Well isn’t this just the most hypocritical thing I’ve seen all week.
Seems that Marc Andreeson, one of the brains behind NCSA Mosaic and its successor Netscape Navigator, is working on a new web browser dubbed RockMelt. With its integrated social networking features, RockMelt claims to be “Your Browser, Re-Imagined.”
First, I don’t want my browser re-imagined.
Second, didn’t Flock already do exactly what RockMelt claims to have dreamt up?
Uh, yeah, they did. And it was a colossal failure.
And doesn’t that thing look a lot like Chrome?
Still, I wanted to see what all the hype was about so I headed over to the RockMelt website to download the thing. Only I didn’t download it, because in order to do so, I’d have to turn over my name, gender, email address, profile pictures, a list of my friends, and a list of things I “like” by connecting with Facebook!
The real kicker is that they claim to “take my privacy seriously” in the same breath that they require access to my Facebook account!
From the FAQ:
Do I need a Facebook account to sign up?
Yes, right now you need a Facebook account to sign up and use the RockMelt beta.Can I use my Twitter account to login to RockMelt?
You can add your Twitter account to RockMelt, but you need to use a Facebook account to login to RockMelt.
You know why you can’t sign in with Twitter? Because it doesn’t provide them with enough of your personal information!
The chutzpah leaves me nearly speechless.