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Redesigning the browser window

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Re: Redesigning the browser window

#71

Post by notatoad »

it's like this article was written just to prove the relevance of the title text in xkcd.com/934:

"It's fun to watch browsers fumblingly recapitulate the history of window management. Someday we'll have xmonad as a Firefox extension."

seriously, just about everything mentioned in here should be the responsibility of the window manager. why not let the window manager do its job? i can see why chrome wants to implement it's own window manager, because it actually is trying to be an OS. but apple has built a good WM, why aren't they using it?

Re: Redesigning the browser window

#73

Post by orangecat »

natesm wrote: post #28

I don't get it. Is a single huge browser window seriously considered "good" now? I thought that the whole point of the "useless" green button in Mac OS X was that you should never maximize anything. Two browser windows side-by-side are much more useful than one of twice the size. Are we really moving away from multitasking on the desktop?

Are we really moving away from multitasking on the desktop?

Yes, mainly because we're moving away from the desktop. Lion is largely designed for iOS users and laptops.

Re: Redesigning the browser window

#74

Post by ristretto »

jokermatt999 wrote: post #25
ristretto wrote: post #3

i would vouch for a "page-only" browser window with hover controls. like a video player

This is probably possible through some extensions and Firefox. The much loved TreeStyleTabs already has an option for "autohide the tab bar". If Pentadactyl/Vimperator don't already have an option for autohiding, it's probably pretty easy to script something up.

Is there a similar extension for chrome / does chrome allow such modifications?

Re: Redesigning the browser window

#75

Post by jokermatt999 »

ristretto wrote: post #74
jokermatt999 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is probably possible through some extensions and Firefox. The much loved TreeStyleTabs already has an option for "autohide the tab bar". If Pentadactyl/Vimperator don't already have an option for autohiding, it's probably pretty easy to script something up.

Is there a similar extension for chrome / does chrome allow such modifications?

No, Chrome's extensions are basically the same as GreaseMonkey scripts (at least, that's the frequent comparison I've heard). Firefox's extensions have the full power of XUL and can radically change the browser.

engage beating a dead horse here

The lack of functionality in Chrome extensions is why I (and judging from the comments I've seen in most Chrome vs Firefox threads, many other HNers on Firefox) refuse to switch to Chrome despite its much touted speed. Until I can get Pentadactyl and TreeStyleTab, its just a downgrade in usefullness.

Re: Redesigning the browser window

#76

Post by MatthewPhillips »

ja2ke wrote: post #67
natesm wrote: post #28

I don't get it. Is a single huge browser window seriously considered "good" now? I thought that the whole point of the "useless" green button in Mac OS X was that you should never maximize anything. Two browser windows side-by-side are much more useful than one of twice the size. Are we really moving away from multitasking on the desktop?

I think most people moved away from it before they knew they had it, when their copy of Microsoft Works for Windows 3.1 opened up in a maximized window. Apple is heavily promoting use of gestures, multiple desktops, and other OS features to promote fast switching and passing of data between running full screen apps. It's different than the pile-of-windows approach of the last few decades but the intent is still to ha…

I'm not sure gestures are ever going to be more than a power-user feature. They are the keyboard shortcut of touch devices. My girlfriend still uses the browser scrollbar even though I've showed her the awesomeness of two finger scroll many a time.

Re: Redesigning the browser window

#77

Post by Tomek_ »

mtogo wrote: post #45
Tomek_ wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's quite buggy though, e.g. with many tabs opened the "open new tab" button disappears or that you can't switch easily between thumbnails/no-thumbnails view, etc. Hope the good guys and girls at Opera will take notice of the OP and will work on some improvements in this area. PS. also worth noting that Opera allows for easily grouping of tabs in the manner similar to the one described in OP (no naming though, fortu…

> with many tabs opened the "open new tab" button disappear I just tried it and it seems that there's a sweet spot around 5-6 tabs where the button is partially hidden, but after that thumbnails are removed and you can see it again. A slight problem, but nothing to worry about. > or that you can't switch easily between thumbnails/no-thumbnails view Right click -> Customize -> Enable thumbnails in tabs.

Yeah, I know about the "Right click" way, but it's not the easy one (comparing to the simple middle click on the edge of the tab bar when it's on the top of the window). Don't know hot can they solve it though, quite a challenging issue.

Edit: just checked it again (placing tab bar on the left) and now thumbnails turing on/off doesn't work at all - like I wrote: "buggy" :)

Re: Redesigning the browser window

#78

Post by Tomek_ »

matmann2001 wrote: post #68
Tomek_ wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's quite buggy though, e.g. with many tabs opened the "open new tab" button disappears or that you can't switch easily between thumbnails/no-thumbnails view, etc. Hope the good guys and girls at Opera will take notice of the OP and will work on some improvements in this area. PS. also worth noting that Opera allows for easily grouping of tabs in the manner similar to the one described in OP (no naming though, fortu…

Are you using a modern version of Opera? I have 30 something tabs open and the New Tab button is still visible.

11.50 here, the newest one I guess. Do they have a bug reporting page? Might report them those couple of issues.

Re: Redesigning the browser window

#79

Post by hoppipolla »

Tomek_ wrote: post #78
matmann2001 wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you using a modern version of Opera? I have 30 something tabs open and the New Tab button is still visible.

11.50 here, the newest one I guess. Do they have a bug reporting page? Might report them those couple of issues.

https://bugs.opera.com/wizard/
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