4 ms·

I tried opera a while back, and while it's fast and looks good, it has a new tab page with "recommended" sites that you can't turn off - I tried, but it's prote

I tried opera a while back, and while it's fast and looks good, it has a new tab page with "recommended" sites that you can't turn off - I tried, but it's protected by DRM (opera will refuse to start if the file doesn't have a valid digital signature). So if I'm going to switch browsers because of privacy/advertising concerns, it's not going to be Opera.

V-2 7y ago
Current Opera doesn't even allow to customize mouse gestures. The browser that once prided itself in its feature richness...
- ModernMech 7y ago
  I mean... at least it has mouse gestures. Hard to knock it for being not feature-rich enough when it has a feature no other browser has by default (except Vivaldi, which has Opera lineage).
  - V-2 7y ago
    Sure, however: a) This built-in feature is way below the standards trivially achievable via extensions in Firefox, Chrome etc. b) It's a downgrade in relation to what Opera itself used to offer in the past (and then, if I recall, got so stripped of functionalities it didn't even support bookmarks at some point).
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
pps 7y ago
I don't see anything like that in new tab page. I have only searchbar and thumbnails for pages I like to visit. I'm on Mac, do they have different versions of new tab page for other systems?
ModernMech 7y ago
The new tab page has a list of bookmarks you can customize. It starts off with some "recommeded" sites in there, but you can just remove them once and they never come back. The only thing you can't remove from the new tab page is the Google search bar, which never really bothered me. Either way, it seems like you're implying that Opera will populate the new tab page with sites it chooses, but that's just not the case.
- zrobotics 7y ago
  Plus, the search bar isn't just limited to Google, it respects the default search engine selection.
- laqq3 7y ago
  Opera does allow you to remove the Google search bar (actually, it's not tied to Google). Go to browser settings -> advanced settings -> Start Page. This is what I use https://i.imgur.com/GpF0sQt.png https://i.imgur.com/GpF0sQt.png
  - ModernMech 7y ago
    Thanks for the tip!
- nahtnam 7y ago
  I just wrote a blog post on how to replace the new tab page altogether if that is something you are interested in: https://blog.nahtnam.com/p/my-new-favorite-browser https://blog.nahtnam.com/p/my-new-favorite-browser It is highlighted in the "new tab page" section
vasili111 7y ago
Opera is owned by Chinese company.
nahtnam 7y ago
Hey! I hope this isn't breaking the rules (self promotion) but I wrote a blog post on how to change your new tab page: https://blog.nahtnam.com/p/my-new-favorite-browser https://blog.nahtnam.com/p/my-new-favorite-browser It is described under the "new tab page" section. I can't really comment on the privacy/advertising concerns but I do know that Opera providers a VPN for you (who know what they are doing behind the scenes) and have their own adblocker built in.
userbinator 7y ago
I tried, but it's protected by DRM (opera will refuse to start if the file doesn't have a valid digital signature). Not too long ago, that situation would just cause someone to crack it and share how, or at least a patch. Then again, that was also a time when there was an actual choice between browsers, and not just "Firefox or WebKit/Chrome(/ium) shell."

V-2 7y ago

Current Opera doesn't even allow to customize mouse gestures. The browser that once prided itself in its feature richness...

ModernMech 7y ago
I mean... at least it has mouse gestures. Hard to knock it for being not feature-rich enough when it has a feature no other browser has by default (except Vivaldi, which has Opera lineage).
- V-2 7y ago
  Sure, however: a) This built-in feature is way below the standards trivially achievable via extensions in Firefox, Chrome etc. b) It's a downgrade in relation to what Opera itself used to offer in the past (and then, if I recall, got so stripped of functionalities it didn't even support bookmarks at some point).
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]

pps 7y ago

I don't see anything like that in new tab page. I have only searchbar and thumbnails for pages I like to visit. I'm on Mac, do they have different versions of new tab page for other systems?

ModernMech 7y ago

The new tab page has a list of bookmarks you can customize. It starts off with some "recommeded" sites in there, but you can just remove them once and they never come back. The only thing you can't remove from the new tab page is the Google search bar, which never really bothered me. Either way, it seems like you're implying that Opera will populate the new tab page with sites it chooses, but that's just not the case.

zrobotics 7y ago
Plus, the search bar isn't just limited to Google, it respects the default search engine selection.
laqq3 7y ago
Opera does allow you to remove the Google search bar (actually, it's not tied to Google). Go to browser settings -> advanced settings -> Start Page. This is what I use https://i.imgur.com/GpF0sQt.png https://i.imgur.com/GpF0sQt.png
- ModernMech 7y ago
  Thanks for the tip!
nahtnam 7y ago
I just wrote a blog post on how to replace the new tab page altogether if that is something you are interested in: https://blog.nahtnam.com/p/my-new-favorite-browser https://blog.nahtnam.com/p/my-new-favorite-browser It is highlighted in the "new tab page" section

vasili111 7y ago

Opera is owned by Chinese company.

nahtnam 7y ago

Hey! I hope this isn't breaking the rules (self promotion) but I wrote a blog post on how to change your new tab page: https://blog.nahtnam.com/p/my-new-favorite-browser https://blog.nahtnam.com/p/my-new-favorite-browser It is described under the "new tab page" section. I can't really comment on the privacy/advertising concerns but I do know that Opera providers a VPN for you (who know what they are doing behind the scenes) and have their own adblocker built in.

userbinator 7y ago

I tried, but it's protected by DRM (opera will refuse to start if the file doesn't have a valid digital signature). Not too long ago, that situation would just cause someone to crack it and share how, or at least a patch. Then again, that was also a time when there was an actual choice between browsers, and not just "Firefox or WebKit/Chrome(/ium) shell."