Mozilla looks to go beyond browser tabs

Administrators at Mozilla are asking members of the development community to suggest ideas for a new system which could replace the tab system in future versions of Firefox.

In a new open design challenge contest for the public, administrators at Mozilla Labs are asking developers to examine the problem as part of the company's Summer Design Challenge programme.

When Firefox first used tabbed browsing several years ago, the system was seen as a major improvement for many users over the practice of using a new window for each open page.

Since then, however, Mozilla argues that the changing web has begun to push the limits of the tab structure.

"Tabs worked well on slow machines on a thin internet, where ten browser sessions were 'many browser sessions," the company said.

"Today, 20-plus parallel sessions are quite common; the browser is more of an operating system than a data display application; we use it to manage the web as a shared hard drive."

To adapt to those changes, the company is asking developers to look into other methods, such as adopting a 'tree tab' system or moving certain tabs to the side of the screen rather than the top.

Mozilla said that developers wishing to participate in the programme would have until June 21 to submit a video and mock-up of their design. Winners will be announced on July 8.