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I'm pretty tired of this sentiment. Yes, Google might value engineering above UI, but that doesn't mean they don't value UI at all. Look at the piece on Chrome

I'm pretty tired of this sentiment. Yes, Google might value engineering above UI, but that doesn't mean they don't value UI at all. Look at the piece on Chrome Tab behaviour that was on HN earlier today [1]. Chrome has by far the best UI of any web browser I've used. Google Search has the best UI of any search engine I've ever used. Google Calendar has the best UI of any electronic calendar I've used. And so on. Do they have as good UI as a specialist graphic design company? Maybe not. Against any tech company however, they stack up pretty damn well, despite what Gruber might claim. [1] http://theinvisibl.com/2009/12/08/chrometabs/ http://theinvisibl.com/2009/12/08/chrometabs/

alanh 16y ago
The Chrome team excepted. I absolutely agree they have perhaps the highest commitment to UX of any browser. It feels like a miracle that it’s a Google app. But a counter-example or two doesn’t disprove the rule. Have you used AdWords lately? Discovered any pain points? My complaints are pretty numerous, and that’s the #1 cash cow.
bengoodger 16y ago
I am the engineer that added much of the behavior described in this post, and also the manager of the Chrome frontend team. We are always looking for engineers excited by design challenges and who have an intuition for user experience. Within the Chromium project we design all our UI ourselves and rely on our engineers having good taste and judgment. Any engineers who love UI like this and are comfortable (or can become comfortable) with C++ or Objective C should please drop me a line (beng at google). I'd love to talk to you.
- bane 16y ago
  Please add: 1) The ability to group tabs by subject area. I try to this with multiple windows now, but I still end up with a pile of mess on my hands. 2) Vertical tabs. Most of the sides of my browser pages sit unused anyway, and when I have 30-40 tabs open (typical) I can never find anything. Vertical tabs would let me at least see the names of the page titles. Right now I don't even see the icons everything gets so smushed up. Other than that, keep up the great work! Chrome is by far my favorite browser. I feel pain, deep inside some organ someplace, whenever I have to use another browser.
- tomdale 16y ago
  Is your team responsible for the recent changes to the Web Inspector?

alanh 16y ago

The Chrome team excepted. I absolutely agree they have perhaps the highest commitment to UX of any browser. It feels like a miracle that it’s a Google app. But a counter-example or two doesn’t disprove the rule. Have you used AdWords lately? Discovered any pain points? My complaints are pretty numerous, and that’s the #1 cash cow.

bengoodger 16y ago

I am the engineer that added much of the behavior described in this post, and also the manager of the Chrome frontend team. We are always looking for engineers excited by design challenges and who have an intuition for user experience. Within the Chromium project we design all our UI ourselves and rely on our engineers having good taste and judgment. Any engineers who love UI like this and are comfortable (or can become comfortable) with C++ or Objective C should please drop me a line (beng at google). I'd love to talk to you.

bane 16y ago
Please add: 1) The ability to group tabs by subject area. I try to this with multiple windows now, but I still end up with a pile of mess on my hands. 2) Vertical tabs. Most of the sides of my browser pages sit unused anyway, and when I have 30-40 tabs open (typical) I can never find anything. Vertical tabs would let me at least see the names of the page titles. Right now I don't even see the icons everything gets so smushed up. Other than that, keep up the great work! Chrome is by far my favorite browser. I feel pain, deep inside some organ someplace, whenever I have to use another browser.
tomdale 16y ago
Is your team responsible for the recent changes to the Web Inspector?