Finally, here is a browser that is an actual extension of your virtual entity, your portal to the Internet, as you want it. We have all worked on browsers that function the way their creators wanted, but Flock is the exact opposite and puts the user in full control.

Flock seems to have originated from the need of netizens to integrate their multiple virtual entities on a single platform, and gain full operational control. Built on Mozilla’s Firefox, Flock is ideal for social network junkies who can’t do without their hourly dose of Facebook or Twitter. Log in once and the browser keeps a tab on all your accounts for future, alerting about updates, new events and uploads. Most features are clipped on the Flock toolbar just below the address box.

The ‘people’ icon lists all your contacts online at any particular moment, and this includes even those from websites like Flickr and Twitter, not just Gmail and Facebook. The ‘people bar’, which appears on the left of the browser, allows you to chat, share content and even surf together with your online contacts — you just have to drag and drop a page on the contact for them to see it, provided they too are using Flock.

Another significant feature is the ‘media bar’ icon, which lets you browse through all media on a particular website using a coverflow-like interface. Search for India on YouTube for instance and all relevant media on the site are listed as large thumbnails on a strip above the page.

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