

Show HN: StartHQ - Chrome New Tab extension like the old tab page, but better - olegp
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/starthq/ilcpdgfepihaomggobhmfiimflngbcoh

======
olegp
So the backstory is that Google replaced the New Tab page this week with a new
one that many users don't like:
[https://twitter.com/search?q=chrome%20new%20tab](https://twitter.com/search?q=chrome%20new%20tab)

Our extension is much like the old new tab page, but with various
improvements:

\- you can add any app, not just those in Chrome Web Store, including custom
ones

\- the launcher is automatically populated for you

\- you can share the launcher with your colleagues

\- the launcher config is synced to our server and we have a standalone
service available as well as tab replacement addons for most other browsers

\- we have deep links available, giving you shortcuts inside the web apps

\- you can have multiple screens

We also have something really neat just around the corner, which you can see
in this quick demo video:
[https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/zy8xo0p086ydql8/starthq....](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/zy8xo0p086ydql8/starthq.webm?token_hash=AAH1d1YM2_i1K7DTyXv7k5K8dDtC74AuXXi7O9I4YnMj6g&dl=1)

Finally, you can try it out without installing the extension here:
[https://starthq.com](https://starthq.com) \- we don't require you to verify
your email to try it out.

Would really appreciate your feedback, thanks!

~~~
welder
Does this provide the frequently visited websites view?

~~~
olegp
Not as such, but you can put that on our roadmap:
[http://starthq.uservoice.com](http://starthq.uservoice.com)

The launcher being populated automatically effectively does that though, it
just doesn't keep it up to date yet.

------
benaiah
Suggestions:

\- Autofocus the url bar, if this is possible. Make the search field the first
tab field (it's currently the second).

\- Do a live fuzzy filtering of my webapps, not a submit-based search. This
might work better if you had the list of results in a dropdown from the search
box (think how Sublime shows its command pallette. If you don't know what that
is, see the third animation at
[http://www.sublimetext.com/](http://www.sublimetext.com/)), instead of taking
over the main body of the page.

\- If I press Enter from the search box, open the top result that's currently
showing.

These three changes allow for the workflow Ctrl-T, Tab if necessary, type
fuzzy search for app name, press enter. Otherwise it's faster just to use the
URL bar.

\- You should show the URL of the shortcuts when editing the list of
shortcuts, and preferably giving an option to turn on the domain on the main
view.

EDIT:

\- I would suggest making all my currently selected apps stored in
localStorage, and using appCache for the page, if you're not already. If you
want people to use this heavily, it'll need to load _fast_. The directory you
can just load from a server, but I shouldn't have to wait for a response if
I'm on a bad connection and I want to open a web app.

\- Is there a way to load in your data without redirecting the New Tab page?
Currently, the way you have it set up breaks the Ctrl-T, type-url flow that I
use _constantly_ , and I imagine many other people do too. I know it used to
be possible to take over the new tab page without changing the url - did the
update break this?

EDIT: changed the first suggestion.

~~~
olegp
Awesome suggestions! Adding them to our backlog as we speak. If it's not too
much trouble, could you cross post them to
[http://starthq.uservoice.com](http://starthq.uservoice.com) so others can
vote and comment. Also that way you'll get notified when we roll the updates
out.

We are already using localStorage. Opted out of using AppCache after having it
on for a while due to Firefox having a buggy implementation which made it
impossible to invalidate the cache at times.

The last point is worrying, since it works for me. This may indeed be a
regressioon caused by the Chrome update. Will investigate and be in touch.

~~~
benaiah
Thanks for the response. I was half-expecting you were using localStorage, and
I sympathize with your AppCache trouble. It's a pain when it _does_ work, let
alone when it doesn't.

One other idea I had, which I'm not sure if you guys are working on, is making
the images able to autoupdate so you could have live-tile-like functionality
(not necessarily the design, just the live info). Before the update, I used
Currently, which gave me weather and time on the new tab page, which I really
liked.

I'll see about posting that and my previous suggestions to uservoice.

~~~
olegp
We don't want to go too far down the Windows livze tiles path yet, but it
would make sense further down the line.

Funnily enough, we made it possible to pin the site on Windows 8, so you can
have it as a tile itself:
[http://www.iegallery.com/PinnedSites/Details/16114](http://www.iegallery.com/PinnedSites/Details/16114)

------
rgbrenner
old tab page:

go to: chrome://flags/#enable-instant-extended-api

change it to disabled.. relaunch chrome

------
benmccann
I actually like the new start page, but I would love if there were an
extension to remove the new "Apps" button from my bookmark bar. I never use
apps and so it's just wasting bookmark bar real estate.

~~~
davee
Luckily, it's fairly easy to remove. Just right-click the toolbar, and uncheck
"Show apps shortcut".

~~~
Raphael
You can also bookmark chrome://apps/ and place it in any position.

~~~
olegp
You can also add it your StartHQ launcher! :)

------
8ig8
This is what I see when following the link on my iPad:

> Sorry, your operating system is not supported just yet. The Chrome Web Store
> is available on Windows (except RT), Mac and Linux. Why don't you send
> yourself a reminder to try it out later?

It would be nice if the Chrome store at least redirected to a relevant static
info page even if I can't install the app. Same for the similar Apple App
store links.

~~~
olegp
If you go to [https://starthq.com/ext](https://starthq.com/ext) we redirect
you to the right store based on your user agent, or
[https://starthq.com](https://starthq.com) failing a match, where you can sign
up and start using the launcher without the extension.

We actually made sure StartHQ works pretty well on the iPad - you can add it
to the homescreen etc.

------
olegp
I crossposted this to the Reddit Chrome subreddit, in case anyone wants to
follow the discussion there:
[http://www.reddit.com/r/chrome/comments/1ncyy2/starthq_chrom...](http://www.reddit.com/r/chrome/comments/1ncyy2/starthq_chrome_new_tab_extension_like_the_old_tab/)
\- upvotes appreciated!

------
finnp
I have to say I really liked the magic of automatically filling the app
launcher. I first nearly didn't notice, because it the apps seemed very
obvious to me. It took me a minute to realize that this came from my browsing
history and booksmarks. Good work!

------
shortstuffsushi
That's funny, I was thinking about doing something like this just yesterday.
Guess I'll continue working on my Game instead, someone has executed this idea
pretty well.

~~~
olegp
Thanks for the kind words. Anything that you feel we're missing?

------
aeon10
I would love for something like this to be open source. Where I can contribute
and create a better launcher as a community. This is a great start. Would love
to contribute more.

~~~
olegp
We want to open this up. Let's talk. Drop us a line via the feedback dialog in
the dropdown menu when you sign up.

------
6thSigma
Is the new tab page only on a beta version of Chrome or something? I still see
the old page and there are no updates available.

~~~
finnp
Interesting point. It seems like not everyone has it, but it is not connected
to the version. I have the stable relase of chrome, but for me the standard
app page is gone. have a look here at the Chromium blog:
[http://blog.chromium.org/2013/08/another-step-toward-
faster-...](http://blog.chromium.org/2013/08/another-step-toward-faster-
search-in.html)

------
brentm
I have to stay that the daily alerts promoting StartHQ on Twitter are pretty
annoying.

~~~
olegp
You mean the app such and such has been added to StartHQ tweets?

------
d2s
Useful service. Looks more simple than it is. :)

~~~
olegp
Glad someone sees and appreciates all the effort we put in :)

It is indeed a bit of an iceberg, in that there's a ton of stuff under the
hood that users don't initially see. We've done a couple of talks on the tech
- you can check them out here:

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmyDJnEza6A](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmyDJnEza6A)

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8KGguflMCc](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8KGguflMCc)

------
majc2
Why am I expected to give up my email address?

~~~
olegp
We store your launcher on our server so need an identifier for you to be able
to open it up in another browser on another device.

Your email's domain will be used in the future to link you up with your
colleagues, Yammer style.

We also want to let you know when we release new features, so they don't come
as a surprise.

You can turn off all mails from us under Account/Email.

~~~
aboodman
Did you investigate using the identity API?

[http://developer.chrome.com/extensions/identity.html](http://developer.chrome.com/extensions/identity.html)

~~~
olegp
No, but will do now. Thanks!

------
Brajeshwar
Does it show the bookmarks on top?

~~~
olegp
Not yet. What's your use case: do you browse them by folder or just want to
search through them by keyword?

~~~
Brajeshwar
Chrome's new Tab page always have my bookmarks ready. All New Tab Replacement
extensions do not show that or does away with my bookmarks. I want them too.

------
jnardiello
Great work Oleg.

~~~
olegp
Thanks Jacopo and nice to meet you! Couldn't have gotten even this far without
Alex and Gabe though: [https://starthq.com/about](https://starthq.com/about)
... not to mention our awesome early adopter friends like Finn, Jaakko, Jesse
and many others. You guys are all awesome!

