RockMelt Scoops Google - And Reinvents The Browser

[mjtaylor]

Uh-oh, Google's been scooped again! Netscape developer Marc Andreessen debuted a new browser today (beta) called RockMelt, that integrates web searching with Facebook, Twitter, newsfeed and email. One stop Internet shopping, as such.

From Rockmelt's blog:

RockMelt does more than just navigate Web pages. It makes it easy for you to do the things you do every single day on the Web: share and keep up with your friends, stay up-to-date on news and information, and search. And of course, RockMelt is fast, secure, and stable because it’s built on Chromium, the open source project behind Google’s Chrome browser. It’s your browser – re-imagined and built for how you use the Web.

Okay, that's a little promotional, so here's a more objective view: a PC magazine review: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2372080,00.asp.

[jaycar]

It's about time Google starts to get a run for its money with others taking them on! I'm gonna check it out right now.

[mjtaylor]

Well, this is not a search engine to rival Google. I am sorry if I confused anyone with the headline.

[wige]

I don't know about scooping Google...

It's based on the fast, highly HTML5-compliant ... [Google] Chrome Browser.

[mjtaylor]

Yes, based on Chromium as I noted, but the scoop is in adding social networking to the layout.

[claybutler]

I think whether it catches on or not will depend a lot on how people feel having a remote database that tracks their usage as that's how the social networking component works. So for the browser to work as intended you need to leverage their cloud network that stores and maintains your profile. I think this will lead to all sorts of weird downtime and glitches as well.

[wige]

I've seen these systems, that build apps around a browser engine, before. I haven't yet seen one really get anywhere near the prominence of simply a baseline browser though. An early example was Deepnet Explorer, built on IE 6, which I loved because it added the tabbed browsing, native FTP and Newsgroup support, and I think it added support for different types of feeds as well, trying to incorporate the then-equivalents of today's social media sites into the browser. However, the browser was never widely used, and today that same level of integration can be gained by using Firefox or Opera with certain addons.

[webmaster@pinecone.com]

"At this beta launch, support for Facebook and Twitter is built in, and you'll even have to log in using your Facebook credentials to start using the browser"

IMO, I much prefer having a browser that is "open" to the way I want to use it, not one that "requiries" I use it in a way that the developers assume most people use their browser, that is, to socialize and get news. Requiring me to have a Facebook (or any other type of social network) account smacks of restrictions that I prefer not to deal with.

[Wuoshi]

"At this beta launch, support for Facebook and Twitter is built in, and you'll even have to log in using your Facebook credentials to start using the browser"

IMO, I much prefer having a browser that is "open" to the way I want to use it, not one that "requiries" I use it in a way that the developers assume most people use their browser, that is, to socialize and get news. Requiring me to have a Facebook (or any other type of social network) account smacks of restrictions that I prefer not to deal with.

I agree, browsers or other software with requirements will never be as successful. But that's my opinion and I'm probably wrong, as always