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RockMelt browser is just Chrome with fancy extensions!
Has Google finally got an alternative with Blekko!
Remove all unused CSS selector and keep your Stylesheet clean

RockMelt browser is just Chrome with fancy extensions!

Posted: 11 Nov 2010 06:29 AM PST

Previously I had written about RockMelt browser which was supposed to make our social networking experience a lot easier. More than social, it was atleast positioning itself as a browser than makes sharing things online very easy. I think RockMelt held out a lot of promise as a concept but it disappoints and seems to be just fancier version of Chrome.

Chrome is my favorite browser, so much so that I think it will win the browser wars against IE and Firefox. RockMelt is built on Chromium. It is so similar to Chrome that one does not even need to look at the literature to figure that out.

Some major things missing with RockMelt

The first thing I needed to do to even download RockMelt was to use a Facebook account. I think this is a great way for RockMelt to build publicity and become viral as a product but I do not think it is correct for a browser to expect someone to get Facebook account just to download it.
You are asked to insert your Facebook credentials to log into this browser. This means now RockMelt can use our profile information on Facebook. This can make some people a little skeptical when it comes to privacy.
The browser works a lot better if you are using Facebook a lot. For Twitter, the feeds did not load up as fast I would expect and that was a little problematic.

I use Tweet Deck to manage my Twitter account. With RockMelt I was expecting a browser that could allow me to do the same thing in the browser itself. After using it for a couple of hours I do not think I will do away with Tweet Deck or any other social networking application. The problem with RockMelt is that it does not bring anything new to the table.

RockMelt to me seems like a fancier version of Chrome. If that is all that RockMelt will offer me, I might as well stick to Chrome and search for some good extensions. The developers should have stuck to releasing some new plugins for Chrome rather than come up with a new browser.

What are your views on RockMelt? Will it rock or will it sink like a rock in the deep end of the ocean. Do drop in your comments.

-- This Post RockMelt browser is just Chrome with fancy extensions! is Published on Devils Workshop .

Has Google finally got an alternative with Blekko!

Posted: 11 Nov 2010 05:07 AM PST

Alright the heading is rather dramatic, but what we’ve got here seems worth it.

Blekko is a new search engine launched on 8th November 2010, which is attempting at renewing your regular search quest. Rich Skrenta, of the Newhoo fame (now Netscape’s Open Directory Project), has been working on this concept search engine since 2007. It works by categorizing the search words using slash tags (‘/’). These tags are used to arrive at more specific results. This reduces the spam and irrelevant results.

How does Blekko search?

Blekko has introduced the ‘vertical search’ concept which allows you to dig deeper into a topic. Google is based on a ‘horizontal search’ concept which makes your search wider than deeper.

When you search for a query on Google, lets say ‘Paris’ you arrive at a page filled with information about the French capital, followed by few suggestions for Paris Hilton, shopping, tourism, etc.

Try the same on Blekko, this time with a slash tag “/people”, this limits your results to people named Paris. Further ‘/movies’ to arrive at results with people named Paris in movies. This method of slash tags reduces the irrelevant content which may have a similar name but is not what you are looking for.

Features of Blekko:

Has predefined slash tags which makes it easier to categorize.
Allows you to filter out any search result by marking it as spam with a single click. This ensures that particular site will never turn up in your results again.
Allows you to create and save your own slash tags after creating an account.
You can filter out adult content using a slash tag called /noporn. Ensures your results are filtered against pornographic or adults only content.
Does not distract you with unwanted Ads and sponsored links.

Here is a video that will give you a good idea of how Blekko works!

Well, I am impressed with Blekko though I doubt it will ever replace Google. Have you checked out Blekko? Let me know what you guys think of Blekko through your comments.

Link: Blekko

-- This Post Has Google finally got an alternative with Blekko! is Published on Devils Workshop .

Remove all unused CSS selector and keep your Stylesheet clean

Posted: 11 Nov 2010 03:40 AM PST

It detects all unused CSS selectors from the stylesheet and helps removing unwanted classes from the stylesheet. This Firefox extension "dust me selector" is very useful for keeping your stylesheet clean.

Once you have finished writing CSS, click on the ‘dust me selector’ icon in the status bar and it will find all the unused selectors. As you can see in the above image it provides the line number which you can use as reference to remove the selectors from your stylesheet. Lesser the code smaller the file size!