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Vivaldi and Other Non-Traditional Browsers Thread


Tara

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Internet_Explorer_Web_Browser_60162.jpg firefox.pngchrome-icon.png

 

So if you're viewing this, you're probably familiar with the icons above.  In fact, more than half of you are probably using at least some variation of the browsers they represent.  Microsoft's often-lampooned Internet Explorer, Mozilla's acclaimed Firefox, and Google's revolutionary Chrome.  These are the three main browsers that users and developers alike find common ground in using.  Of course, there's limitless other browsers out there.  If you're viewing this on your 3DS or Wii U, then you're using a version of Opera browser.  If you're a Mac user, you've probably used Safari at least once in your life.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that there are lots of browsers out there, each with their own fair share of advantages and disadvantages that make for a versatile and comfortable viewing experience... unless you're using Internet Explorer, but I digress.

But what about lesser known browsers?  Is there a reason to use something other than the most commonly accepted web browsers currently available?

Well, my work computer handles huge loads on uncompressed audio and MIDI data on a near-daily basis, so if during this process I need to use the internet for a quick lookup, I have plenty of options.  For awhile, I've been using Google Chrome, which was heralded at the time for being a faster, less bloated alternative to Firefox and definitely internet Explorer.  But lately, that's just not been the case.

vivaldi-browser-logo.jpg

Enter Vivaldi, a versatile, open source browser that is based on Google's coding (from what I've read) but promises to be less bloated and offers a much greater array of customization options, and boy does it deliver on that.  Vivaldi allows you to move and reposition every aspect of your browser as well change how it displays, allowing you to combine features you love from one browser with features you love from another browser relatively seamlessly.  Unlike FireFox and Chrome, customization is also built in and relatively easy.

As far as bloatedness goes, doing a few tests, I've definitely noticed a huge decrease in CPU usage, and being able to change the layout of the browser on a whim has definitely increased productivity for me, personally.

But like any browser, particularly those that are new to the scene, there are some drawbacks one must take into account-

  • Some websites just don't like Vivaldi that much.  One such example is DeviantArt, where Vivaldi doesn't recognize some of the buttons.  Particularly, when I go to my activity feed to look at new art that the people I watch have made, the button to remove pieces that I'm not interested in seeing from my notifications list just doesn't seem to work, a problem that is pretty much nonexistent on Chrome, FireFox, and IE.
  • Any third-party plug-in that's compatible with Chrome should be able to install on Vivaldi without a problem, but the plug-in's website identifies your browser as Chrome, meaning there's probably no standalone Vivaldi version for it.  This means that compatibility can be an issue, since an update to the plugin meant for a more recent version of Chrome might not work on a not-yet-updated version of Vivaldi.
  • Sometimes you grow so accustomed to the inconvenience that when it's not there, it disorients you.
  • If you're as used to Google Chrome as I am, you've probably grown used to the convenience of being able to transfer your bookmarks from one computer to the next.  You can't do that with Vivaldi.  In theory, you could just transfer your bookmarks from Vivaldi to Chrome and then transfer them to Chrome on another device, install Vivaldi, and then import them from Chrome there.  But that's a lot of work and not really something I want to spend an excess amount of time doing in 2016.
  • And of course, it's still a new browser, so it's not exactly bug-free.

 

Still, despite its faults, Vivaldi has proven to be the perfect browser for my work PC and I imagine I'll probably make it a staple of my personal PC as well.  With the browser quickly gaining a sudden surge of popularity, I can only imagine this project getting bigger and better as years go by as opposed to spiking for a bit and then dropping off the face of the earth.

So I was initially going to just make a status update on the matter, but I wanted to know what you guys thought of Vivaldi.  Or if you had another less-well-known browser that worked better for you?  Tell us about them here!

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Vivaldi's a youngster at the moment, but I think it's probably the best browser out there. It's all of Chrome, but 10x more style and 10x less power-grubbing. Despite it's slight imperfections, it's amazing.

I used to use Opera as well, which I think is a well-running platform too that definitely had it's perks, but I dunno if they outweigh Chrome or Vivaldi. In all honesty, Vivaldi feels like a marriage between Opera's style and Chrome's substance, which I dig a lot.

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I'm using Pale Moon, it's a better variation of Firefox. It's more fast, and don't have unnecessary things. But, Pale Moon have some problems, like the incompatibility with some complements and uses an older version of Firefox, that can be a problem for somethings, like your e-mail.

But, if you want a unknown web browser I suggest Lynx:

Lynx-wikipedia.png

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I used to use mobile Puffin. It has Adobe Flash in it. 

Then my phone cracked and too bad.

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  • 1 year later...

I am feeling just a bit jaded with Firefox due in part to some changes they're making, so I decided to give Vivaldi a second look. Already, I find a lot to love with extensive and interesting features out of the box and a focus on customization, married with sleekness and a visual style that blows both Chrome and Firefox out of the water (in my subjective opinion) - ALL things I LOVE. (I'm not comparing it with Opera since I never used that extensively.) These are all things that I think a browser should focus on. Definitely something worth looking into, though I probably won't switch right away. There are still some parts of Firefox I'm still attached to, after all. Most likely, I'll only consider making it my full-time browser once Firefox switches away from their original extensions platform, thus breaking some of their niftiest add-ons and getting rid of one of their major advantages. If I do switch to Vivaldi, I still might switch back to FF later if they add some more worthwhile features - for example, when they implement more advanced features for their lightweight themes that they've been hinting at, since I'm big on making those. I've made 280 Firefox themes, so I do have a bit of a bit of an attachment at this point, eh? xP

Anyway, the point is, Vivaldi looks great. I'll definitely have to keep playing around in it to really see if it suits me, though. And it's hard to see me switching away from Firefox permanently, at any rate. But still.

So far, one of the greatest disadvantages with Vivaldi I see, for me personally, is that in Firefox, I got used to dragging a link in-between two tabs, causing it to open up there. Vivaldi lets you drag a link to the New Tab button, and it lets you drag a link to an existing tab to replace that tab's contents with the link's contents, but it won't let you drag a link between two tabs. I know it sounds extremely minor, but I'm honestly not sure if I can deal with that. xD Y'know, when you get used to doing things a certain way and it seems really handy, it can be haaaard to change...

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