I changed the browser.newtab.URL entry in about:config from about:newtab to http://www.google.com/ncr. My default action for opening a new tab was "ctrl-t", followed by "alt-home" (and my homepage is http://www.google.com/ncr), so I thought less keypresses is better :) Now, when I open a new tab, it does load Google, however, it still highlights/selects the URL bar (I believe this to be default behiour). This hinders my workflow, as I still have to click on the google search bar :( When I go to my home page (click "Home" button or press "alt-home") it doesn't highlight the URL bar, but allows me to instantly type my query into the Google search bar. This gives me hope that what I want is possible. Could someone tell me that it is indeed possible? Ps. I am deliberately using firefox 22.0 and upgrading is not an option for me, even if this was the solution. Any other solution would be highly appreciated.