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November 24, 2008 8:07 AM PST

China's Firefox browser has one feature the West lacks

by Matt Asay

17Lamp.net reports on one big feature that China's version of the Firefox browser has that the rest of the world still lacks: Live Margins.

What is the Live Margins feature? It's easier seen than explained, and can be viewed here. 17Lamp.net translates:

It's a new sidebar on the right, and apparently it is "a unique solution to the longstanding problem of tab browsing where only one tab is visible at any time." But it also gives "additional search results, relevant information, music, video, and much more." (It) is also localized, including information from the Chinese YouTube, and Chinese sites for music and other information.

It looks really cool, as it blends services from different Web sites into one view. It means I can be on CNN.com, for example, but can simultaneously, in the same tab/window, be browsing YouTube, perhaps to call up a related news video.

It sounds like a great feature, and is a testament to the fluidity of innovation in open source. Often decentralized, open-source innovation bubbles up to meet disparate, local needs. Live Margins is just the latest example of this.


Via LinuxToday.

Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to The Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
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by gsmiller88 November 24, 2008 8:57 AM PST
We westerners can already get this feature in a browser, Flock.
Reply to this comment
by behni November 24, 2008 9:07 AM PST
The other feature we don't get in our version Firefox is limited access to the entire internet. Somehow, I prefer the government NOT telling me what I can and cannot see.
Reply to this comment
by The_Decider November 24, 2008 11:39 AM PST
What does that have to do with Firefox?
by dmm November 24, 2008 9:09 AM PST
You forgot to mention the hidden "security" features in the Chinese version.
Reply to this comment
by karpenterskids November 24, 2008 9:57 AM PST
hahaha...well said. :)
by techman21 November 24, 2008 9:25 AM PST
What's wrong with having only one tab visible at a time? I don't need visual clutter.
Reply to this comment
by BreakTheB0x November 24, 2008 9:39 AM PST
This type of functionality in Firefox is nothing new!

I'd expect such a prestigious and widely circulated publication to properly research before going to print with claims that the rest of the world hadn't thought of multiple tab views in the same window. While the following add-ons for Firefox are by no means bug free, and some lack the advanced content filtering abilities that "Live Margins" allegedly offers, I'd say that the idea is not wholly original and credit is due to those who came before.

I hope that you might consider issuing a retraction of the "first" claim and provide coverage the other designers who spend a great deal of time maintaining and testing these "Live Margin"-esque add-ons. I personally use the "Split Browser" add on, and in fact I'm writing this comment in one window with your story on the right hand side with multiple tabs from the Add-On section of the Mozilla site on the left.

Split Pannel 0.8.6
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3275

Split Browser 0.5.2008112201
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4287

Split Tab 0.0.2
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4981

Tab Splitter 0.9
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/7327

a|split|bs 0.1
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/9471

Also, I agree with with Behni and Dmm; I'd much rather have the entire Internet available to me than multiple tab windows with only "government approved" pages available.
Reply to this comment
by Dalkorian November 24, 2008 3:24 PM PST
The article is obviously a misprint - he meant to discuss the "security features" but got confused along the way!
by Mike_Beltzner November 24, 2008 10:07 AM PST
The Live Margins feature is available for all versions of Firefox as an add-on called "Juice". You can <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/9488">install it and try it out</a> if you'd like.
Reply to this comment
by AppleSuxLeo November 24, 2008 11:31 AM PST
I hear the Melamine add-on is standard over there.
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About The Open Road

Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to the Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is general manager of the Americas division and vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.

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