Why do we use Opera?
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davidr last edited by
I don't wish the title of this to seem provocative or obnoxious. It's just a question I'd like to ask in all sincerity, here among Opera enthusiasts.
Opera 12 had a number of features that set it apart from all other browsers (panels and tab-stacking, to name just two). Opera 32 seems to have very little to distinguish it from other browsers, besides its Start page, which IMHO is not terribly impressive. My understanding from posts on this forum is that such features will not return to Opera, except as some of us create them in the form of extensions. The reasoning is that they were little-used and yet were time-consuming to maintain. The alternative, of course, would be to market Opera on the basis of these distinctive features and show potential new users what they could do in Opera that they couldn't do in other browsers. This could encourage the use of Opera's distinctive features up to a level that would make it cost-effective to maintain them.
So: please help my morale! Help me remember why I use Opera rather than IE, Firefox, or Chrome! There must be good reasons, but at present I have lost track of them--although I enjoy using v. 32 in comparison with v. 12 simply because it works on Websites where 12 no longer functioned.
[Moved to the Lounge]
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lestalia last edited by
Not much actually. But alternatives in other browsers (except Firefox) for features like sidebar, speed dial, configuration of keyboard shortcuts, bookmarks manager.. are not as good as Opera's.
Makes Opera my main Chromium browser.
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davidr last edited by
My thanks to the mods for moving this here. I was unaware of the proper forum.
I haven't been here the last two years, so I guess that's why I'm asking.
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canadagoose4ever last edited by
It's a good question, David, and of course it's been beaten and thrashed about for over two years as has already been mentioned. I began using Opera in 1999 and used very version up until version 28. I watched the sad demise of the old Opera forums, the loss of our personal pages and friends and of course the infighting from old Opera geeks who were outraged at the change from Presto to Blink. It's all been said so I suppose there is no point in revisiting the arguments.
Today many of the former fans have left for Vivaldi's new suite and/or one of the mainline browsers while a few remain here. Why, you ask? What sets the "new" Opera apart from the others that would make users choose it instead of Firefox or Chrome? Honestly... I don't know any longer. I tried to remain loyal to Opera as I mentioned but something snapped inside me at version 28 and I simply had had enough. I've since migrated over to Firefox where the wealth of extensions pretty much lets me do what I was once able to do with the "old" Opera. I was never a fan of the idea of a suite or I would have migrated to Seamonkey so what I now find in Firefox is pretty much perfect for my needs. I'm curious myself why people choose to remain when I honestly cannot see anything compelling to cause me to return.
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davidr last edited by
I have to say that, apart from sheer inertia, I'm probably still with Opera because of all the hundreds and hundreds of bookmarks I've carefully organized over the years. I just synced those to Opera on my Android phone. I imagine I could export them to another browser. But I'm comfortable with the way Opera works, and most basic functions in v. 32 are similar enough to v. 12 (now that bookmarks are working well!) that ... well, like I said, inertia.
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A Former User last edited by
I don't get all the 'loyalty' people mention when discussing this topic. Opera is just a piece of software, not a pet dog. If it no longer works for you, move on and use something else. Also don't treat Chromium Opera like a family member has died.
I tried the older Opera a number of times but for me the rendering issues that plagued it kept me from using it as my main browser. Chromium Opera rectified that and it's taken a number of releases and new features for me to use it as my main browser. No other browser does a native Speed Dial as good as Opera - I loathe 'top sites' and speed dials without folders. The visual bookmarks is also another feature I like. Firefox was the browser I used before Opera but it's a bit of a memory hog. I had a plugin to recreate Opera's Speed Dial but it seems in recent versions you can no longer set a custom new tab page and are stuck with the horrid generic 'top sites' page. Also, although not a major feature, the animated graphic equaliser icon on the tabs to indicate a site playing sound is a very useful addition imo.
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limboslam last edited by
Well I guess if we gain one, we loose one. Meaning the new Opera has lot's of speed and better compatibility with websites, but at the same time functionality was lost for this to be achieved. But than again their is becoming an increase add-ons/extensions that bring back this unique and useful functionality. Such as Tab Sidebar, Simple Notes and Classic Tabs.
Though what I also can't understand is why didn't they keep it all and do what Vivaldi has done? I mean they say these were rarely used features and were the cause of a lot of slowdowns in Presto, but yet Vivaldi has perfected it?
But anyways, I'm still stinking with Opera because it's lighter than Chrome on system resources and supports a good amount add-ons/extensions. Who knows, maybe they'll bring one or two of the old functionality back.
-P.S. I test browsers out for the fun of it and Pale Moon has become my #1 favorite follow closed by Opera, actually to say they are both equal in my book.
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blackbird71 last edited by... what I also can't understand is why didn't they keep it all and do what Vivaldi has done? I mean they say these were rarely used features and were the cause of a lot of slowdowns in Presto, but yet Vivaldi has perfected it?
...Opera was redesigned with a focus on appealing to new users who wanted a less complex browser, in order to try to grow market share and reduce costs. It was felt that the users who demanded deep settings and integrated feature capabilities were too small a market segment to devote significant resources toward for the development/maintenance costs involved. Vivaldi is taking a different path, focusing directly upon the users who want the deep settings and integrated features. Only time will tell which is the wiser choice of focus... perhaps both will be, each in its own particular arena.
