Filed under: Software, Cool tools
Cover Flow for a more Fluid browsing experience
Fluid, the site-specific browser we've featured before, has added a sweet new feature: Cover Flow for sites like Google, Digg, Flickr and more.
In case you haven't given it a shot yet, Fluid allows you to create mini-browsers that are specific to a site – such as GMail, for example – giving you an icon in the Dock and quick access to your most-used pages. Fluid's author, Todd Ditchendorf, has made a short video that – with an entertaining musical score – shows the usage of the new Cover Flow feature, as well as showing some basic tricks for making the most of Fluid. Fluid is free, so check it out and make your site-specific browsing experience that much cooler.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
todd said 4:32PM on 4-14-2008
Thanks for the shoutout Brett! Oh.. and congrats on the TUAW gig too! :0]
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Neil said 5:04PM on 4-14-2008
Is it just me or are there like minded people out there who think that Coverflow is a complete waste of time?
I don't think it enhances my experience having it in the Finder and I really feel it hinders me in finding what I want.
I really do not see what possible use this has in a web environment.
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Johnny said 5:35PM on 4-14-2008
Actually, I thought that at first too. I still don't find it necessary in a lot of places, like browsing music in iTunes (for which it was originally created), but I like it for flipping through movies in iTunes. I LOVE IT at work for looking through ads, documents and especially searching for clip art. Of course, you really need the 'SneakPeek' plugin to make it best.
In this scenario, I'm not sure I would use cover flow. In general, I think this browser looks clunky. I'm going to check it out and give it a chance, but I like a really simple browser.
One more thing... BEST DEMO VIDEO MUSIC EVER!
Blaktornado said 5:12PM on 4-14-2008
Very nice. I'll try it out later :D
Thanks for sharing!
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Johnny said 5:42PM on 4-14-2008
OK, I tried it. Sorry to hate, but this is a useless app. The cover flow is really pointless and takes too long to load. The browser is very basic, actually a little TOO basic even for me. Most of all, I can't imagine why I would want the clutter of different icons for each site I visit instead of just a bookmark. If I want a custom icon for a website, I can create one with Safari or any other browser almost easier.
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todd said 6:18PM on 4-14-2008
@Johnny sorry you didn't like Fluid :0[
SSBs (Site Specific Browsers) aren't a great fit for every person nor every website... but if you're someone who does critical work on the web like email via Gmail or chatting via Campfire, etc, SSBs can offer a lot of benefits. Just running those sites as as separate process/app can be very attractive. But again, if you're not a webapp junkie, SSBs probably aren't for you.
I am a bit surprised to see that you found Fluid SSBs too simple... I'm approaching feature parity with Safari... tabbed browsing, Bookmark bar UI, JS console, Download window, etc... and have added a few features that Safari doesn't have.. Userscripting, Cocoa UI plug-ins, TinyURL support, URL pattern whitelists/blacklists etc. There's still a way to go, but I'm getting closer. And after all.. Fluid *is* free :0]
Johnny said 6:40PM on 4-14-2008
Honestly, I hadn't given it a fair trial before making that comment about simplicity. It has any feature you need in a web browser (just not visible by default). For me, there is no need, as you said, for SSB. For someone who does need it, I'm sure it's great.
andrew Harrison said 6:12PM on 4-14-2008
The latest SafariStand beta has HistoryFlow, which shows you your history with coverflow.
Much, much more useful than using coverflow for general browsing, and great for times when you can remember what a site looked like but not what it was called.
http://hetima.com/safari/stand-e.html
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kertong said 6:48PM on 4-14-2008
I love the app so far!
Seems like the coverflow for digg.com is broken though - it's looking for anchors in div.main, but it looks like the site was updated? I see them within div.news-body, but toying with these settings still don't work - the coverflow pane is just blank.
Anybody get this working?
Aside from this, great job - I hated the way Safari/Webkit would hang on GMail, and it would take everything down with it. This is great, if only for this gmail quarantine!
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Bryan said 7:11PM on 4-14-2008
Well, I for one think this is a very cool app, and I appreciate the effort. @kertong - Cover Flow works fine for me with Digg.
@Todd - I wish this had come out earlier - I could have saved myself some money on Mailplane ;)
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C said 8:12PM on 4-14-2008
Any care to share the name of the song used in the video?
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todd said 10:52PM on 4-14-2008
@Bryan glad you like Fluid! I'm also a fan of Mailplane. Great app.
@C the song is "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White". it's on iTunes IIRC.
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Rockstar said 11:03PM on 4-14-2008
Man, you guys pimp fluid more than trump pimps real estate. I just don't see the point. I've run it.. i get that people want a "separate" experience, particularly on smaller screens...but without an open with function, you're kidding yourself. It's the beginning i suppose of the rich web apps.. but for now, it's just a window... what's the point?
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brian said 11:33PM on 4-14-2008
Todd--why does this work on some sites but not others? I did a digg one like in the video and it worked but with Slashdot and TUAW I get nothing. Both sites have RSS feeds, which I was guessing is how this works.
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brian said 11:35PM on 4-14-2008
Aha--just re-read the summary and caught the second line, which I somehow missed before: "... Cover Flow for sites like Google, Digg, Flickr and more." Is there an easy way to add sites, or are you hard-coding them into the releases one by one? Would it work to use RSS somehow?
Sabi said 12:29AM on 4-15-2008
This app seriously sucks.. i tried Digg like the video and it worked, then i tried Engadget and Tuaw which both did not work correctly. I'd like it if i can pick my bookmarks in a coverflow manner, that would be nice...
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todd said 2:47AM on 4-15-2008
To those who were curious about how to configure CoverFlow for more sites:
Udpate to Fluid 0.8.9.1, and you can now configure coverflow thumbnails for any site you like using CSS selectors in the Thumbnail Preferences Pane. This is my last comment here, so If you have more questions, check out the Fluid site and join our Google Group.
thanks all. peace.
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Jeff said 9:51AM on 4-15-2008
I've been able to add this Cover Flow effect with my photographs by using a Flash component called photoFlow (http://www.flashloaded.com/flashcomponents/photoflow/). Here's an example for a photo documentary I did: http://inourpath.com/gallery
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Rockstar said 11:06PM on 4-15-2008
alright, i still feel that ssb's are not for me.. persay, but i do have to say the coverflow is a good idea for a browser, and that demo video made me smile.. obviously you have skizzizles Todd, i just personally don't need an app to make a gmail webapp...
and to the comment above, about running as a separate process.. well, most of these things save every .3 seconds anyway.. still nice video and good idae.
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