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Fishbowl is a kick-ass Facebook client for Windows 7
When Microsoft introduced us to Silverlight 4 the other day, they also demoed a slick Facebook application. It's called Fishbowl, and it's now available for download. Not only does Fishbowl provide a nice, clean display of your stream (read: free of sidebar annoyances), but it's packed with excellent features, responsive, and extremely intuitive to use.
It's also ready to add some sizzle to your Windows 7 taskbar with jumplist and Aero Peek goodness. Read on after the break!
It's also ready to add some sizzle to your Windows 7 taskbar with jumplist and Aero Peek goodness. Read on after the break!
One of Fishbowl's best features is the way it lets you explore photos. Pick an album to browse, then flip through the images using your mouse's scroll wheel. Zooming is also supported, and you can also print or save images - or an entire album - in a single click. There's even a full screen slideshow mode for hands-free viewing. As for uploading your own images, that's as simple as dragging and dropping onto the Fishbowl window.
Want to check on new notifications? Both the superbar icon and the navbar in the application window will let you know when your attention is required.
Since the app is built by Microsoft's own people, it makes perfect sense that Fishbowl takes advantage of Windows 7's superbar. The preview thumbnail also includes controls for jumping between pages or opening the Facebook homepage...Which is where the one real downside to Fishbowl appears.
If you've gotten used to browsing Facebook using Chrome or Firefox, be prepared for some slowness. Fishbowl is likely using IE8's rendering engine, so opening external web content is going to feel slow. You can, however, force such links to open in your web browser - just click the gear menu and check the appropriate box.
You can also switch color schemes, though that only effects the bar across the top of the window. Still, if you've got a nice, dark Aero Glass scheme set up, you might want to flip Fishbowl to Dark as well.
If you're a status-updating, photo-sharing machine and Windows is your OS of choice, Fishbowl is well worth the download - so go get it!
If you've gotten used to browsing Facebook using Chrome or Firefox, be prepared for some slowness. Fishbowl is likely using IE8's rendering engine, so opening external web content is going to feel slow. You can, however, force such links to open in your web browser - just click the gear menu and check the appropriate box.
You can also switch color schemes, though that only effects the bar across the top of the window. Still, if you've got a nice, dark Aero Glass scheme set up, you might want to flip Fishbowl to Dark as well.
If you're a status-updating, photo-sharing machine and Windows is your OS of choice, Fishbowl is well worth the download - so go get it!
Comments
18
Subscribe to commentsArnieNov 20th 2009 9:46AM
While I am not much into Microsofts apps, I think Silverlight is one of the best things to come out of Redmond. It is so much better than Flash ever was or is. If YouTube moved to Silverlight(which I know will never happen) the web would have more people using it & discover how awesome it is.
mahNov 20th 2009 11:16AM
i agree. the smooth streaming demo blew my mind. if only you tube was like this.
http://tinyurl.com/cz885j
larsNov 21st 2009 7:47PM
@mah, I've never seen anything choppier - Granted, I am downloading at the moment. YouTube is better for when you are bandwidth challenged, I guess. I will re-visit the stream test when my downloads are finished ;)
seanNov 20th 2009 12:43PM
I love this app so far. It'll make it easier for my girlfriend to maneuver facebook as well. Only things I found so far that I don't like:
-Cant delete status or comments/info from your page.
-When looking at my profile, go to the bottom, and there is no options for "more". I dont see an option to see "more" of the wall (load additional comments/status updates)
kojo87Nov 20th 2009 3:45PM
i really like it but no chat functions? lameness. i'll still use it tho.
Jason DashNov 20th 2009 6:17PM
Its a nice app... but I don't think this is Silverlight. It's not the same app that MS demoed at PDC that's for sure, and it actually seems to be a WPF app, considering that iit doesn't require you to install Silverlight to run it, and no Silverlight references are in the code.
GlenNov 23rd 2009 3:27AM
@Jason and Lars... this is *definitely* the Silverlight app that was demo'ed at PDC last week.
@Matt - 30 minutes to install??? Sorry, I never experienced that myself. Only took a minute or so to install and get running for me.
Jason DashNov 23rd 2009 5:52AM
@ Glen: Nope, this definetly ISN'T it :P The one they demoed looked more kinda like the Zune software, here's a screenshot:
http://erictric.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Silverlight-Facebook-App1.jpg
And yeah, I've done some work with it and it is actually a WPF app.
peegeeNov 21st 2009 1:38AM
Looks good and pretty slick. The News Feed corresponds to the Live Feed on Facebook though. Does anyone feel that the regular website is faster?
maradvNov 21st 2009 12:54AM
misleading title.. fishbowl is available for xp, vista, or 7.
larsNov 21st 2009 7:44PM
Fishbowl isn't Silverlight, I think. Though there is a Facebook .NET SDK for Silverlight (as well as normal .NET).
Source for fishbowl is in codeplex, which is nice. I might have a look at it at some point and see how hard it is to fix the little annoyances ;)
KnightlyScribeNov 22nd 2009 9:21PM
Why?? This app seems totally useless to me. Would rather just use the online web app.
MattNov 22nd 2009 7:35PM
UGH.
So far, a rather negative experience. It took 30 minutes to install, then required a reboot, after which I had to manually search for the installed app. When I couldn't find one, I reluctantly relaunched the installer, which then actually installed it.
Then I launch it. Subjective aesthetics aside (the layout is cheesy, but to each his own) -- the first thing I notice is that Fishbowl's text rendering is a blurry disaster.
To make things worse, you cannot select/copy text. Whoever thought that was a good idea? It's only something that was invented 25 years ago and is a common interaction in EVERY SINGLE APPLICATION.
Uninstalling. I'll stick to Facebook on Firefox.
AbhigyanNov 26th 2009 5:32AM
I believe that this is a decently-featured Facebook client. It doesn't go overboard with features, yet gets the job done. Also, it shows-off the potential of Silverlight 4 very will. However, the speed at which it downloads data leaves a lot to be desired.
Robert TeagueJan 18th 2010 7:15PM
It isn't Silverlight, any version. It is WPF.
Kevin GjerstadDec 17th 2009 6:51PM
Fishbowl now has basic inbox notifications, who's online feature & ability to invoke Facebook chat. http://www.fishbowlclient.com
Robert TeagueJan 18th 2010 2:58PM
Fishbowl is built on WPF, NOT Silverlight.
OmarFeb 3rd 2010 4:24AM
I guess it uses both Silverlight and WPF:
The toolkit is comprised of the following core assemblies:
Facebook.dll: This is the main assembly that will be used by all applications. This has all the logic to handle communication with the Facebook application. This assembly also has specific support of XAML applications (Silverlight and WPF) to enhance the Facebook platform to make databinding and data caching easier.