Opera 67 Stable launches with Workspaces feature
Opera Software has released a new stable version of the Opera desktop web browser on February 25, 2020. Opera 67 is available for all supported operating systems as an in-browser update or new installation. Users of the web browser may select Opera Menu > Update & Recovery to run a check for updates (or by loading opera://update/ in the browser's address bar directly).
The browser should pick up the new version and install it automatically. The big new feature of Opera 67 is called Workspaces. We looked at an initial version of the feature back in December 2019 when it was launched in the latest Opera development builds.
Workspaces is an attempt to improve the management of tabs in the browser. Basically, what it allows you to do is place tabs into workspaces to access a subset of open tabs at once. The feature may look like Firefox's container functionality but it is different as it is only used to separate tabs but not to contain browsing data inside.
Opera 67 displays workspaces in the browser's sidebar; a click switches to the selected workspace and you will notice that a new tabbar gets loaded when you switch between workspaces in the browser.
Opera 67 users may create up to five different workspaces; this is done with a click on the sidebar menu (the three dots at the bottom of the sidebar).
There you also find options to disable the feature if you don't want to use it. It is furthermore possible to change the name of a workspace and use a different icon from a selection of icons for it.
Opera Software improved the feature since its initial launch. It is now possible to open links in workspaces and to move tabs from one workspace to another; the latter not by using drag & drop but by right-clicking on a tab and selecting the move to workspace option that becomes available then.
Opera Software highlights additional features in the new release. First, a redesigned option to cycle through tabs using Ctrl-Tab to cycle through open tabs that are displayed as thumbnails on the screen, and then a new duplicate tab highlighter that becomes active when you hover the mouse over a tab in the browser.
A new option to add sidebar extensions to the sidebar of the browser. A click on "add more" on the sidebar opens the add-ons store where these may be installed in the browser.
Opera also includes options to enable DNS over HTTPS and to select the service that you want to use for that by selecting one of the available preset services or by customizing the functionality.
Last but not least, video pop-out functionality was improved with a new next-track button, back to tab button, and a video timer.
You can download the latest version of the Opera web browser from the company's website.
Now You: have you tried Opera recently? What is your impression?
As for performance and ease of use, I think Opera is the best, then the new Edge, but they seem very much the same to me.
That said, I’m now trying Brave, which I like so far, except for those ads that you can’t remove.
@coolio
> except for those ads that you can’t remove.
What do you mean exactly? Maybe someone here can help, I would be willing to as well.
@Iron Heart
The ads in Brave for Crypto Wallets and Brave Rewards.
When I go to chrome://bookmarks I have to see that useless bar at top with those ads.
Also, I don’t like how you can’t access the whitelist for Brave Shields, as it’s hidden.
I would remove Brave Shields altogether, but you can’t.
I think I’m going back to the new Edge, and when I need privacy I’ll just use the Tor Browser and or a VM.
@coolio
> The ads in Brave for Crypto Wallets and Brave Rewards. When I go to chrome://bookmarks I have to see that useless bar at top with those ads.
Well, these are actual UI elements, at least for those who make use of BAT. Since this is considered a feature of Brave, I wouldn’t call these “ads”. It’s analogous to Pocket in Firefox: It’s considered a feature, but if you don’t use it at all, you might consider it an unwarranted “ad”.
You can disable the Crypto Wallet under the “Extensions” section of the Brave settings:
https://support.brave.com/hc/article_attachments/360040467331/braveexts.png
That won’t remove the UI element you describe, but the feature itself will be totally deactivated. Brave Rewards are deactivated by default anyway, though the UI element you mentioned can’t be removed either.
> Also, I don’t like how you can’t access the whitelist for Brave Shields, as it’s hidden.
You can access the whitelist in the settings, i.e. you can make Brave block all Facebook / Twitter / Linkedin trackers, even if it breaks basic functionality on those websites (which shouldn’t concern you, unless you are a user of Facebook / Twitter / Linkedin), “Social media blocking” section of the settings:
https://cnet4.cbsistatic.com/img/mER_L1kw7JKeumNjw9boxBPVod0=/940×0/2019/07/19/3ac50d76-0945-41dc-a60f-1f3af13e0d27/bravesettings.png
> I would remove Brave Shields altogether, but you can’t.
There is no reason to, unless they do break some website you use (in which case they can be selectively disabled from the address bar for that particular website). uBlock Origin will take care of the rest.
> I think I’m going back to the new Edge, and when I need privacy I’ll just use the Tor Browser and or a VM.
Use what suits you best, but I would strongly recommend against MS Edge. It is spyware of the highest order, equaling or even worse than Chrome and Opera. If you want a Chromium-based browser that respects privacy, and if you find Brave “too annoying”, then I would recommend that you take a look at Ungoogled Chromium:
https://github.com/Eloston/ungoogled-chromium
Be aware though that Ungoogled Chromium doesn’t update itself automatically (they consider contacting an update server to be a breach of privacy), and it can’t install extensions from the Chrome Web Store automatically, without this trick:
https://github.com/enolgor/ungoogled-chromium-extension-installer
Personally, what I will do is stick with Brave. I had Ungoogled Chromium installed for quite a while, it is a very good browser and respects your privacy, and it doesn’t have the “annoyances” of Brave. But updating it manually all the time became too tedious for me, so I dropped it. The way Brave is configured on my machine is about as good as what Ungoogled Chromium delivers out of the box.
@Iron Heart
> Also, I don’t like how you can’t access the whitelist for Brave Shields, as it’s hidden.
More specifically, you can’t SEE that whitelist in Brave, as it’s hidden. The whitelist in Brave IS hidden.
The only way you can remove a site from that hidden whitelist is if you visit a site that is on that whitelist and then change it’s permissions in that Brave Shields button. But what if you don’t remember what sites you have whitelisted?
For example, say you visit a site and whitelist it. But later you want to remove it, but forget the URL, then you can’t remove it, unless you remove Brave. You could try resetting Brave, but that does not clear everything, and they are not clear about what all gets left behind.
That said, I like my ad-blocker extension better than Brave Shields, and my ad-blocker shows the complete whitelist and blacklist that I can fully edit. In fact, except for Brave Shields, every ad-blocker I have tested allows you to see your whitelist.
It makes me think, why does Brave Shields hide the whitelist?
As they have no reason for why, it sure diminishes my trust in them.. All they say is perhaps we’ll add that option later, and that was over a year ago.
Furthermore, as I said before, that dumb bar for pushing Crypto Wallet and such is a deal breaker for me. I have no use for that stuff, so it’s a nag.
I get the whole idea of it, but being they nag me with it, they pissed me off, so I’m saying no to Brave.
As for when I need more privacy, I use another rig with Tor and such, and Brave is no replacement for that.
Maybe refferring to 1st party ads? Brave intentionally does not block 1st party ads, only 3rd party ones. That breaks from the experience of using uBlock Origin in Chrome, Opera, etc.
@Mike W.
Yes, I know. Though one can run uBlock Origin in Brave. That being said, when I look at my uBlock Origin stats, I see that it does almost nothing because the Brave Shields already block most stuff, since most ads are 3rd party ads. That being said, installing uBlock Origin from the Chrome Web Store is not a mistake in any case.
They realized that software links are no longer going to softonic
Opera is a very good performing, innovative and practical browser. It’s a shame that the company is getting involved in shady business and losing talents.
One of the best browsers ever. Improved stability and speed, it loads big pages faster than Chrome.
That’s not a company I trust anymore.
i trust chinese companies more than US companies (but not %100).
how can you trust google or microsoft or facebook or …?
@Sunny
This has been discussed before on this website re: Opera, the issue I have with Opera isn’t the fact that they are owned by a Chinese company, it is the fact that they are owned by a SHADY Chinese company. If a web browser was owned by Facebook, I would feel the exact same way I feel about Opera. The issue with Opera is that the ownership consortium is filled with bad actors and companies that have a proven track record of not being able to be trusts (QiHoo 360).
@Mike W.
Beyond Facebook, I think Qihoo 360 is likely no more “shady” than most US tech companies.
I did some PR work for Qihoo 360, and they all seemed honest enough to me.
The most “shady” part is their links with the PLA hackers, but that’s the nature of that beast, and they likewise work with Apple, Google and Microsoft through Qihoo 360 and such, at various unknown levels.
But all our talk here is anecdotal, so whatever.
Best to not trust any company, and take little risks as need be.
@dillyb
Agreed with your last point. I think when it comes to tech it is always good to have a skeptical eye on every company. I guess that’s true in life as a whole as well. Having done research on the Opera ownership group and having read the Hindenberg report, I have deemed the company too toxic to trust going forward. Others might be willing to take on any potential risk associated with using their software. Only each individual can make that decision.
@Mike W.
Well, I guess speculation from Hindenburg Research is helpful if you play the stock market.
But I’m just looking to use a browser, so until Opera is convicted of a crime, it’s of little concern to me.
Regardless, for the most part I stopped using Opera when the new Edge came out.
I’m using Brave now, but I like Edge better.
Next I will give FF another try, but I expect I’ll end up with Edge.
My main point is, these multinational conglomerates are much the same, and shouldn’t be trusted much at any level. As with a hydra, it’s often hard to see the source.
I’ll say this much, I can’t say anything bad about Qihoo 360, although after they bought Opera, I found evidence that they were being sabotaged by disgruntled employees in Europe. Nothing huge, but in turn it provided me work, in fixing that mess. Furthermore, I was watching Mr. Robot at that time, where I coincidentally found some interesting parallels with some things I encountered, but alas, I know better than to go down such circuitous rabbit holes.
Some say the root of all evil is money, yet if we could all be trusted, then we wouldn’t even need money.
Imagine that.
Do you trust that a Chinese company won’t sell your data to a US company?
This isn’t about a Chinese company vs a US company. This is about the laws they are under with their software with you, and if you trust they obey such laws.
Personally, I don’t trust any company, and exploit what I can from them, with little or no loss to me. If I can’t do that, then I avoid them.