opera 20 vs Chrome

cfpct

cfpct

OK, I have been using opera since banner ads - mid 90's. I remember people asking me what was so great about Opera, and I could rattle off 10+ features that made Opera different and better. I had no trouble making a persuasive argument for Opera over other browsers

Today, I use Opera 12 as my primary browser, and Chrome is my goto browser for sites that Opera 12 does not work with, and I am using Chrome more and more (maybe 50% of my browsing). Although I imported my bookmarks from from Opera into Chrome, I pretty much just use the bookmark bar in Chrome since I only use it for sites that are not compatible with Opera 12

So my question is this? Why should I switch from Chrome to Opera 20? I tried Opera 15 and dump it immediately because I though it was a stripped down version of Chrome. What does Opera 20 over that Chrome doesn't that would make me switch. Before I could make a persuasive argument for Opera, but now I cannot. I need to be convinced. Opera.com just offers the download, and they really do not make the effort to promote the virtues of Opera 20, which make you wonder if they lack confidence in Opera 20. They still advertise Opera as an alternative browser, but they do not make much of an effort to extol its merits or functionality (like they use to). Does alternative just mean "another choice" or "something unique and special." Can someone point to a list of features that make it a legitimate alternative browser?

linuxmint7

linuxmint7

The thing is, features are subjective, what's useful or appealing to you, may not be useful or appealing to certain other users.

The best thing to do is try it for yourself and see if it fits your needs or not, after all, you are the best judge of what you like and don't like.

Me personally, I'm sticking with 12.14 for the foreseeable future, but keep the developer build around (and updated) just to see how things are progressing. You may wish to do something similar.

blackbird71

blackbird71

Unless one is dealing with a very old, capability/capacity-limited system, what @linuxmint7 suggested is the best approach... with regard to any browser one is wondering about. Install it and try it out. That way, rather than relying on second-hand opinion, you can find out for yourself if the glove fits your hand and how you use it. You may be surprised to find out how many different implementations of browser "features" and personalities there actually are out there... and some of the limitations you encounter may send you headlong back to a previously-tried browser style.

grandadmiralthrawn

grandadmiralthrawn

I am by far not the most skillful Opera user. Most of the distinct features of Opera 12 I never even used. Crazy, but true.

What I do see in Opera 20 however is the fact, that its built-in speed dial (THE killer feature for me) still feels more smooth and solid than what extensions for FireFox or Chromium/Iron can do. I tried it all, and the way how the Opera speed dial behaves and feels is still superior even today. At least in my opinion.

Since the speed dial is the most important thing for me (I don't even use bookmarks really, only very rarely, it's all speed dial), this is still a "killer feature".

However, it would be hard to use in an argument... Because a slightly better look & feel doesn't make it "unique and special" at all. It is important for me. But it's no longer unique.

I actually stopped talking people into using Opera. And the people that talked ME into using Opera have all switched to something else by now or are currently in the process of switching to either Chromium/Iron or Firefox.

Opera is no longer more cross-platform than other browsers (Think Solaris, BSD UNIX, BeOS etc.), it doesn't really have any features that would truly stand out, it's become hard to recommend over more well-supported wide-spread alternatives.

At least that's what I'm thinking.

Deleted User

Deleted User

And when it had ALL the features that were so talked about... when it was the perfect browser... less than 3% of users bothered to use it. The fact is, Opera was always a niche browser with a very small (and somewhat geek-oriented) user base. The code was becoming increasingly difficult to correct for the changes in so many websites (i.e. fix one thing, another breaks) as a result of which users were complaining that the browser was incompatible with many of their favorite sites.

The new browser is in a transitional period. It's stable and it's far more compatible with websites than the older Presto version BUT it is under development. Features are being returned so in the meanwhile you're advised to try and ride with it. You can continue to use the older version as well as the newer browser for those sites that will not load. That way you can keep abreast of its development.

lem729

lem729

The Chrome Extension Foxtab Speed Dial 9.2.1 is pretty awesome. It's highly attractive, once set up, and gives the ability to have multiple speed dial pages. I think the Opera Speed dial is fine, but not superior to the Foxtab extension, which, actually, I prefer, because of the multiple pages. As leushino has noted, the new browser, i.e., Opera 20, is a "transition." To what, we shall see. At this point, Chrome is infinitely more polished and usable for me, than Opera 20. I still do like Opera 12.16, which is super, but will, apparently, not be updated.

biggerabalone

biggerabalone

The Chrome Extension Foxtab Speed Dial 9.2.1 is pretty awesome. It's highly attractive, once set up, and gives the ability to have multiple speed dial pages. I think the Opera Speed dial is fine, but not superior to the Foxtab extension, which, actually, I prefer, because of the multiple pages. As leushino has noted, the new browser, i.e., Opera 20, is a "transition." To what, we shall see. At this point, Chrome is infinitely more polished and usable for me, than Opera 20. I still do like Opera 12.16, which is super, but will, apparently, not be updated.

firefox:
fvd speed dial - functional and pretty and customizable.
speed dial 9.6.16 -not as pretty as fvd speed dial, but lighter for weaker systems.

biggerabalone

biggerabalone

cfpct:

interesting that several people replied and no one gave a reason for using opera 20 over chrome. the truth is, chrome has more to offer. but here's a few reasons:

-i like the red `O'
-no startups added to windows
-possibly diminished privacy concerns verses chrome? i've been corrected on this, so i'm not sure.

perhaps someone will reply with more ...
but it shouldn't be this hard to make a list.

burnout426

burnout426 Volunteer

Why should I switch from Chrome to Opera 20?

Can't really think of any reasons at the moment other than loyalty. Chrome with the FVD Speed Dial and the Gestures for Chrome extensions make it pretty hard to consider Opera.

Chrome does close the window when you close the last tab though. Most Chrome extensions that prevent that don't work 100% of the time though. The Chrome Toolbox extension worked the best with that, but even it failed sometimes and the last time I used it, it caused problems with youtube. So, Opera has a little advantage here. But, if you use Chrome long enough, you get used to the window closing on you and it doesn't become a problem as Chrome loads so fast.

Deleted User

Deleted User

How about this... Google is evil. Google does not care one iota for our privacy. Google has a cavalier attitude when it comes to doing as it pleases UNTIL a country decides to clip its wings by fining it. I've heard more disgruntled Opera users say the new Opera is just like Chrome and then in the same breath that they're off to make Chrome their default browser. Uh... no thank you. If I "must" leave Opera it will NOT be for Google Chrome but rather for Mozilla Firefox which is open source and a far sight more concerned about our privacy than Google ever will be.

zzzxtreme

zzzxtreme

last time i remembered about opera was i could setup smtp/pop, irc, i could right-click on bookmarks dropdown, set tabs in windowed mode (MDI) , set timed-reload (like very 5 or 7 minutes), all those important features to me all gone now in latest opera. I really really wish there's a paid version that has all that classic features.

A Former User

So my question is this? Why should I switch from Chrome to Opera 20? I tried Opera 15 and dump it immediately because I though it was a stripped down version of Chrome. What does Opera 20 over that Chrome doesn't that would make me switch.
That question was already answered many times in the old forum.

About the claim that it's a stripped down version of Chrome:
15.0, the very first version, really lacked some options like fonts and start-up settings, yes, but that and other lacking options have been already implemented soon after (note: it acted as "Continue from last time" which is the option I use and I suspect most other Opera users use anyway and that's why they decided to launch the browser as stable even before implementing it).
Today (Opera 20), it's not a stripped down version of Chrome at all. The only things that it hasn't compared to it are a classic bookmarks menu and manager that opens on its own tab (and the mechanism for matching bookmarks the address field which I'm confident will be implemented soon), sync which is coming back soon and the ability to set another search engine as default (as Opera wants to implement some kind of hijacking protection before giving us this option so it can't be hijacked like Chrome is easily by Babylon, etc).

Still, I don't think it's fair to call even the first version a stripped down version of Chrome.
Please remember that for Opera 15+ they stripped Chromium's UI layer and built their own, and in systems like Mac OS X, Windows Vista, 7 and 8 it looks a lot more native than Chrome and the interface arrangement is very different.

Some things Opera removes are benign for us. I don't want NaCl in the browser I use or the latest other non-standardized crap Google is pushing in their agenda for example. Opera is closest to pure web standards (as in W3C) and the web I support is a web that is accessible via any browser and platform, NOT exclusive to Chromium / Google-blessed browsers/patforms as NaCl and other technologies they're pushing is.

Opera has an amount of features that aren't present in Chrome and makes it unique. Yes you could install dozens of extensions in Chrome or Firefox to mimic them, by why should I do this? Opera is where the people that pioneered stuff are (multiple documents in one window that turned into tabs, sessions, zoom, integrated web search AFAIK, Speed Dial new tab page, browser data synchronization, click-to-play plug-ins) so by using Opera you give the merit to the right people.

Speed Dial, where you can choose exactly what and how many pages you want, and now with folders. You can personalize it with a background or use the built-in theme creator to make additional tweaks. And it also has advanced configuration options.
Off-road for poor networks, saving data/plan/money or for accessing that site your ISP/DNS is not handling well.
Built-in additional shortcuts like Ctrl+Shift+V for Paste & Go (yes you'll have do install an extension just for that in Fx/Chrome)
Built-in mouse and rocker gestures
Access to all your search engines in the selected text right-click menu, another annoyance that you'd need to grab an extension to solve in other browsers.
Up to a recent Chrome version you had to open a new tab only so you could open the list of closed tabs that when clicked opened yet another tab. Now you can access the list via the menu like you can in Opera but you're still limited to the last 10 closed tabs while Opera's closed tabs list is limitless.
Some people are finding Stash useful, maybe they can give some tips on how to use it and for what. It displays saved pages' screenshots and indexes some page content to quickly filter using the search box.
The present bookmarks bar is praised by some people who use it, I think it has to do with the drag and drop features on it and the context menus.
There are some desired behaviors in Opera that I don't think I could configure in Chrome like TAB that only cycles through form elements (it's default). It makes a lot of difference in my browsing experience.
The downloads pop-up is more discrete than the Chrome downloads toolbar.
I once saw an add-on that couldn't be disabled/deleted in Chrome's plug-ins page, but in Opera I could disable it normally.
There are advanced keyboard shortcuts. I think there's a manual way to configure them and they plan to make them configurable via GUI.
They're promising improvements to the tabs handling and a redesigned tab cycler. You can see some development going on to make the browser able to handle a higher number of tabs.
You can find some unique tweaks in opera://flags
There are more small things and there are more things planned, some they told us and of course some that they didn't told us about yet.

lem729

lem729

Rafaelik,

You said on the Speed Dial, you can choose exactly what and how many pages you want. I see how you can choose how many speed dial items you want. And you can put items together into a folder. But it seems you are still limited to one page in Opera 20. If I'm missing something, please explain how you can set up multiple speed dial pages, the way you can, for instance, with Fox Tab Speed Dial 9.2.1 in Chrome.

By the way, it was helpful of you to list some of the ways Opera is distinct from Chrome. However, for people who feel Chrome has so many more extensions than Opera 20 at this point, I just discovered tonight that you now have an Opera Extension that lets you use Chrome extensions from the Chrome Store. It's called "Download Chrome Extension." So in addition to the Opera extensions, all of the Chrome extensions seem to be available for use now in Opera 20. Indeed, I downloaded one, and it worked.

biggerabalone

biggerabalone

lol, rafaelluik said opera isn't a stripped down version of chrome, cuz it has features like: "The downloads pop-up is more discrete than the Chrome downloads toolbar". these are weak, where's the beef? (and the bookmarks bar is not a distingishing feature, chrome had it first).

-chromes got beef:
-nacl is important and a true stand out. it makes chrome a formible gaming platform. gaming is big business. and have no doubt, chrome will push this as a standard, and eventually opera will have to impliment it or fold.
-chrome has a sandbox and is more secure than opera
-chrome has a process monitor. very handy when your browser is slow so you can isolate the crap addon doing it.
-chrome has over 100x more addons and extensions then opera (of which, fvd speed dial is better than opera's speed dial. it has more features and is customizable)
-chromes online backup is great. i can load it on any computer with my preferences and bookmarks etc.

-removing large feature sets does make opera a stripped down version. i hate chrome, but i'm not blind.

biggerabalone

biggerabalone

How about this... Google is evil. Google does not care one iota for our privacy. Google has a cavalier attitude when it comes to doing as it pleases UNTIL a country decides to clip its wings by fining it. I've heard more disgruntled Opera users say the new Opera is just like Chrome and then in the same breath that they're off to make Chrome their default browser. Uh... no thank you. If I "must" leave Opera it will NOT be for Google Chrome but rather for Mozilla Firefox which is open source and a far sight more concerned about our privacy than Google ever will be.

no, the danger is you will migrate to chrome because it offers so much more ... diminishing the privacy concerns (though opera does also have privacy concerns). i'm forced to have chrome on my computer for my kids, they love the games. it's like a nintendo system. i tried to use other chrome clones, and they could play many of the games, but the move advanced ones (nacl) they couldn't. furthermore, many online games exist and flash games etc: chromes sandbox helps secure my system from these dangers. an infected flash game would likely jump straight through opera and into my system. even ie has an excellent sandbox (protected mode). why should i have to download sandboxie to run with opera?

burma-road

burma-road

If you hover over the link box, those three horizontal lines in the banner next to where it says Opera forums, you will get a dropdown box saying...
Opera Browser
Choose a better browser.
I did, I chose Chrome.
Thanks for the suggestion Opera, the best thing you have done for quite a while.

burma-road

burma-road

What's with the reformatting of posts to word wrap?
We are not allowed to have paragraphs like grown ups?

Also.....

The arrogance of Opera astounds me. I also lost my Blog and all the images that I had posted, yes I had backups but all the work in formatting and arrangement is now lost. The pitiful support for retrieving content was as good as useless. The guidelines almost non existent and the solutions abysmal I tried downloading in the format given for Wordpress and all I got was text I could have just copied and pasted to a new blog of my choice, which would have been blogger, but after wasting so much time with the totally useless so called support I gave up and started from scratch. After years of convincing others to move to what used to be one of the best browsers, built in mail client and the superb Notes feature, all now gone from the latest version that now resembles a cobbled together copy of Firefox, I have now got many people asking me what to do about their lost content, I have no solutions for them. I am appalled by the attitude of the once fine folks at Opera and in future will recommend people to avoid it like the plague. You guys really suck.

A Former User

@biggerabalone

lol, rafaelluik said opera isn't a stripped down version of chrome, cuz it has features like: "The downloads pop-up is more discrete than the Chrome downloads toolbar". these are weak, where's the beef? (and the bookmarks bar is not a distingishing feature, chrome had it first).

Fail, way to filter what I said. You want to pass as clever and ironic, but happily other real smart people can read my full list above and see how fake you are.
Opera had a bookmarks bar long before Chrome come into existence.

-nacl is important and a true stand out. it makes chrome a formible gaming platform

Nope, the only thing it makes is turn Chrome into a browser that doesn't respect the true open web standards.

chrome will push this as a standard, and eventually opera will have to impliment it or fold

So you like bullies! How sweet. You like supporting a big corporation pushing their agenda on other's throats and leaving the ideals and morals at the door, that's something that I'll never do.

-chrome has a sandbox and is more secure than opera

AFAIK, Opera uses the same sandbox as Chromium.

-chrome has a process monitor. very handy when your browser is slow so you can isolate the crap addon doing it.

Opera has the same process monitor. You must enable the developer tools in menu -> more tools, then you'll be able to find it in the Developer tools menu.

-chrome has over 100x more addons and extensions then opera

No, Google Chrome has a catalog with more add-ons, because that's where the devs uploaded their extensions, but Opera is compatible with nearly all of those extensions and the ones that aren't compatible yet are just because Opera is still implementing some missing APIs in each new major version.

-chromes online backup is great. i can load it on any computer with my preferences and bookmarks etc.

No, you can load it in any computer which runs Chrome. Opera's online backup is the one you can access in any computer, via https://link.opera.com. Opera Link just isn't implemented in the newest stable version yet.

-removing large feature sets does make opera a stripped down version. i hate chrome, but i'm not blind.

I disagree.

A Former User

@burma-road

What's with the reformatting of posts to word wrap?
We are not allowed to have paragraphs like grown ups?

Only if you are a grown up but judging from your completely off-topic post in this thread (unless there's a secret e-mail client and notes feature in Chrome that I don't know about??) I'm afraid I can't tell you about the markdown formatting these forums accept.

A Former User

@lem729

I see how you can choose how many speed dial items you want. And you can put items together into a folder. But it seems you are still limited to one page in Opera 20. If I'm missing something, please explain how you can set up multiple speed dial pages, the way you can, for instance, with Fox Tab Speed Dial 9.2.1 in Chrome.

You can't, and I can't see the point of wanting multiple pages when we can have folders with the same number of columns already.
Anyway, the point of this topic isn't to compare functionality brought by extensions.