The user experience for opening up a new tab in Firefox is somewhat lacking: you are greeted by an intimidating, blank canvas with no hint of what to do. Could Firefox be doing something better with it? The answer is almost certainly yes, but the question is what?
Initial Ideas & Mockups
To get the ball rolling, we are highlighting two early concepts.
The first is Aza Raskin’s Contextual New-Tab Actions, which is a look at using the power of context and contextual actions to enhance the browsing experience through a smarter new tab. Its main goals are to:
- Simplify the common actions, like being on a page and needing to perform a look-up on some text. Right now you have to copy the text, open a new tab, go to a new web service, and paste it in. If the browser knows you’ve just selected an address and then opened a tab, it knows you’ll probably want to map it. Let’s give the user one-click access to mapping it.
- Streamline your habits. If you always visit TechCrunch after reading Slashdot, the browser can offer you one-click navigation from a new tab.
- Super-charge search. You often go to a new tab to start a search action: Make that front and center.
The ideas are meant to be mix-and-match, not necessarily all used together.
Experimental Add-On
Edward Lee, the main developer of the Awesome Bar in Firefox 3, has already starting experimenting with a zero-configuration new-tab extension. Try it out.
Ambient News
The second is Atul Varma’s Ambient News, an experiment into how Firefox could learn from your habits to give you the news you care about in the new tab area. Its goal are to:
- Provide the user with zero-configuration news about the sites that they visit frequently.
- Explore how to bring the benefits of RSS to a wider audience.
Get Involved
So what do you think about these ideas? They are not meant as static artifacts, but as a launchpad for thinking about better ways to use the new-tab workflow. There are two ways in which you can participate in the design process:
1) Provide feedback on each of the concepts shown here for Contextual New Tabs, here for Ambient News, and here for Edward Lee’s add-on.
2) Get involved and share your own ideas and expertise.
Tags: concept series, concepts, mozconcept, tabs
why not just show the home pag ewhen you open a new tab?
What I think would be great: If you open a new tab, there should be a schedule which contains all of your bookmarks.
I have many different folders for my bookmarks. Having displayed all of these folders on one page would make navigation much easier than having the bookmarks in the sidebar, always clicking that annoying “+” to open it and afterwards scrolling down in the list.
I know there are addons like Fast Dial for this option but there I have to create all my bookmark folders manually.
Lot of spam here.
I use tab extensions to open an interesting link i a new tab and keep reading the current one. Is it possible to open the new tab with placing the address there but start loading the page only when the tab is selected /becomes ‘on top’/ ?
Sometimes the new page turns to have some Java or big images so I cannot scroll my reading while something else loads ‘at background’.
i don’t care about tab’s properties.
just ctrl+t : ]
Why do we still need the URL bar anymore when all that we do is GOOGLE everything?
I think its time that should be made OPTIONAL.
I personally cannot remember the last time I accessed any particular site using the URL.
I think it’ll be a good idea to make it optional to have the URL bar and just stick to GOOGLE Search bar.
Does anyone how to disable the new firefox feature of automatically copying the address of the current tab into the address bar of the new tab? For example, when I ctrl+t, the new tab automatically opens with the address of this tab…. I would like to disable that like in the older versions…
Thanks
Didn’t read all that, but what saud said 2 posts before, is what i’m also concerned of:
combine the adress and search-bar finally;
and when we’re at usability: How about copying opera in whole and get back to the roots by adding presentational features that windows 98 by channels already tried to emit into the market.
Oh yeah, sorry i forgot: Never argue on the enemies base, huh?
You know what, i was always in opposition to FireFox, which changed when the v3 beta was out. And then? You released it and bloated it up to a monster that needs more memory and processor usage than a fully driven vista with a heck of applications open.
This browser is just a set of crap in comparison to others, because what made it good is the concept behind, but that is in no way corresponding with how it shows up.
Get back to basics.
Be simple.
Be cool.
Split it into a professional version and a liteweight one.
There is a reason why GOOD software has almost 2 views|editions you can use it.
You are way too fresh, to go further on that lifeline.
If you do, you’ll die.
So don’t.
Uh and by the way:
What you try to do is realizing a contextual widget system; Again: copy Opera.
And if you want the presentation that is best for it and what you obviously try to realize; copy vista sidebar.
And if you want a goddamn usable tab system; copy safari’s (v4) extended version of the google chrome tab visualization.
And if you want the best way of representing bookmarks; copy windows 7 taskbar visualization, use it INSTEAD of the (in any application unnessecary) standard menu.
And if you got rid of the standard menu put it under your logo that in almost any system is representing your application in the upper left; so lean to old macOs as you did with some other features you already took over (what’s in the upper right?).
Uh yeah, and if you’re at it and got all that; copy Internet explorer 8 view of content exploration in the developers panel.
You know what?
You’re browser is the only one beside Opera that is ABLE to do all that.
This would result in the best usability experience one using a browser could have.
Believe me, if you won’t do it, others will.
And perhaps you are thinking about technology advantages?
What about a clean x64-version?
What about Direct-X and OpenGL? If you need help with that ask your concurrent developers at Microsoft and Opera.
Oh by the way: Did any of your developers ever looked at Opera 10 and how sites are rendered there?
Seems i’m emotionally overloaded right now.
Hell yeah. But if you’re following all that crap of business- and marketing-depending decisions made the last 20 years with open eyes, because you hope someone will do it right once; well, possibly you could understand.
However, at least i wish you will find a way to get rid of unwanted and indeed unneeded complexity.
Do your best.
I’d personally rather have a function similar to Opera or Chrome’s speed dial, that to me would be more useful.
@saud,
I disagree, I use the URL bar a lot as do a lot of people I know.
Thank you. I agree with Andres S. Lancheros, please take a look at Chrome’s new tab. It’s a very nice layout.
Thanks you. I have no back and forward button on my home page could you help me set it up Thanks
Thanks you. After trying the two, I must confess I prefer ambient news. I get more content and a better visual experience with it. Definitely a must-have extension.
I am using the add-on About:Tab 0.0.36, and I have to say I think the concept is there, but this version doesn’t work well on a Mac (for me anyways).
I’m the type to hit CMD-W to close tabs and ultimately the browser window. With About:Tab 0.0.36 all tabs can close via CMD-W except the last one open. I have to reach for the mouse to get that done. Thanks.
I may have been wrong about that as I uninstalled the tool and the behavior continued.