Comment Solution... (Score 1, Interesting) 362
Simple solution - don't use tabs in browsers. The first thing I do to any browser I sit in front of, is to immediately disable the use of tabs. I have never understood why many people think they are a good idea - I think they break a heap of good UI principles.
My two cents as far as tabs go, is that a window should be a window - not a collection of tabs - for the simple reason that tabs obfuscate (hide) the content within. Yes, I can see the advantages of tabs within some UIs in certain situations - for example: segmenting "general" from "advanced" preferences; stepping data through a process, or in a rich client application where data is related.
Where tabs are a bad fit for browsing is that the data viewed in web apps is often too disparate - there is no linkage between any of the tabs within a "window" - the content of what is presented within is asynchronous and disconnected - tabs in browsers never have a true relationship with each other. Sure - you might be looking at two related sites, or two pages within a site, but tabs offer nothing (UI-wise) that a window cannot do. A new window offers a single view of a chunk of information; if you need another view, why not simply use another window. A mish mash of windows filled with tabs does not improve the UI in any way.