More Flock
Day 2, and I’m rather enjoying it for the most part. A few things:
- When I log into YouTube and go onto the site, it automatically adds that account to the People Sidebar, whether I want it there or not. I figured out how to go in and delete it, I just think it will be a pain to do that every time. I don’t see a way to keep it from doing that.
- The built-in feed reader is actually pretty nice. I converted my Google Reader feeds successfully, and I was able to import them without too much trouble. (Thanks for the tip, Evan). One thing I miss from Google Reader is my ability to scan titles, then have them open up individually when I click on them. With the Flock reader, I can have all posts open, partially open, or closed. It’s an all or nothing deal.
- I got all of my regular Firefox extensions to work (so far) in Flock. Google toolbar, FireFTP, ChatZilla, Adblock Plus all work like a charm. I still have a few more to try out, but these are the important ones. In fact, I’ve been able to get Flock to look and act more like my Firefox setup than I had originally anticipated.
- I really, really like the Media Bar that goes across the top. What a great way to scan and preview a series of media files, then get them out of the way quickly when you’re done.
So am I switching yet? Still haven’t decided. I’m really into Twitter these days, and I’ve been doing that from my Google Talk client that resides in my Google Desktop sidebar. Twittering from the People Sidebar as well would be more cumbersome and a little redundant. Even on my 1280×768 resolution screen, I lose a little more real estate than I’m comfortable with. If I end up staying with Flock, I’ll probably lose the Google Desktop sidebar.
March 10th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Sounds cool. I think I’ll probably stick with my Firefox though. I’m kinda old school.
March 10th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
Hey Rick,
Glad to see that Flock’s growing on you! Some responses for you:
YouTube integration: We’re definitely looking into the ability to permanently disable accounts in Flock.
Screen space: This is obviously an ongoing issue as we have more features than Firefox, but a few ways you can save your space are:
*Right-click the chrome and choose Customize and select “Use Small Icons” (adds some vertical space)
*Right-click on the chrome and choose Customize. Move the Flockbar icons you use (People, Feed Reader, etc) to the area with the star, then right-click the chrome again and get rid of the favorites toolbar (and Flockbar) altogether
Hope these tips help!
Evan Hamilton
Community Ambassador
evan at flock dot com
March 10th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
Thanks for the quick (and informative) response, Evan. I’d been wondering what to do with that Flock toolbar. I can see where the notification icons are important, but I really didn’t want a third toolbar up there in between the address bar and the Google one.
Ok, you’re starting to make a believer out of me. One or two more posts like this and I’ll probably be convinced.