Posts made by lem729

Here's a link in today's Washington Post that explains some of the differet iOS adblockers, but which also explains the tension between blocking ads, and the need for sites to use ads to make revenue and survive.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2015/10/01/heres-how-some-of-the-top-ios-9-ad-blockers-stack-up/

I personally don't mind relatively unobtrusive ads that don't interfere with the ability to enjoy a website. It's the obnoxious ones -- some of them even run in the middle of an article, and as you scroll down, scroll with you and keep blocking text -- that make the web page a total mess, and the content blocker a godsend.

Please delete as this is a duplicate of what I just posted

I've switched to Purify as my app that works with Safari, and it's very good (although there are other apps one can try). I'm glad alexremen said Opera is looking at this issue. I believe it would be shortsighted not to move into this area, if at all possible. Now the Purify app blocks ads and tracking for Safari, though it's possible to whitelist sites, if you chose. 1Blocker also blocks adds, activity tracking, 3rd party tracking, etc. The reality is that quite a few web pages are sometimes so jammed with ads and other stuff, that cozza mentions, that it's near impossible to read a page because the page is constantly jumping. The ads are out of control. Now in Windows, ad blockers like Adblock plus, and others, have for years worked pleasurably well. I see no reason why it's not the future for iOS. For Opera to have a gorgeous browser like Coast for Opera, and a delightful one also like Opera Mini, but ignore this area, would be to waste all of the fine work done.

I've switched to Purify as my app that works with Safari, and it's very good (although there are other apps one can try). I'm glad alexremen said Opera is looking at this issue. I believe it would be shortsighted not to move into this area, if at all possible. Now the Purify app blocks ads and tracking for Safari, though it's possible to whitelist sites, if you chose. The reality is that quite a few web pages are so jammed with ads and other stuff, that cozza mentions, that it's near impossible to read a page because the page is constantly jumping. The ads are out of control. Now in Windows, ad blockers like Adblock plus, and others, have for years worked pleasurably well. I see no reason why it's not the future for iOS. For Opera to have a gorgeous browser like Coast for Opera, and a delightful one also like Opera Mini, but ignore this area, would be to waste all of the fine work done.

Yes, @lando242. Thanks for mentioning that. I tested by dis-enabling another Gmail extension I had, Gmelius, and it probably didn't work in tandem with the Gmail Notifier, but just froze it. I didn't think of that initially, thought rather it might be Opera. Anyway, all's well know, I think.

I seem to be having a gmail problem. I have the Gmail Notifier extension, https://addons.opera.com/en/extensions/details/gmail-notifier/?display=en, but if I try through it to open the full Gmail home page for my gmail address, I get the page, and it looks fine, but it's frozen, and the tab shows a constant loading, but it's never finishes.

I tried some other gmail extensions like the Notifier, and they all had the same problem. Then I simply put the gmail website -- www.gmail.com/ in my speed dial (I'm using the FVD Speed Dial - New Tab Page) as an extension for the Speed dial, and the same problem. The gmail home page with my mail opens, but it's frozen.

Now if open gmail from another browser -- I tried it with Firefox -- no problem.

I'm wondering if Opera 32 is creating a problem.

I wanted to add one thing. When I said Safari was a more attractive browser, now that one could get content blockers with it, I did not mean to suggest it was, for me, better than Coast. Coast is a terrific browser, that I thoroughly enjoy. In terms of ads, here's what I do. For those few heavy, ad, popup pages I sometimes browse, I may use Safari (with a content blocking app) (I like 1blocker) or a browser called Adblock (which knocks out ads). For the vast preponderance of my browsing, I happily enjoy Coast. It's an awesome browser and unique. There's nothing quite like. It makes browsing aesthetically pleasing/enjoyable.

Now that ios 9 has content blockers that work with Safari, Safari has become a more attractive browser. I believe it would help Coast for Opera a lot if it could permit content blocking. Some sites are awful with all of the annoying popups and ads. It makes it almost impossible to enjoy the site. So I'm hoping that Coast rises to the occasion now, and does not let Safari get a leg up on it.

@rif

You can't import your current speed dial. You just take your time, and set up the links again in FVD. It takes a little fiddling to get the hang of how you can set up new pages, if you want. You can also set up custom art for the Speed Dial, though I like the background that comes with it.

Now, the way to work the speed dial is to first download it

https://addons.opera.com/en/extensions/details/fvd-speed-dial-new-tab-page/?display=en

and make it active. Then download an extension like Custom New Tab Page,

https://addons.opera.com/en/extensions/details/custom-new-tab-page/

That's what I use. Then in the place on options for that extension, there where you set up what page you want the new tab to open at, put in the following without the quotes:
"chrome-extension://pncpfofkienlinhfknpmgjnjhdoclfhh/newtab.html#"

That's what I use and it opens the FVD Speed Dial every time I click on a new tab.

Now you can if you want, ALSO have the browser Open then at the start page, by putting in the same insert without the quotes: "chrome-extension://pncpfofkienlinhfknpmgjnjhdoclfhh/newtab.html#" for the start page. Go to Settings (Alt P), and then choose, Open a Specific Page or Set of Pages. For me, I start the browser with the bing opening page, because I like the changing art work there, http://www.bing.com/?scope=web&mkt=en-US (every day a new pictures), and just use the FVD Speed Dial for a new tab. You have an option thought. Set up FVD for New Tabs, for the Start, or for both.

Now you asked: "Is it supposed to replace Opera's built in speeddial or do I always have to click the icon in the upper right?" You don't have to click the icon in the upper right to get the speed dial, if you set it up to get it on a New Tab and/or at the start.

Yes, first with Opera 31, all of your thumbnails are changed to icons. I had tons of them. Then, it gives you the solace of manually jumping through all of those hoops, changing them back. And what happens with the next update? Will we have more of the same-- thumbnails changed to icons, with an option to change them back slowly, arduously, one at a time. I'm sympathetic to concern of @asl4u.

Also in an earlier version, the speed dial page had dark borders, and was, in my view, much nicer. Opera preserved it as an option for a number of updates at Opera:Flags. Suddenly the ability to use the dark borders was taken away in Opera 31, without an Opera:flags option to preserve the look. Would it have been so terrible to continue giving us this aesthetic option. Now we're stuck with the white borders. No choice! These white borders are more jarring to me, and don't look as good with the Themes I've selected for my Speed Dial as the darker borders.

I'm fed up with this forced updates, where Opera messes up what was gold, and makes it dross. And particularly with changing all of my thumbnails to icons. Of course, I can change it back -- one at a time. I don't have the time for this, or the inclination to do it, given the "shoved down your throat" white borders, and how Opera can knock everything out (thumbnails back to icons) in the next update. That seems to be the pattern.

I've been using the FVD Speed Dial with Opera and I like it better. You can set up multiple pages. The thumbnails look great. You can't do a folder of items for a thumbnails position, but with multiple pages (give each page, if you want, its own title/subject area) (not available in the Opera speed dial), you don't need to have the folders. Personally, I think it looks a lot better than the Opera dial. Also, the Opera Speed Dial, when you have a lot in it, loads slowly. This seems faster. In case anyone is unhappy with what Opera has done to its once great Speed Dial, but still wants to use Opera, here's the extension link.

https://addons.opera.com/en/extensions/details/fvd-speed-dial-new-tab-page/?display=en

@davegould

That is a nice attractive alternative to the Opera Speed Dial. It doesn't give you folders for each speed dial position, but it can be made quite good-looking, and, multiple pages/groups are possible.

Well, I spoke to quickly. The tile seems to have turned back to what it was -- DI. Maybe a database here for this site also.

@kyu3

Thanks. That was a good idea. My tile is fixed now. :))

I have a similar problem with the latest version of coast on the latest IPAD/iOS operating system, that's crazy. For New York Magazine, nymag.com/, I'm getting a tile with just the letters DI on it. Their are inside a large red circle with a black rectangular background. How can one remember what DI relates to? The initials have nothing to do with the New York Magazine. And I don't know how to manually change what is on the tile. It may be impossible. Maybe there's a software glitch now with Coast? If it happens to more than one tile, Coast become difficult to use.

Okay, here's what's crazy. Right now I can create a thumbnail for the Speed dial, by using the heart icon, and setting up a link for the speed dial with it. With the heart icon, you can select thumbnails or those candy colored icons for the Speed Dial (and you have tons of choices). Sounds good. It is very good! I like the freedom of choice the heart icon gives you. You can even have a speed dial with some icons and some thumbnails. And you can select your thumbnails from different pages of the same website (so you can more easily distinguish links within a folder of thumbnails). And this feature was there in version 30, and possibly before. So Opera has been giving every reason to believe that they were going to be giving users a choice between thumbnails and icons for the long term. But what version 31 did is changed upon the update my 80-100 thumbnails on the speed dial (I'm too lazy to count to the icons (the "modern" look). Why would Opera give you the ability to create thumbnails as they are currently still doing doing via the heart icon (when you initially set up a speed dial link), but then with this version 31, to take your speed dial entries and change everything from thumbnails (if that's what the user selected) back to the icons. It's very annoying.

They had to have made a mistake. So maybe they will fix it. One hopes. We'll see. In the meantime, they've left my setup a mess, because I'm not going to spend hours to recreate 80 to 100 speed dial entries so that I get the thumbnail look again (with the thought/fear that when the next update comes along, they'll zap me once more, changing all my selections back to icons). I'll use another browser and from time to time check back to see if this is fixed.

Vivaldi is not bad, but in folder view, it's all white and not very plain. You see neither thumbnails or icons. And the theme possibilities for wallpaper are very limited. Still nothing/white for the folder is a big improvenent over the garish icons. Of course, Vivaldi is in a state of becoming, so that could well get better. I prefer not to set up folders in the speed dial, but rather use speed dial pages. You can use multiple pages for the Speed Dial in Vivaldi (something you can't do in Opera).

The SuperStart speed dial extension in Firefox is really good. It gives you folders for your speed dial positions, thumbnails for your icons, and the wallpaper looks terrific on it. Also if the icon folder, blocks out part of your wallpaper, you can put a blank placeholder in that spot, so you can see the wallpaper where you want to. (That's a nice feature Opera never had). The extension takes a little fiddling to get used to it, but is worth it.

No, @lando242, I did not smell the coffee brewing. I assumed Opera was sane and would keep the thumbnails. Even in the later versions, they were letting you when you create a new speed dial bookmark, manually choose a thumbnail if you wanted. If they were letting you manually choose an individual thumbnail for a speed dial item (and even in version 31 they continue to let you at the time you are creating the new bookmark for the speed dial create a thumbnail, someone has posted), why in the update turn my speed dial of all thumbnails (80-100) to into the candy-colored, garish icons. .

The icons were so ugly, i assumed Opera would at least let users have a choice, not shove their candy-colored icon aesthetics down our throat. Even now, I can create a thumbnail for an individual speed dial item (or so someone has posted). So if I deleted my speed dial items, I could reset 80 to 100 links with thumbnails. It would take me many hours to recreate what looked okay to me. Opera lets me do that, create thumbnails or icons (it's my choice) as I make new links for the speed dial, but then in the Ver. 31 upgrade, turns them all to icons. And I'd have to go through the exercise with each update (assuming Opera continued what it did in version 31), of deleting all my speed dial items, and reentering each link/bookmark to create thumbnails. I would be like Sisyphus rolling the stone up the hill but never getting to the top.

I had 80 to 100 thumbnails in my Speed Dial, with beautiful themes that I could use as background. It was a joy to use the browser -- left me, whenever I did, smiling. I know in the last few versions to keep the option for thumbnails instead of the icons, I had to go to Opera://flags to keep the thumbnails, and to eliminate the ugly white borders for the Speed Dial folders. With Version 31 Opera updated, eliminated the ability to keep the older more beautiful version of its Speed Dial via Opera://flags, and turned them into ugly ugly ugly icons with the white borders, that totally wiped out the ability to enjoy themes. I offer up three" ughs for the incredible state of ugliness version 31 gives because it is impossible for me to look at the Speed Dial now. Thank you developers for not tending to things that needed to be improved (and yes, there were many still) and turning what had been a truly wonderful Speed Dial into glitzy junk.

Now that's my humble opinion. At this point, for a desktop Browser, let me state quite simply: I prefer Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Vivaldi, whatever . . . . Thank you, developers, for self-destructing this browser. Is there no one on the development team who understands aesthetics?

Are you people referring to Opera 31? I'm using Opera 30 and I LOVE the speed dial thumbnails - they are beautiful and if you want to change them to thumbnail screenshots of the web site just click on the heart.
Lots of choices for everyone - what's not to love?
Not understanding the complaints...

I had a Speed Dial with maybe 80 to 100 thumbnails. Suddenly Opera in Opera 31 changed them all to ugly icons, that make me dizzy to look at. I can't go back to what I had without individually changing each icon, a laborious task that is ridiculous. Previously Opera had in Opera://flags a way to keep thumbnails instead of icons with one click. Opera took away the choice. And if I were able to change the 80-100 thumbnails, would Opera do the same in the next update, change them to ugly icons? And I'd have to individually try to change each one back. This change in Opera 31 is quite simply impossible to live with.

I have too many speed dial entries to change each one individually, and I don't want to go back to Opera 30 and try to prevent updates. The problem there is that your frozen in an old version. I could have lived with having a fix for the Old Speed Dial thumbnails in Opera flags. Now suddently that's too much for Opera. The SuperStart Speed Dial extension in Firefox is totally excellent, and gives you speed dial folders AND thumbnails. I'll use Firefox, have Opera as a backup and check back on it. This has to be fixed in Opera to Thumbnails for me, and I'm not changing every website entry for every update. I'm not jumping through a thousand hoops, just to use desktop Opera. The Developers have had quite a few updates where they have pushed the icons. If they have read the comments in the forum, they would have gotten the message that there was a lot of strong opposition -- that many people found it that it put the ugh in ugly. Either they don't waste their time on this forum, or they just don't care. I still like Opera Coast and Opera Mini (which I use in my IPad) so I'm not leaving Opera completely. But this desktop Opera 31 Speed Dial is now unusable for me.