[Bug 331618] [NEW] make new tab behaviour consistent in Firefox

[Jane Silber]

Public bug reported:

Binary package hint: firefox

I am filing this bug as part of the Feature Freeze exception process[1].
Currently, when you start Firefox the first tab opens with a search page
(on the belief that search is one of the most common use cases in this
scenario).  However, when opening a new tab, the tab opens a blank page.

A common use can in opening a new tab is also that users will search,
and we could display the same search page in the new tabs.  There could
also be a user preference, to allow the user to change this if they
prefer the blank page to the "quick search" page [2].

This has been implemented and is available for testing[3].  It did not
land in time for Feature Freeze because (a) it was a late-blooming idea,
and (b) we're still coordinating with Mozilla.

The technical risk involved in the change is low. There will be
additional testing required around the new preference option, and the
specific use case of opening new tabs.  There remains some procedural
risk, as we need to discuss further with Mozilla. So while testing can
occur in the PPA, I don't think we should land the change until all
parties are satisfied.

A related issue (but not being proposed for Feature Freeze exception) is
bug# 331575.

[1] https://wiki.ubuntu.com/FreezeExceptionProcess
[2] http://people.ubuntu.com/~asac/screens_newtab/Preferences.png
[3] http://launchpad.net/~asac/+archive

** Affects: firefox (Ubuntu)
     Importance: Undecided
         Status: New

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make new tab behaviour consistent in Firefox
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/331618
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