However, it raises some UI questions with me, some of which I already had a few weeks ago. The observations in that post was more a result of the way the applications that are being run inside the browser are being developed. Now however, this news from Google has added to my doubt whether the current incarnation of the browser is an appropriate one. The biggest question mark would be tabs. As great as they might seem, tabs have some inherent usability issues associated with them:

Cyrus: Ok, i seriously don’t get tabs on Windows. Hell, i don’t get tabs on OSX either. In the latter there’s a great system called Exposé for that, and in the former the task bar does the job just great. Once i start using tabs though things go all to hell. On OSX i can’t tell which FireFox/Safari window has the tab i want (since it’s too small), and similarly in windows i find myself scanning the taskbar for a site i was looking at, but i can’t find it because the task bar entry only lists the site that is the currently active tab. This makes it so difficult to actually find the site i want and it ends up being far slower than just having a window available for each site.

Now however, they are becoming a much more important navigational element. Whereas in it’s current inclination, tabs are used to navigate web pages and applications withinan application within an OS, they will eventually be used to navigate web pages and applications within an OS only (read: browser), the behaviour of which is similar to the taskbar found in Windows or Exposé in OSX. This shift in usage will most likely result in a much higher dependency on tabs and I somehow think that it is perhaps good idea to look at how this demand can be met.

equals

Somewhat ironic is also the way in which applications are accessed: on windows most people seem to click on a icon to launch them (this might vary: I am lost without being able to search for applications). In a browser this might not always be the case: the address bar functions as a sort of smart command line input that allows us to look for and launch online content.

By all accounts however, the current form of the browser will most likely need to be adapted to allow it to fit better into the usage patterns, but also the environment in which it is used.

This is not an entirely new idea, it has been done in various forms before, Wakoopa’s reputation levels are another excellent example. Introduced in 2008, the reputation levels reflect how much software you use or how active you are on the site.

The Expert on Wakoopa

Google's Gmail Ninjas

Like the much discussed twitter follower count, such rating systems inevitably result in those partaking in it to want to have their rating/number increased. Fellow blogger Joshua Porter also has some insights on this subject. His focus on explaining it is mostly due focussed around our behavior of wanting to collect, and I agree with him.

BJ Fogg’s book Persuasive Technology also offers an explanation:
Competition is perhaps the most powerful group-level intrinsic motivator. When you set up a competition, people become energized. They invest time and effort. They care about the outcome.

Obviously, what else is this habit of collecting (especially in the context of Gmail’s Ninjas) than a competition? Apart from it being very persuasive, I think it is a great way to introduce some boring features. It is bound to have an effect.

Now excuse me while I try to go and setup gmail on my own domain

What attracted my attention was was the interface. If you enlarge the screenshot you’ll see that Google Wave looks (and probably performs) very much like a stand-alone application.

click to enlarge

And here is where the problem comes in: putting a robust web application inside a browser that (amongst other things) still has those archaic back and forward buttons feels really awkward. Isn’t something like that more suitable as a stand-alone application? Luckily Google’s Chrome is fully aware of this: it’s ability to have application shortcuts is a clear indication of the move towards a chrome less browser. Firefox hasn’t been standing still either: Mozilla Prism offers the same sort of functionality. My favorite amongst these is however Fluid. This Apple only browser allows you to remove the browser chrome completely giving you a window that is almost Adobe Air like (but better, you don’t have to install individual programs).
Notice the option to remove all chrome

Sadly, Opera’s new (mostly awesome) 10.00 Beta does not have this availability. If I am to guess, I would say that it has to do with their philosophy of running all the browser windows inside the main browser, something I have complained about before.

I guess what it comes down to is that browsers aren’t really the same pieces of software they used to be, we all know this to be true. The trick is to subsequently act upon this knowledge, designing them in way that is more suitable for the way they are actually being used.

But, is that really true? I am doubtful. I think the term “search engine” is actually very applicable. Of course, we know the browser is the piece of software that gets used to view the content (or access the web applications) housed online. But what we know it to be is irrelevant. It is what people actually perceive it to be that is much more important.

See, to apparently a majority of people, that thing they use to browse the net is simply a tool to help them find content. A search engine, packaged as software, that displays the results of searches, either entered into the address bar as URL’s, or in separate search engines such as Google or Yahoo!.

The fact that Google’s browser, Chrome has an address bar that doubles as a search input field is also very interesting: it is a radical departure and it makes sense not only from a usability point of view, but also from the mental model point of view that people have of a browser.

I guess what is most important to remember from that clip is that people actually perceive things in a (sometimes radical) different way than it was actually intended. Perhaps we should also design products that fit better into what people actually perceive it to be, rather that what we want people to perceive it to be.

EDIT: Turns out, the people in Rotterdam have the same idea’s when it comes to what they think a browser is. A bunch of students from my own University back in The Netherlands performed the same survey. Results were the just about the same. Video in Dutch: