"Towards a Truly Mindful Browser: Suggestions for Turning Opera Air into a Real Space for Focus and Balance — Vertical Tabs, Sidebar: Social Media vs. Meditations"

dabnycarolina

dabnycarolina

First, thank you for creating a browser focused on mindfulness.

Now, I'd like to make a couple of comments. First, I'm part of that group of people who, when exploring the world of Arc, look for a browser that fits their goals. I found Opera Air to be the ideal browser, allowing me to focus, stay balanced, and de-stress.
However, I think it needs a little more focus, balance, and less stress.

The idea of meditations, mobility exercises, breaks, and music is fantastic. I don't want it to go away, but I must add that I don't understand why a browser that seeks mindfulness, concentration, and balance would facilitate distraction.

I mean, I think most of us, even before Arc launched, already intuitively saw how disorienting horizontal tabs were. At least I did some research on vertical tab extensions, but I have to say they don't complete the experience, especially if you're still seeing horizontal tabs and don't have a clean page. I kept trying to use Opera Air, but I found a second element I didn't like as much. Although I can hide access to social media in the sidebar, it's still noisy because there's very direct access to the settings, requiring very few clicks.

So, social media is good for work, but it can also be a distraction; it can drag me down, unbalance me, and increase stress, because social media is often the opposite of mindfulness; that is, it uses the attention economy.

Does that mean it should be removed entirely? No, but I'd like the option not to see that element, rather than feeling forced to, and it's not enough for me to hide it from the sidebar if it's only a couple of clicks away. I need a little more flexibility. To be able to customize it, rather than having to adjust it. Whoever wants to use this element, fine, and whoever doesn't want to see it, should have the option, because for me (and I think for many) it's not part of the flow of focus or work and it's simply distracting. I'm not saying to get rid of it, just that it's customizable.

I like the idea of having a toolbar separate from the tabs, but I don't like a sidebar with tools that don't necessarily contribute to my attention flow. It doesn't make sense. The other options make sense, but meditations in the same settings sidebar as social media, really? I know you can't please everyone, but we're an audience with ideas about how we want to focus, and with Opera, there's some friction.

Now, I understand that horizontal tabs make it easier for a wider audience; it's what we're used to. But that doesn't mean you can't use vertical tabs without it being a hassle for everyone. I think the key here is this: Does it feel forced? Does it mean eliminating horizontal tabs? No, it's about being able to choose, and I want to be able to choose vertical tabs and hide the top bar or combine them.

Honestly, I love Zen Browser; I think it's even better than Arc. However, there are important extensions for me that don't work in Firefox, and that leads me to look for other options. I've tried Arc, Vivaldi, Brave, Opera, and Zen, and Zen is my favorite. Opera may be my favorite because it has meditations and binaural beats, but I don't fully enjoy it because it combines focus and distraction. Vivaldi comes closest because I can hide elements, and it's still far from it.

What kind of audience is Opera Air designed for? Is it for someone who has already trained themselves to browse with focus, and the browser supports it, or for someone who is just developing that focus, and the browser guides them toward it?

Because having the horizontal tabs and social media on the same side makes me feel like I'm still investing energy into focusing. In case it wasn't clear, I want to customize the sidebar and choose what I can see and what I can't. But it goes further: I want to customize which elements are hidden in the sidebar settings. I don't want to see anything related to social media because that would turn Opera Air into my browser of attention, my focus, on what's essential and truly important, and I don't feel that way.

I want to be able to customize, not to make it superficial or design-based, but something impactful and structural. I want mindfulness to truly be the foundation of the browser and not feel like an add-on.

Aside: workspaces and command shortcuts are important. Being able to pin tabs and having essential elements for each space.
Thanks for reading, and I hope I've been clear. This isn't a requirement, it's a suggestion. Hugs. Thanks for your effort.

leocg

leocg Moderator Volunteer @dabnycarolina

@dabnycarolina One suggestion per topic please. And suggestions belong to https://forums.opera.com/category/68/requests