We all know that tabbed browsing is the greatest thing since sliced bread, and I use Adium and Gaim primarily because of their tabbed chat window features. I even went so far as to mock-up what a tabbed BBEdit interface could look like before they introduced the feature in BBEdit 8.0. Scott discovered iTerm last week and I’ve happily made the switch from Terminal.

Why are tabbed applications all the rage? I think it is because we are doing much more than we ever have with our computers, and that using tabs within a single application window keeps the number of open windows we have from becoming unmanageable – it helps us keep everything organized.

What’s next? I’ve been thinking that I would certainly use a tabbed Finder window (hello Path Finder, jump on this idea – ok?) and a tabbed FTP client (Transmit? Captain FTP? Beuller?). I’ve read that people are pushing for a tabbed interface in Thunderbird (view different folders and/or messages in different tabs) which could be interesting.

What applications do you wish had tabbed interfaces? Why do you think tabs have become so popular? And perhaps, where do tabs not belong?

UPDATE: Here is a mock-up of what a tabbed Path Finder window could look like…