This could be better than your browser's bookmarks. While I appreciate the simplicity of it, it's too simple as it is now. The potential benefit here is in hierarchy, which bookmarks generally lack. How about this:
4 links at the big 128 x 128 size. The sites you check every session.
8 links at 64 x 64. The ones you use pretty frequently.
Not to imply that's degrading it, lots of people have trouble handling the bookmarks menu, and this is much more graphically memorable / understandable, so it's likely they could get it more easily. The buttons are also bigger, which (though I'm HUGELY against large browser chrome) can be useful.
I love it. I think it's really great, and I'll tell you why.
First, simplicity. I think websites as a whole suffer from information overload and the simpler something is the easier it is to use, which makes it accessible to everyone.
Second, the design. Its great, why not have favourites as icons? Every website now has a logo which marks their brand, we've become accustomed to viewing them everywhere so its easy enough to look at it and know exactly what it is. Its brilliant, visual and the kind of steps others should be taking in terms of UX.
Third, its on the web. Safari, firefox and chrome start pages are in your local browser, but we dont all use the same machine everyday do we? I switch between 2 or 3 as I'm at work, then at home or at a friends.
My only thought would be, I want to see more than 4 icons without ruining the visual. If you can achieve that then I'm sold.
Eh, I think it's a solution in search of a problem.
Other than looking cool, if you timed yourself, I bet it's much faster to just type it.
(on my mac):
Cmd + L
type "gm" (gmail.com is now highlighted in the dropdown because it's one of the 4 most frequent websites I visit and FF is smart enough to know I probably want it)
Enter
Total time: Less than it takes for fav4.org to load.
Yep. Plus I hate being always told what to do; I fear it helps to kill my creativity. That's why I always set start page to blank and turn off Opera's speed dial forever (after admiring it for a while).
That said, a solution is nice.
UPDATE: Hm, now I think I could set my homepage to this, but leave start page as blank. This way I won't be distracted the moment I start the browser, yet be able to reach this launchpad with a press of "Home" button whenever I want to.
Ever since I started using Safari's "Top Sites" (procedurally generated Opera Speed Dial), I've noticed a developing feedback loop in which I visit the listed sites significantly more often than the non-listed ones. It's subtle, but it's enough for me to reconsider my use of the feature.
"Third, its on the web. Safari, firefox and chrome start pages are in your local browser, but we dont all use the same machine everyday do we? I switch between 2 or 3 as I'm at work, then at home or at a friends."
I'm sure that it's not great, having never heard of Fav4.org before today. I landed on the page and saw 4 buttons with links to pages that I visit regularly. "That's great, but I already have them bookmarked," I thought.
I closed the tab, but decided it wouldn't have been on HN if it was just 4 links. At that point I returned to the site and saw the "Settings" button in the bottom corner.
A landing page that hides the purpose of a webpage will cost you users in the long run
Opera has done that for a while. Safari and Chrome have it. It's available as an extension for Firefox. It looks like there's even an IE addon with similar functionality.
I get excited by these services (iGoogle, Netvibes) and end-up using them for about a week before defaulting back to google's homepage. Love Fav4's design though!
Try http://www.bkmks.com: (Google) search box at the top; organize your favorite links below via drag & drop. Fast and simple.
I just wish it had tabs and easy/multiple delete (I hacked together a javascript bookmarklet to work around the multiple-clicks-to-delete-a-single-link issue)
Looks like a web version of Safari's Top Site. Except Top Site is a grid. You can place favs in to a particular square, but recent websites you visit a lot will show up automatically on available squares.
Hmm, actually a social version of this might be very interesting. Based on your fav sites, other popular fav sites will be recommended to you.
Looks nice, and would probably be a great recommendation to relatives or friends.
On a site such as "hacker news", where the majority of users would be fast-typing power users, I think we would prefer to stick to our blank homepage and type what we need in the address bar.
Personally, I use the bookmarks toolbar in forefox / ie for my top 4 links.
I was thinking of something like this when the Facebook login story on RWW came out a week or two ago. With a start page that looks like an [iPhone|Android|your favorite device] screen , there's less risks of being confused.
Fav4.org is nice, but I agree - a bit to simple. There is an alternative - zenstart. It has a Goolge seach box and the 150 most popular links: www.zenstart.com
