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Google Is Testing a New Chrome UI (bleepingcomputer.com)

Posted by msmash on from the up-next dept.

Catalin Cimpanu, writing for BleepingComputer: Google engineers have rolled out a new Chrome user interface (UI). Work on the new Refresh UI has been underway since last year, Bleeping Computer has learned. The new UI is in early testing stages, and only available via the Google Chrome Canary distribution, a version of the Chrome browser used as a testing playground. Users who are interested in giving the new UI a spin must install Chrome Canary, and then access chrome://flags, a section that contains various experimental options not included in Chrome's default settings section.

16 of 76 comments (clear)

  1. Why is this still a thing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Are they going to hide the address bar now?

    1. Re:Why is this still a thing? by olsmeister · · Score: 2

      It looks like the main change is they are switching from tabs with angled sides to tabs with vertical sides. Hardly earth-shattering.

    2. Re:Why is this still a thing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Material Design aka how to make everything baffling to use.

      In a time when most of us have massive monitors at ridiculous resolutions and tons of space to work with UX designers are trying to bury things under impenetrable icons and flat slabs.

      Minimalism works, but only in the context of functionality, it's why a radio dial used to work so well; power, volume, maybe even station selection in one tactile interface? Classic.

      A big empty box with esoteric iconography? No. What?

      "People should learn while using" ... maybe BUT

      Monkey Brain: Fire burn, squiggly line button ... might be fire ... not risk

    3. Re:Why is this still a thing? by Monkey-Wrench-Inc · · Score: 2

      Monkey Brain: Fire burn, squiggly line button ... might be fire ... not risk

      Words to live by.

    4. Re:Why is this still a thing? by bondsbw · · Score: 2

      I couldn't agree more, if the interface is for deleting files or driving a car or launching nukes.

      Harmless UIs are rather good for teaching. I never had to teach my toddler how to scroll on his play tablet, he figured that out through experimentation.

      --
      All my liberal friends think I'm a conservative, all my conservative friends think I'm a liberal.
  2. Oh crap... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    So all of Mozilla's work to turn Firefox into a Chromeclone was for notting?

    1. Re:Oh crap... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Actually, it looks like they stole some of the Firefox things.

  3. Hope It Resembles Classic Firefox by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I hope it resembles Classic Firefox. Maybe then Mozilla will finally give its users what they really want (albeit for all the wrong reasons).

  4. Chrome is still malware by WaffleMonster · · Score: 2

    What difference do small imperceptible changes to UI make while Chrome continues to stalk everyone using it?

    1. Re:Chrome is still malware by WaffleMonster · · Score: 5, Informative

      Can you please elaborate? I'm using it right now.

      You should start by reading chrome privacy whitepaper and controlling privacy policy.

      Next I dare you to open chrome and browse to any site anywhere including exclusively local servers on your own network without chrome calling home to Google. It is impossible to prevent no matter how carefully browser is configured.

      They are uniquely vindictive about it. Much of it uses primary google.com domain used by search engine for data collection without any specific subdomains so it isn't even possible to blacklist by traditional means unless you never intend on using Google search engine.

      FFS even data about autocomplete fields are sent to Google. Chrome is a never ending series of ridiculous excuses to stalk everything the end user does that can't be stopped no matter what no matter how careful the user is to adjust privacy settings. Chrome intentionally engineered to violate the users privacy in every way possible.

    2. Re:Chrome is still malware by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Informative

      You should start by reading chrome privacy whitepaper and controlling privacy policy.

      FUD. I have read them and they are fine. By default the only stuff Chrome sends to Google is:

      - Unique installation ID when installing and updating
      - Malware/phising protection telemetry, including URLs of potentially malicious sites

      You can disable the malware/phishing protection and Chrome will then not send any information about it. If you believe otherwise post some evidence, like packet captures.

      FFS even data about autocomplete fields are sent to Google.

      Lies. You can opt in to having your Chrome profile data synchronized via your Google account. Google claim this information is encrypted and unavailable to them, and so far there is no evidence to the contrary (e.g. evidence of the data being used by Google, source code suggesting it might be unencrypted, subpoenas for unencrypted form data or browser history). Even if you do opt in, you can choose if you want to include autocomplete data in what you sync.

      If you have evidence to the contrary then please post it, and I personally will start an EU Data Protection claim against them. I'm sure major media outlets will be interested in it too, you could probably sell interviews for some decent cash.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  5. Stop flavor of the month UIs by xack · · Score: 2

    A web browser should be simple. A back/forward button, refresh/stop, address bar and tabs. Making kentucky fried interfaces just chases people to alternative browsers. Be like Seamonkey, which still has a 90’s Netscape UI.

    1. Re:Stop flavor of the month UIs by sexconker · · Score: 2

      My kingdom for a fucking stop button that actually works!

  6. TFA by darkain · · Score: 4, Informative

    For those that didn't see TFA, they're not doing a massive overhaul. They've changed the "angled" edges of the tabs at the top to be more square with rounded corners instead. That's it. Nothing else has changed. This is hardly even worth a mention. It is a very VERY minor UI adjustment at best. Then again, when Google changed their logo to fix the kerning by 1 pixel, that was enough to warrant an article here, too...

    1. Re:TFA by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 2

      Nice, crisp lines become wonky, bubbly things. Great.

      --
      Support my political activism on Patreon.
  7. Re:Google's latest step to becoming Microsoft by nine-times · · Score: 2

    Mozilla changed some things about their development and versioning, which resulted in their version numbers changing faster. However, I was making a joke about Microsoft skipping Windows 9, and going straight from Windows 8 to Windows 10.

    Though it's also worth noting that, apparently, skipping version 9 wasn't all about marketing. Part of the problem is that there are a lot of cases where developers assumed that when a Windows version string included "Windows 9" it meant either Windows 95 or Windows 98. Using a string that included "Windows 9" would have broken a bunch of stuff. Unless that's just an urban myth.