New Web Browser

[herme3]

I just created a new web browser. Please visit http://www.surftabs.com and let me know what you think. I think this browser will be very useful to some people, especially if you do many tasks at the same time.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

Erm... how exactly is it a revolution? Firefox and others can easily switch to the next tab when you click on a link.

[herme3]

Erm... how exactly is it a revolution? Firefox and others can easily switch to the next tab when you click on a link.

 

SurfTabs does it automatically. If you click on a link on a web site, it can switch to the next tab. You don't have to click on the tab on the browser.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

You can set Firefox to do that quite easily.

[herme3]

You can set Firefox to do that quite easily.

 

Really? Can you please tell me how to do that?

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

In Firefox 1.5, Tools->Options->Tabs->Select new tabs opened from links

 

The wording will be cleared up in 2.0.

[Gaz]

 

It's all there

[herme3]

I checked "Select new tabs opened from links" but I can't get it to work.

 

Are you sure it does the same thing SurfTabs does?

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

I can't even tell what SurfTabs does, because the user interface happens to be rather pathetic. There's very little indication of which tabs are currently in use, which you are currently using, and what the hell is in each tab - they just say "Tab 1," "Tab 2," etc.. Why don't you use the native tab control instead of buttons in a line?

 

If what you are intending is that Firefox will open links to external websites in new tabs, and take you to that tab immediately, simply check "Select new tabs opened from links" and "Open links from other applications in: a new tab in the most recent window"

[herme3]

I can't even tell what SurfTabs does, because the user interface happens to be rather pathetic. There's very little indication of which tabs are currently in use, which you are currently using, and what the hell is in each tab - they just say "Tab 1," "Tab 2," etc.. Why don't you use the native tab control instead of buttons in a line?

 

I suppose the interface could use a little work. Perhaps I should use the web site's title as the label for each tab.

 

If what you are intending is that Firefox will open links to external websites in new tabs, and take you to that tab immediately, simply check "Select new tabs opened from links" and "Open links from other applications in: a new tab in the most recent window"

 

What I mean is that SurfTabs can switch to the next tab every time that you click on a new link. Just open a few web sites in different tabs, and turn on the "Automatically Switch Tabs" feature. Click around on different links and you will understand what I'm talking about. When you are just browsing around the Internet, you probably won't want to use this feature. However, it would be useful if you are trying to accomplish multiple tasks at the same time, especially if you have a slower connection.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

Ah. So it switches me to a blank tab when I click on a link. Doesn't seem to be particularly helpful, given that when I do try to accomplish multiple tasks, being switched to a blank tab makes things generally slower.

[herme3]

Ah. So it switches me to a blank tab when I click on a link. Doesn't seem to be particularly helpful, given that when I do try to accomplish multiple tasks, being switched to a blank tab makes things generally slower.

 

Actually, it won't switch to a blank tab. If the next tab is blank, it will switch back to tab1. It will only switch to the next tab if a web site is loaded there. One example where this would be useful is if you are trying to use multiple traffic exchanges, where you get visitors to your own web site by visiting the web sites of the other members of that exchange. If you are automatically switching tabs, you only need to make half the clicks. With Firefox, you need to switch to the next tab and then click on the exchange toolbar. Are you familiar with traffic exchanges?

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

It switched me to blank tabs.

 

No, I do not use traffic exchanges, because I'd rather get genuine users to visit my web sites, not somebody trying to visit dozens at a time.

[herme3]

It switched me to blank tabs.

 

Really? The only time it should do that is if you only have one tab open. Perhaps I made a mistake somewhere in the code. What OS are you using?

 

No, I do not use traffic exchanges, because I'd rather get genuine users to visit my web sites, not somebody trying to visit dozens at a time.

 

Actually, some of the more popular ones are really good. I can get thousands of hits each day, and around 90% of the visitors are unique. There are only a few large ones out there, and the rest will just keep sending the same visitors.

[bascule]

In Firefox, if you want to open a link in a new tab, middle click it.

 

Tabbed browsing was a concept pioneered largely by Opera. In Opera, you simply perform the new window gesture (click and drag down) on a link to open it in a new tab.

 

Gesture extensions for Firefox let you do the same thing.

 

IE7 also supports tabs.

[-Demosthenes-]

That's quite an accomplishment.

[Aeternus]

That's quite an accomplishment.

 

If he just used the ready made Web Browser control again like he did here - http://www.scienceforums.net/forums/showthread.php?t=15189&highlight=web+browser - it really isn't impressive at all.

[Gaz]

In Firefox, if you want to open a link in a new tab, middle click it.

 

My middle click is paste

 

Ctrl+click works good

[herme3]

In Firefox, if you want to open a link in a new tab, middle click it.

 

I wasn't talking about opening a link in a new tab. I was talking about rotating between tabs that are already open. Everyone is comparing SurfTabs to existing browsers. However, as far as I know, there are not any existing browsers that have an automatic switching feature. That is why I call SurfTabs "revolutionary".

[insane_alien]

you can change tabs in FF with the arrow keys. you can also set it go to a tab you just opened. i don't see what more you can have.

[-Demosthenes-]

If he just used the ready made Web Browser control again like he did here - http://www.scienceforums.net/forums/showthread.php?t=15189&highlight=web+browser[/url'] - it really isn't impressive at all.

 

Coded a web browser all by himself and it works? Sounds pretty cool to me.

[Klaynos]

Coded a web browser all by himself and it works? Sounds pretty cool to me.

 

That isn't what he's done at all in any way.

 

He's written a dodgy (and quite ugly) front end to an existing browser.

[Dak]

My middle click is paste

 

Ctrl+click works good

 

my middle click does both.

 

aren't i special

 

-------

 

herme: with ff, espescially with tabmix plus, you can set the tabs exactly how it sounds like you are trying to, and more.

 

eg:

 

mine opens in new tab if i middle-click,

 

opens in focused new tab if it tries to open in a new window (target="_blank" and javascript popupthingies), or if it's launched from an external application.

 

opens in same tab otherwize

 

ctrl and left/right to change tabs, ctrl+0 to close a tab.

 

middle-click to close a tab, middle-click on tab-bar to open a previously-closed tab, double-click to duplicate a tab, and tabs opened from links inherit the history of their originating tab.

 

opens up and auto-loads the last tabs (complete with history) that i had open.

 

Yes, i am a tabophile. i even downloaded a tabbed simple text editor to replace notepad.

 

I just want you to know what you'd have to beat, in terms of tab-features, to actually be better than other tabbed browsers.

[bascule]

Opera lets you cycle tabs by holding down the right mouse button and using the scroll wheel... quite handy.

[herme3]

No... This has nothing to do with opening a new tab!

 

Let me try to explain it differently. Imagine you have Google open in Tab1 and MSN open in Tab2. When you click on a link on Google, it will automatically switch to MSN. After you click on a link in MSN it will automatically switch back to Google.

 

Now, let me explain how a traffic exchange works. You click on a button on the top toolbar of the traffic exchange and then a web site will load in a frame below the toolbar. The toolbar's timer will count down for about 15 seconds and then the button will appear again. You can now click the button to load another web site. Each time you do this, other users of that traffic exchange will see your own web site.

 

Most traffic exchange users use Firefox, and have multiple traffic exchanges running in separate tabs. It is a real pain to click on each tab to switch between traffic exchanges. Since you are just clicking buttons, it would be much easier if the tabs rotate by themselves. That is the reason why I created SurfTabs.

 

For a while, SurfTabs was designed to be a tool only for traffic exchange users. That's why I never spent very much time on the graphic interface. However, I've been thinking that the "Automatically Switch Tabs" feature might be useful to other people who want to perform multiple tasks. That's why I decided to release it to the public.

 

He's written a dodgy (and quite ugly) front end to an existing browser.

 

SurfTabs has over 4,000 lines of code that I typed myself. It is much more than just a front end to an existing browser. Some of the features are hidden deep within the code, and not visible from the interface. For example, I can instantly lock all copies of a specific version of SurfTabs by simply removing the key file from my web site. Users will be redirected to a page where they can download the newest version. If I activate it, the lock can't be bypassed even if the user has blocked access to my web site with an external firewall. Although almost all browsers support automatic updates, I doubt any of them have a lock feature. The lock feature is great for protecting users from severe security flaws.

 

I used my lock feature back when I offered a more complex version of SurfTabs. This version sold for $5.00 but I offered a free trial. With most antivirus programs, and other programs that offer free trials, there are ways to bypass the security and use the program after the free trial period. With SurfTabs, I locked them from my web site and nobody could bypass the lock. If the user tried to block my web site, SurfTabs simply would not run because it would not find the key file. Are there any other programs with this security feature?

 

Also, SurfTabs is much better at blocking pop-ups than other browsers. There are pop-ups that can bypass Internet Explorer, and even Firefox, but SurfTabs blocks almost all of them. Can you find a pop-up blocker better than the one I built into SurfTabs?