Is there a way to get about:blank (i.e. a blank page), both when the browser starts and for new tabs? I found the extension "Custom Home Page", but it seems to only work part of the time, and usually only for the first tab, not for others.

Overall, I find Opera very good, except for that infamous speed dial. I feel I can't use it much as long as it displays past websites this prominently. Same thing for Opera for Android in its many flavours.