Flickr Tab is a simple Chrome extension which displays a popular Flickr image every time you open a new Chrome tab.

Interesting idea, we thought. Maybe you’ll be able to customise the images, perhaps define a few keywords, so you’re running a personalised Flickr search each time?

Well, no. Flickr Tab has no complex settings. That’s because it has no simple ones, either. All the extension does is grab a different image each time and display it as your new tab page, as well as providing a little interactivity (refreshing the page displays a new image, clicking the photographer’s name shows you more of their images).

See a popular Flickr image every time you open a new Google tab

One obvious problem with this approach is that, effectively, all you’re doing is replacing the New Tab page with a limited version of Flickr. If you like your new tab to open at Google, say, or display your bookmarks bar, then this will only slow you down.

Although we’ve not tried to measure it, there’s presumably going to be a significant impact on network traffic, too. You might open a lot of new tabs in a session, and if every single one starts with a high res JPEG then that might be an issue for metered connections.

But for all that, Flickr Tab is very simple, the pictures are amazing, and if it’s not going to affect your productivity then we’d give it a try.