I'm thinking I could use a simple preview link of some type -- tho, performance would have to be 10x than any 'preview'-type functionality i've ever used before.
Continue down the front-page list (or new list), repeating the middle click pairs on any additional items that look interesting.
Then start reading the link tab (which should be "next" since it gets clicked first). When done, either close that tab and switch to the comments tab (or just switch to the comments tab) and refresh the page to bring in any new comments, and start reading through the comments.