top of Firefox, it’s reputed to be more than just Firefox with new buttons and a snazzier skin.

Instead, the company behind Flock is billing it as a “social browser” that integrates directly with next-generation services like web feeds, blogging tools, social bookmarks and photo sharing services. These next-gen features are part of what many observers call “Web 2.0″, presumably named after John Batelle’s groundbreaking technology conference of the same name, whose goal is to bring together the players who are building this new future.

Flock is getting rave reviews already, and I simply cannot wait to give it a whirl. (If any of you Flockers are reading this, howsabout hooking me up with a copy?)

If Flock has its way, we might not even think of the browser as a browser any more. It would simply be the central application through which we find information and communicate with others using a loose federation of complementary tools and services.

Traffik - Cory Kleinschmidt

Social Bookmarks (they call it “Breadcrumbs�) are being phased out .. and they will be adding new functionality.

I must say I’m even more impressed with Flock - it is a very bold move to simply drop functionality that must have hundreds of developer hours behind it. They are obviously serious about listening to beta feedback and building an exceptional product.

TechCrunch - Michael Arrington

You know, the more I hear the name, the more I like it. I was reading on a blog of one of the Flock people that one person didn’t like the name Flock ’cause it rhymed with “glock� and “schlock�. I have only one thing to say about that person’s comment …what the heck is a “schlock?�

I like the name Flock because it’s immediately apparent why they chose the name. Flock, as in a flock of birds. And in the social browsing context, we’re those birds. As we “tag� websites or “blog� about new ideas, we’re passing that information on to others within the blogosphere and, together, we browse the Internet and discover newer, greater ideas, things, and places. This whole Web 2.0 is about interacting and interconnecting and moving as one huge conscious mass across this huge domain called the World Wide Web. And that’s why Flock is a great name.

Technorandom

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Additional coverage:

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http://www.fredcavazza.net/index.php?2005/09/15/862-firefox-web-20-social-network-flock

http://www.zoliblog.com/blog/_archives/2005/9/20/1242996.html

http://toshitaka-tanaka.blogspot.com/2005/09/some-links-i-find-useful-updated.html

http://www.somewhatfrank.com/2005/09/will_user_flock.html

http://www.onedegree.ca/2005/09/19/one-degree-wants-to-flock-with-you

http://www.mostlymuppet.com/archives/2005/09/19/flocked/

http://blog.ncircle.com/archives/2005/09/flock_yet_anoth.htm

http://scastile.blogspot.com/2005/09/new-web-browser-is-coming-to-town.html

http://eamused.blogspot.com/2005/09/unfortunate-choice-of-words.html

http://esmatdigg.blogspot.com/2005/09/new-web-browser-is-coming-to-town.html

http://www.soweirdproductions.com/?p=467

http://www.unc.edu/~mconway/mt_static/archives/2005/09/more_on_flock.html

http://wolfpod.blogspot.com/2005/09/new-web-browser-is-coming-to-town.html

http://www.darrenstraight.com/blog/2005/09/19/flock-the-new-social-web-browser-comming-soon/

http://www.kahsoon.com/2005/09/19/flock-the-new-web-browser/

http://www.psfk.com/2005/09/mozillas_new_tr.html

http://www.malwarehelp.org/index.html?subaction=showfull&id=1127105638&archive=

http://www.feedblog.org/2005/09/congrats_on_flo.html

http://www.nickcatalano.com/2005/09/19/crackin-the-flock/

http://www.soniquex.com/wordpress/?p=16

http://jeff.torgersons.com/archives/2005/09/18/flock-new-web-browser/

http://deborahmcdonnell.com/archives/2005/69

http://kreaper.blogsome.com/2005/09/19/meet-the-flockers/

http://www.sieblog.com/blog/1262/killer-buzz-flocks-to-new-browser-addict-3d/

http://www.allpeers.com/blog/2005/09/18/building-a-better-browser/

http://seans.typepad.com/random_thoughts/2005/09/flock_has_lande.html

http://toprank.blogspot.com/2005/09/what-flock-new-social-browser.html

http://scienceandreason.blogspot.com/2005/09/social-surfing-and-knowledge.html

http://www.avidardik.com/2005/09/18/flock-invite-please/

http://www.corante.com/getreal/archives/2005/09/17/roland_tanglao_is_raving_about_flock.php

http://ourfounder.typepad.com/leblog/2005/09/flock_me_gently.html

http://ourfounder.typepad.com/leblog/2005/09/flock_my_world.html

http://tonymurphy.blogspot.com/2005/09/flock-browser.html

http://www.ccirrus.per.sg/rfc13109/?p=43

http://www.hawaiistreets.com/sciencenews/?itemid=181

http://blog.wardofsky.com/archives/2005/09/flocking.php

http://www.libertysblog.com/2005/09/geeky-software-notes.html

http://yellinglizard.com/2005/09/16/what-the-flock/

http://the.taoofmac.com/space/blog/2005-09-16

http://kristenhavens.typepad.com/treefrogblog/2005/09/new_collaborati.html

http://craig.wordpress.com/2005/09/16/drag-and-drop-blog/

http://future.iftf.org/2005/09/social_browser.html

http://www.corante.com/dating/archives/2005/09/20/flockcom_social_browsing.php

http://coltech.blogspot.com/2005/09/delicious.html

http://geekcasting.blogspot.com/2005/09/episode-8-is-finally-up-sorry-for.html

http://blognology.blogspot.com/2005/09/flock-browser-flock-is-new-web-browser.html

http://www.livejournal.com/users/didymos/482610.html

http://visual-knowledge.blogspot.com/2005/09/acm-news-service-will-web-users-flock.html

http://plosiguant.weblogs.us/archives/30

http://www.deborahmcdonnell.com/damselfly/archives/2005/69

http://www.somewhatfrank.com/2005/09/opera_web_brows.html

http://www.pixiegrrle.com/wordpress/?p=233

http://toprank.blogspot.com/2005/09/opera-browser-free-thanks-to-google.html

http://ikilledtime.blogspot.com/2005/09/i-hope-your-as-cool-as-i-think-you-are.html