Flock 1.0RC3 beta is a available for download now here.

It seems like a lot of people have been hard on Flock in the past, but I have been a fan of it for a while. The reason Flock has probably received a lot of this flack (hehe) is because it’s basically a modified version of FireFox (it’s based off the same code). However, once you use it you realize it’s an entirely different browser. I thought I’d defend this fine browser by going over some of the features of the new version.

Social Networks in the Sidebar

One of the biggest changes in the new version of flock is the advanced social network integration. There is now built in support for Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, YouTube, Photobucket, Piczo, Delicious (that’s how they liked to be called now), and Magnolia. If you are an avid user of anyone of the services you’ll love the new flock.

Basically, what they have done is taken theses sites and squished them into the sidebar of the browser. For example, with Sidebar Facebook you can see how many messages, pokes, friend requests, group invites, and event invites you have. You can also update your current status on Facebook as well as view your friends. Also, you can post links, upload photos or videos, and look at previously uploaded media right from the sidebar.

Sidebar Twitter is pretty good too. You can basically do everything you can on the real twitter with a few minor exceptions. The only issue is that it doesn’t bring in updates right when they are posted, instead it checks periodically.

My only issue with the Sidebar Social Networks is that some of my favorites are missing. I’d love to see Vimeo, Zooomr (which is currently lacking an API, which could be part of the problem), and Tumblr in the sidebar. I’m sure down the road we’ll see some more social networks integrated with Flock.

Media Bar

This isn’t a new feature in Flock, but it now includes support for Facebook (it previously was only for Flickr). The media bar is really great because you can use it for drag and drop uploads as well as viewing content on sites like YouTube and Flickr.

Blogging Client

Flock includes a very nice blogging client that’s good at the basics (writing and posting text), but for anything more advanced I’d suggest you try Windows Live Writer or MarsEdit. The main issue with it is that you can’t upload images (however you can upload your Facebook and Flickr images, or post an image from someone else’s site, which is not usually a good idea unless you are 100% sure they are trustworthy). It’s not a big deal for many, and it’s a simple thing that can be easily added. I’m sure we will see it in future version (maybe even the final release?)

Web Clipboard

This is probably one of the coolest features of Flock. The web clipboard allows you to drag an drop just about anything onto a page for later use. For instance, you can drag an image into the sidebar and then later drag an drop it into any other web form or app and it will put in the HTML code for that image. It’s pretty fucking cool.

Everything Else

Flock includes a built in RSS reader that’s pretty nice. It also includes a feature called My World which was introduced in the last edition of flock. I’m not really sure what to make of this feature. I’m pretty sure it’s a page that will show you updates from social networks as well as feeds all in one page.

Verdict

Flock is a great browser that can only get better. There are a few things missing and I’d like to see some more integration with some of the social networks I use most often. I think most people will like this new update, however I can’t help but feel that they will have some issue competing with other browsers. It’s definitely not for everyone, but there is definitely a userbase for it. Overall, I’d highly recommend it.