FIRE FOX, IE, AND Safari are the three most popular browsers, Internet usage statistics indicate, but they are not the only good ones available. Here's the skinny on two free alternatives, Flock and Opera, Flock: To understand Flock, the self-billed social browser, picture starting with Firefox 2, Then imag¬ine linking to sites and services like Blogger, Facebook, and YouTube, Add custom features such as a Media Bar that you can use to search for and display pictures and videos from social networking sites, and a blog editor.

Wrap everything up in a new design with but¬tons and sidebars that provide access to all of these features, and you have Flock. For people who don't like to customize, this browser builds in a lot of social-networking functionality, Opera: If I couldn't use Firefox add-ons to mimic some of Opera's features, I would probably go with this well-made alternative.

Name: The firefox based flock browser.jpg Views: 103 Size: 20.5 KB

A Speed Dial start page gives you immediate access-via page thumbnails-to your favorite destinations. You can switch downloadable themes without restarting the browser, and you can add widgets such as calendars and clocks that display outside the browser, Finally, a built-in RSS reader and site-specific settings for using cookies or JavaScript add to the usefulness of this commendable browser.