
Chrome has updated - How to fix the changed New Tab page - anupshinde
http://www.anupshinde.com/posts/chrome-update-new-tab-apps/
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derefr
It's pretty clear what Google is doing here, and it means that trying to keep
the old Apps page will be fighting the tide.

For all the betas of the App Launcher until its recent release, the ability to
select apps from within Chrome itself disappeared altogether when the App
Launcher feature was enabled.

Google seems to think that 'Chrome apps' should not live in your 'web browser'
(Chrome), but rather should just be a kind of regular app, for which Chrome is
the backing platform -- like Java apps, or Air apps, or Silverlight apps, etc.

Apparently this was a bridge too far for users on release, so instead of
moving to this new mode of thought all at once, they're giving us this
intermediate form -- apps accessible from within Chrome, but much less
conveniently.

In short: they're incentivizing you to use the App Launcher. Get used to it;
they'll probably make it the only way soon!

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moot
Updating Chrome just now caused my Cookie Clicker tab to wonk out, leading me
to believe the update had broken it.

It was almost the worst day of my life.

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InclinedPlane
Can be turned off: [http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2013/08/changes-to-
chromes-...](http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2013/08/changes-to-chromes-new-
tab-page.html)

~~~
edtechdev
"paste this in Chrome's address bar: chrome://flags/, use Ctrl+F to search for
"Enable Instant Extended API" and click" Disable

Although it only appears to be enabled on non-Linux platforms

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marban
How can Google get away with intrusive changes like this especially if you
can't even seem to disable major elements like the horrible most-recent boxes?

~~~
josteink
Tell me. How much did you pay for Chrome and what sort of service do you feel
entitled to for that money?

Oh. Nada? Nothing at all. Then I guess they are at liberty to do whatever they
damn please. Like they've done numerous times in the past.

If you want a browser you can make (and keep) yours, I suggest you move to
Firefox. It's free (as in beer), so it suffers the same problems as Chrome,
but it's extensible way beyond what the Chromium allows.

The biggest difference is probably that the Firefox-developers main concern is
_the browser_ , not the 200 other systems the company is trying to promote and
shove down your throat, so asshattery like this is much more rare.

~~~
fauigerzigerk
Tell me, how much did Google pay me for the right not to be criticized? Oh.
Nada? Nothing at all. Then I guess I am at liberty to say whatever I damn
please.

~~~
josteink
Oh feel free. I'm just telling you that you aren't entitled to anything. And
that complaining is pointless.

Google is way past not listening to its users, power-users or regular users
alike, as far as Chrome goes. They have a bigger strategy and Chrome is just
one of many means to that end.

Make no mistake about it: Chrome will be bent and reshaped to fit that
strategy, not your needs or desires.

~~~
fauigerzigerk
I am entitled to complain and I don't think it is pointless at all. As you
say, Chrome is part of a larger commercial strategy, but no such strategy can
ever be completely detached from what people want.

In this particular case I'm actually pretty sure they will listen, at least
partly. Forcing people to show their browser history to everyone around the
desk every time you open a new tab has no future. This bug will be gone very
very quickly.

Also, we need to finally realize that we are in fact paying customers of
Google. The currency in the ad based parts of the economy is our attention.
Using Chrome is paying Google. Chrome is how they gain privileged access to
our attention. That is their strategy.

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irickt
Here's an extreme solution: a completely empty new tab page.

[https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/empty-new-tab-
page...](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/empty-new-tab-
page/dpjamkmjmigaoobjbekmfgabipmfilij)

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Negitivefrags
Since the update, when I open the browser it goes to google.com now. New tabs
after that bring up the new tab interface.

I don't understand why this is happening.

The "On Startup" setting is set to "Open the New Tab page", yet it doesn't.

Anybody know a way to fix this?

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jasonkostempski
TL;DR Install an extension.

No, thanks. For the very same reasons I don't want all that junk on my new
tabs, I don't want extensions.

Google can make the default whatever they want and I wouldn't complain if
they'd just let me change it to what I want and if it would keep those
settings across machines. Everytime I start Chrome and evertime I open a new
tab in an existing window I want a blank page and an empty, focused omnibar.
I'd also like to be able to remove the back, forward, refresh, bookmark star,
and the '3 lines' button that no one has a good name for.

~~~
cfinke
_the '3 lines' button that no one has a good name for._

It's called a hamburger button: [http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/03/18/whats-
a-hamburger-but...](http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/03/18/whats-a-hamburger-
button-a-guide-to-app/)

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cliveowen
I hate this thing, now I have to scroll to open the most accessed pages. And
what is the point of having a search bar there? I already got one below the
tabs.

I bet the first draft for this thing was written in crayon.

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matthewdavis
I actually find myself using a blank page in firefox. But in chrome(ium) I use
the extension Currently -
[https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/currently/ojhmphdk...](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/currently/ojhmphdkpgbibohbnpbfiefkgieacjmh?hl=en)
Makes a new tab actually useful for me.

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jamesrom
I'm happy that the most recent pages now don't look so ugly and don't have
that horrible white gradient when you hover over them now.

