Hacker News: ctrlt

New comment by ctrlt in "Ask HN: What are you working on? (May 2026)"

ctrlt — Mon, 11 May 2026 01:31:23 +0000

I'm working on creating the most useful browser start page for power users and workers in tech.

https://newtabwidgets.com.

One of my favourite features is the iframe widget, which allows you to select any element on a website and turn it in to a widget.

New comment by ctrlt in "The RSS feed reader landscape"

ctrlt — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 05:16:53 +0000

Self plug: I wanted to have RSS feeds on my browser new tab page along with other widgets, and there weren't that many great options for what I wanted out of a new tab page; so i created my own! https://newtabwidgets.com.

I find the new tab page to be the ideal location for RSS feeds as I can quickly see new updates each time I open a new tab (which is quite frequently!).

It's on the Chrome Web Store: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/new-tab-widgets/ejn...

Show HN: I built a modern iGoogle-like new tab extension

ctrlt — Sun, 07 Sep 2025 09:01:11 +0000

Hi HN,

I started this project as a way to control my Philips Hue smart lights from my browser's new tab page, alongside a few quick links I use every day. My browser is always open, so the new tab page felt like the most natural and convenient place to do it.

Over time, I kept adding widgets I found useful, and it now has 40. They range from simple ones like weather, clocks, sticky notes, countdowns, and timers to advanced ones like Google Calendar and Gmail, Spotify controls, RSS feeds, and even an iframe widget.

My Philips Hue widgets still sit in a little corner of my new tab though :)

This has been my longest running side project, and it finally feels polished enough to share here.

I'd love to hear your feedback, ideas, or even critiques, and I hope some of you find it useful.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45156576

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

New comment by ctrlt in "Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (June 2025)"

ctrlt — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 12:08:32 +0000

I'm building a browser extension that turns your new tab page into a customizable, widget-based dashboard.

It started as a simple way to control my Philips Hue lights from the new tab, but over time it's grown into a daily tool I rely on for:

- Taking quick notes - Launch bookmarked websites - Quick weather updates - Track multiple time zones - Embed parts of websites using an iframe widget (with CSS selectors to isolate elements)

The goal is to make the new tab genuinely useful tailored to your workflow, not just another homepage clone.

It's still a work in progress, so i'd love feedback from anyone into productivity tools, browser customization, or just building cool UI ideas in the browser.

https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/ejnndgifkmlldcdlifj...

https://newtabwidgets.com