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Chrome Cart – Google’s early initiative to integrate Google Shopping content into your browser’s new tab page has expanded quite a bit since the company began toying with the idea. Not only did it also gain Recipe cards, but Google Tasks and Drive modules as well. Now, according to a new Chrome Canary developer flag discovered by Dinsan of Chrome Story shows off these modules being able to be dragged around the page.
NTP Modules Drag and Drop
Enables modules to be reordered via dragging and dropping on the New Tab Page. – Mac, Windows, Linux, Chrome OS
#ntp-modules-drag-and-drop
When dragged and dropped, the modules can overlap and misalign quite a bit, so it’s clear that this is a work in progress, but for what reason this is even a thing, your guess is as good as mine. This is starting to become a freeform space where one can place important data. I’m actually pretty sure that when all is said and done though, assuming this feature even releases, drag and drop will solely be meant to change the order of the modules and not to allow them to be placed literally anywhere.
This largely reminds me of iGoogle – Google’s personalized homepage service that was discontinued back in 2013 – and feels like the company is attempting to bring it back from the ashes in a new and more meaningful way. I personally loved this product before it was ‘sunset’, but society largely moved away from such clutter back in the day in favor of a minimalist design and quick access to a search bar, and basically nothing more.
I’d like to hear from you all – are you in favor of Google cluttering your precious new tab page with a bunch of modules for things you may or may not use, or do you prefer it to be a blank space with just a search bar? You can customize these cards using the button at the bottom-right side of the page, and it seems as though these will remain optional, but I haven’t heard much feedback on the idea of content occupying this space, so let me know in the comments section!
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