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jpcom
Reminds me of the mac lock screen, nicely done!
Y-bar
This is great, giving it a try!

A few first impressions:

- The dark overlay when customising the screen makes it hard to see the visual adjustments- And

- Can the clock default to system (12 or 24 hours)?

- Can I add the pinned tabs I had on the default home screen somehow?

georg-stone
When saying pinned tabs, you mean shortcuts, right?

I have added these suggestions to the to-do list and should come out in the next update!

Y-bar
Yes, I did not know what they were called.
georg-stone
Currently, you can't. Chrome doesn't have a built-in API for getting these, but you can have a bookmarks widget.
Y-bar
What about Firefox? Which is what I am using.
georg-stone
After some research, it doesn't seem like Firefox supports it.
andrelaszlo
It looks really nice.

The first question that pops into my head (being aware that this is a popular category of apps) is: when do people look at blank tabs? Whenever I open a new tab, it's with the intention of entering an address or a search term, and any content would be an unwelcome distraction.

I'd be more likely to use something like this if it lived under a regular domain name and I could put it into a pinned tab, personally.

kelvinjps10
I leave a new tab open, and seeing this kind of information is useful
bityard
I do the same as you, but I know of plenty of people (even some developers) whose computing workflow looks like this: Boot computer, log in, start web browser, make it full screen. And that is where they work/play for the whole day.

That describes ChromeOS users of course, but there are Apple and Windows (and presumably Linux) users who have the same workflow.

Liquix
it's hard to believe a developer working in a fullscreen browser all day could be anywhere near as productive as an equally-skilled dev using a terminal/keyboard-based workflow. how does one install packages, ssh into boxes, extract data from files, etc? or maybe they only work with cloud services and use webapp IDEs/terminals? seems like a bizarre choice (for devs specifically)
reddotchaser
Maybe cloud IDEs are mandated by orgs in some cases! I’d leave on day 1
georg-stone
Lots of orgs use Replit, which is just a cloud IDE anyways
connicpu
I don't literally spend all day in a browser, but I technically use one most of the day since vscode is based on Electron. My second monitor flips between Firefox and my terminal tmux session, about a 50/50 time split. I'm sure there's plenty of other developers like me, using the terminal for a good number of system tasks but just can't kick the mouse habit completely in their editor.
akdev1l
Web terminals are alright. I can work at full capacity from my iPad thanks to them.

RDP does exist of course as well as something like Guacamole so one is not limited to only terminals or web IDEs

georg-stone
It's just some inspiration I can have when typing in my URL bar I guess
lhamil64
I'm the same. The only exception is on mobile, sometimes I'll use the quick pinned bookmarks on the new tab page. But on desktop I load a homepage when I launch the browser and only open a new tab when I need to enter a URL or search query.
LauraMedia
On my work device, I have daily.dev installed. Every work day, I usually invest 15-20 minutes of catching up with recent news about all things dev and having it as the "new tab" helps me not forgetting about it.

Other than that, yeah, I usually CTRL+T and write right away.

diggan
> The first question that pops into my head (being aware that this is a popular category of apps) is: when do people look at blank tabs? Whenever I open a new tab, it's with the intention of entering an address or a search term, and any content would be an unwelcome distraction.

My "startpage" is a four-column list of stuff I usually browse. And usually I sit with my left hand at the left hand side of the keyboard, and with my hand on the mouse on the right. Doing CTRL+T then clicking on where I wanna go, is usually faster and less movements needed than having to manually type the one or two first letters.

I tried sometimes to put "widgets" or other things (like widget on a smartphone) but it's true what you say, it's an unwelcome distraction. But a couple of simple lists seems fine, for me.

drdaeman
I have frequently used sites listed on my new tab, and use those to quickly navigate without typing.

Besides that, I don't use or care about anything on the "new tab" tab. Backgrounds, sounds, weather, news - that's all junk/noise to me. There seems to be no value for me in having them on the empty tab, when they're a click (or, in case of the weather, a glance on my phone or watch) away.

Just how it works for me, of course. Other's mileage may vary.

igornadj
A blank tab is super useful when you just want to make some mental space. When you're taking a break but don't want to close everything down or switch to another app.
rascul
> when do people look at blank tabs?

Sometimes I'll open a new tab and click the site I want from my commonly used sites Firefox presents to me on the new tab page. In such cases my hand is already on the mouse and two clicks is about the quickest I can get to one of those sites.

bcye
I recently configured my new tab page to be a minimal html file, with a list of commonly used links and a hotkey associated with each.

I can immediately redirect to any with 0-9 and still have quick access to the address bar via ctrl+k

torgoguys
It looks nice and works well.

Unrelated, but I think we all need to migrate to a new word instead of "minimal" for such things. Perhaps just "simple." I get what we all mean as applied to this project, but it isn't what minimal typically means in English. A minimal new tab experience would be a blank tab.

georg-stone
I agree! "Minimalistic" would probably have been a better choice for this project.
croisillon
next on the list are the js frameworks called "vanilla"
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elpocko
I already have the minimal number of features in my new tab in Firefox and I didn't even need to install a 3rd party addon: it's called "Blank page", you can find it in the settings.
djbusby
I love these things. I have a custom NTP for my Chrome and FF profiles. It's my productivity hack.

I put all my super frequent bookmarks there, big buttons are easy to click, keyboard shortcut.

Doesn't sync tho :(

yapyap
> Doesn't sync tho :(

maybe try synchronizing over github or gitlab thru git?

Kavenerinds
As a longtime user of Momentum that switched to Bonjourr about 5 months ago, this looks cool. The search function would be the reason for me to switch to this. Thanks for sharing!
AbraKdabra
Nice project, but I've been using the "Earth View from Google Earth" extension for Chrome for more than 10 years I think and I find it really difficult to part ways with it no matter how many features the new extension in the block has, maybe someday someone will add that feature to a new extension and I will be able to replace it.
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killjoywashere
The new tab, the web's equivalent of a blank page. Staring at a blank page is sometimes associated with maddening frustration, but in most cases it's actually the possibility of something new that captures us.

White label this and sell it to luxury brands. Sell it to Crane Stationary, Leuchtturm1917. Here's your potential customer list: https://thepleasureofwriting.com/pages/shop-paper-by-brand

Use a warm off-white, not unlike YC's background, and render the brand logo in a subdued grey at the bottom of the tab/page. Make it a link to a landing page on their site: "You love new possibilities. Crane stands ready to serve your imagination."

triclops200
Really nice! I'd really like to see more than one todo list option on the main page, personally, so I can get my entire task list (or at least a large number of tasks) shown to me every time I open a new tab. Would be nice as an option, at least
georg-stone
Thanks so much for the feedback! I have just added that to the list!
venatiodecorus
if anything i'd think integration with proper todo list apps would be the way to go
georg-stone
Good idea! I tried setting up an integration with TickTick, but their API is jank, so I gave up. I will try Todoist soon and maybe Things.
jesprenj
I really dislike that you can no longer create a home page that opens on a new tab in firefox. You can still do that on mobile browsers, for example kiwi browser. I have a homepage [0] with large links for resources I frequently visit and I really miss having this as my home page on my computer.

[0] http://splet.4a.si/dir/home.shtml

cwales95
Looks good.

I recently just created my own custom new tab extension. Closed source because it's literally just for me. It does a few nieche things e.g. syncing a todo list that also appears on a e-ink display. I like it. I also like that it's something that's just for me.

user3939382
On every new FF install I have to go out of my way to set it to a plain black background. Custom CSS in hidden directories, major PITA.
cpressland
Any guides for that? My blank page feels like a flash bang going off sometimes.
ukuina
What about good ol' about:blank ?
lionkor
I use about:blank together with only showing the bookmarks menu bar on new tab pages, and it's basically perfect.

Then again, I almost always type in domains, I don't search for most websites - I know their domains or their duckduckgo !bang, or have a bookmark.

davgoldin
Looks nice, I wish you best of luck! I personally haven't seen my "new tab" page in a very long time. What I'm doing instead: in current tab hit Cmd+L to focus on address bar, type query/address hit Option+Enter to open resulted page in a new tab. Skipping a bunch of clicks and the "new tab" page. Should be Ctrl+L Alt+Enter on Windows.
dtgriscom
Holy cannoli! Good shortcuts: thanks.
Levitz
You could simplify it a tiny bit by using Ctrl+T to open a new tab and simply entering the query there, then pressing enter. Saves you the combo on the second hotkey.

Aaaaand it actually does show the new tab page.

saghm
If you like saving clicks, maybe the new tab page I've been using for years might interest you[0]. I like being able to just open a new tab and go to a page with a single keystroke, so I threw this together years ago to let me define a custom list of shortcuts that I can jump to by hitting the key of which index the site I want (originally I had used a Chrome extension that did something similar, but when I switched to Firefox and couldn't find anything similar enough that I liked, I realized it would be fairly easy to make as a static page that would work on any browser).

[0]: https://gitlab.com/-/snippets/4773156

klez
I'm curious: is there a particular reason for this very specific workflow? Is there an advantage I'm not seeing over Ctrl+T, type url, press Enter? Or is it just the way you do it?
davgoldin
Just something I got used to do. My right palm is always conveniently hovering above the right Ctrl, Alt and L, Enter keys, making those combos easy and instant.

After hitting Ctrl+L, I usually do one of these: 1) "Enter" to discard current page; 2) "Alt+Enter" to open in new tab; 3) "Ctrl+Enter" to open in new tab but keep focus on current page (e.g. read later); and 4) "Esc" if I got an answer from the address bar (math, currency, history, already open page, etc).

tzot
> Is there an advantage I'm not seeing over Ctrl+T

My own experience is that all of the times I press Ctrl+T is to open a new tab to enter a location I want to navigate to; I don't care much for what the new tab displays (this is why I set my default new tab to a blank page), and if I did, it would probably be a distraction.

majkinetor
That "type of worklofw" is the main workflow. The difference is that he is using a shortcut rather than clicking URL bar. U dont always need a new tab.
klez
If I don't need a new tab I'll just do Ctrl+L like they do, but we were discussing specifically about the workflow to open a new tab:

> What I'm doing instead: in current tab hit Cmd+L to focus on address bar, type query/address hit Option+Enter to open resulted page in a new tab.

nsonha
Everyone who knows hotkeys does this.
klez
This what? Ctrl+T -> Type -> Enter or Ctrl+L -> Type -> Alt+Enter?

Personally I do know the hotkeys and I know that Alt+Enter opens the url in a new tab, but I never use the second one. That's why I was asking.

nsonha
Ctrl + L, you don't wanna remember 2 different hot keys for new tab and replace (current tab's) url
jtbetz22
I built a chrome extension to optimize this workflow, because the address bar search in Chrome is terrible (as in: it requires you to @-mention what kind of thing you're searching for.)

Ctrl-T opens a new tab page, <tab> highlights the search bar, and then I get instantaneous search over open tabs, bookmarks, and history. Everything stays 100% local.

https://tabomagic.com

dominicrose
there was a time when I configured my mouse to have buttons for ctrl+w, ctrl+t, ctrl+shift+t, ctrl+tab and ctrl+shift+tab and I actually used them... until I had to use another mouse on another computer
wruza
It’s fine to have your workshop set up unlike a generic empty room.
bsimpson
I'm surprised to see an open source project with a professional-looking `.app` site and a privacy policy.
heyinzyh
I have rarely used new tab since I started using arc. It is most practical for new tabs on chrome to have portals for websites that are frequently visited by myself.

Neat landing page anyway.

kaiwenwang
I've always just used the Bookmarks page with a link to my calendar & tasks as the new tab, in addition to whatever classes/programs/events I need quick access to
valdrinNereth
It looks pretty nice, good job! The bookmarks feature is nice actually, but since I have almost a thousand of them saved in my browser, the page tries to load all of them and I couldn't find anything to remove it only from the new tab page. I'd strongly suggest you to add a simple feature of custom bookmarks, separated from browser bookmarks.
mherrmann
The landing page looks awesome. Congratulations on the nice design.

I suspect you are being hammered with requests now. Because in both Brave and Chrome, there is about a .5 second delay until the new tab page appears. Until then, there is just a black screen.

georg-stone
For the first time, it can take a while because it needs to cache the data url of an image for offline usage. After that, it should load faster. If you have any performance issues, please open a GitHub issue