Chlorine feeder

Hi all,

I have a 15,000 gallon pool in SoCal, and ever since we moved in a few years ago I have been using a chlorine feeder that came with the house. I don't particularly like having the blue plastic thing bobbing around (and, anyway, it usually sits in the same corner until I need to refill it, whereupon it enjoys spending its time right in the middle of the pool), so I was wondering about alternatives.

I happened to be reading a thread on this forum where a user mentioned he'd put his chlorine tablets in the skimmer basket, so my questions to the experts are:

1) Is this a good idea?
2) What are the downsides to doing this?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Matt.