Integrating Facebook into other applications has been the focus of developers in recent years. RockMelt for Mac attempts to combine a Web browser with Facebook, but privacy concerns and poor functionality make this a problematic application. Available as freeware, the program downloads quickly.

RockMelt is based on Google's open-source project Chromium, a cross-platform family of browsers (available for Windows, Mac and Linux) that use the open-source web layout engine WebKit—jointly built by Apple, Google and the open-source community—but have the JavaScript engine replaced by Google's own V8, also open-source.

Installation is another story, however. Initially, you are prompted to enter Facebook log-in information before the program begins.

Once it's entered, the next setup dialog box presents troublesome privacy concerns. Essentially, RockMelt for Mac seeks authorization to control almost all of the user's Facebook features and permissions.

Click to highlight the options text that you will add checkboxes before. In the Define New Bullet dialog box, please click the Symbol button. Click Format Text (or Message) > bullet button > Define New Bullet. Zip forms plus how to send a fillable form. See screen shot: 4. In the Symbol dialog box, please click the in the Font: box, and click to select the Wingdings from the drop down list, and then click to select one of checkbox symbols from the table.

This lack of user control is concerning for those with any interest in privacy. In addition, the program asks for all of your personal Facebook information, which can be detailed. The menu appears to allow these to be declined, but when attempted, the menu simply reloads and repeats infinitely. A forced program close did not work and the only way to move past the menu was to authorize the permissions or force a shutdown of the whole computer system. After restarting, testing the browser without signing in to Facebook was disappointing. Without the Facebook integration, the browser has no additional features over other, more-polished browsers. While the Facebook integration of RockMelt for Mac sounds helpful, the privacy concerns and a problematic setup mean you should look elsewhere for a third-party Internet browser.

RockMelt isn't your grandpa's browser. First, it's got built-in chat, sharing, and instant website. In addition to being built on Google's open source Chromium project, RockMelt also integrates Facebook and is powered by back-end cloud services to give you a browser that: 1) Lets you share, chat, publish updates, and stay in touch on Facebook - all from within the browser; 2) Alerts you of updates to your favorite websites automatically; 3) Searches and previews results faster; 4) Syncs your bookmarks, preferences, feeds, apps, favorite friends, and more across your computers automatically; 5) Supports Chrome extensions and add-ons.