The first argument goes that new windows are great but it’s up to the user to decide when to open new windows. It is important to understand what a new window is. A new window is a new instance of my browser on my computer.
The constant flow of new windows opening here, there, everywhere, has it’s price. It forces many users into a relative passive role of consumption like sitting in an armchair in front of television. Today most users could not even dream of opening a new window by themselves.
Let us take the most popular browser, Internet Explorer, as example. If I want for a link to open in a new window, I just have to press the Shift key when clicking or activating the link using the mouse or the keyboard. I can also use the right mouse button and select new window.
If a web page opens in the same window, and the user decides that it ought to have opened in a new window, the user just have to press Ctrl+N, and a new window opens. It is often the best method because the history of the old window is transferred to the new window.
It is important to note that no expert of usability is against new windows. It is a question about who should rule the Internet. What model do we want for the World Wide Web? Should the model be a relatively passive user of consumption manipulated most of the time. Or do we want a more ambitious model putting the user in control most of the time?