This is my first tech-related post. I work in software development and do web development on the side. I'm always on the lookout for new software, plugins, and services that will make my life easier and less complicated.
Most people install a browser once (or just use the default browser) and don't think about it much after that. As a software tester and web developer, I work with four or five browsers on a daily basis, so I'm constantly noticing the differences between them and seeing what I like and what I don't.
When Google Chrome came out in 2008, I was all-in from the first time I used it. At the time, it was revolutionary: It completely changed the look and feel of the web browser, and best of all, it was blazingly fast. The fact that most browsers now have all of those features shows just how needed they were. Over the years since, Chrome has had its ups and downs, but only one other browser has ever really tempted me to switch for good: Opera.
But with its own ups and downs over the years, I've gone back and forth between loving Opera and wondering why it still existed.
Before version 12 (released in 2012—coincidence?), Opera really set itself apart. While all the other browsers were playing catch-up by cloning Chrome's UI—moving their tab-strips above the address bar, turning the address bar into an omnibar, allowing you to pull tabs off into their own window, hiding the File menu, etc.—Opera went a step further and added some really cool features.
On the UI side of things, Opera had all the same things as Chrome and the rest of the pack, but it also let you fully customize things, putting the tab-strip on either side or even on the bottom of the window, letting you hide the address bar, and even letting you tile, cascade, and stack tabs on top of each other as separate windows within the Opera window—almost like its own little desktop. (Since window-snapping wasn't yet easily accessible in Windows, the tab-as-window management was really pretty cool, and really helpful.)
Opera stood out in other areas, too. It had a built-in mail and chat client, a built-in notes client, a turbo mode for slow connections, and even (unique among well-known browsers) a built-in torrent client. It also had pages and pages of cool setting for nerds like me to sift through and customize to our hearts' content. And for a number of years, Opera was consistently the most standards-compliant and one of the very fastest browsers out there. I loved Opera.
Then came Opera 13, which they named Opera 15 to avoid the bad luck connotations (there was already an Android-only mobile version named Opera 14, so they couldn't call it that either). In my opinion, the 13 would have been surprisingly appropriate. The Opera people switched to the same layout engine that Chrome used, and as they did, they took out virtually every feature that distinguished it from Chrome. Tabstrip customization? Gone. Windowed tabs within the browser window? Gone. Torrent client? Email client? Other cool stuff? All gone. They also got rid of the ability to synchronize settings between devices, and even did away with bookmarks! And with all of that, the slight advantages in standards-compliance were the only noticeable difference between Opera and Chrome—except of course for the features that Chrome had that Opera didn't. Before the release of Opera 13—err, 15—I had been just about ready to switch for good. I liked it so much, I actually reverted the update and kept using version 12 for a while as my primary browser, but with new vulnerabilities exposed all the time, I knew that couldn't last long. With Opera now just another clone of Chrome, I started to wonder why it even still existed. I finally gave up and turned my back on Opera for good... (Well, for a few years, anyway.)
For the next few years, Chrome was king for me. Since I use all of Google's services, the tight integration was just what I wanted. As an occasional Chromebook user, I used Chrome's apps and extensions extensively—especially Chrome's panel feature, which created little (ironically) chrome-less floating windows that could be docked to the bottom or side of the screen. I used the built-in “OK Google” voice queries and the custom search engines and the Chrome notification center and the app launcher and the fully-offline-capable apps and games and everything else. But the more features Chrome packed in, the slower it started to get. Pretty soon, I started noticing the slow-down; I started noticing that Chrome was using more than half of my memory; and I started noticing the battery-drain issues that went along with it.
I wasn't the only one who noticed. To fix the problems, the Chrome people started hacking out features that not many people were using. The Chrome notification center? Gone. Chrome app launcher? Gone. Chrome panels? Gone. And last year Google announced that Chrome apps are on their way out, too, with new apps already no longer available for anyone except Chromebook users and all app capabilities being phased out by early 2018.
Meanwhile, Opera's people have been trying out a few new things. For years, Opera Turbo has bypassed slow web connections by running webpages through Opera's own servers and compressing them there. Since they had already figured out how to run all your web traffic through their own servers, Opera took the next logical step and recently added a free, full, unlimited VPN to the Opera browser, right at a time when many are becoming increasingly nervous about their online privacy.
Ever since Opera switched to being a Chrome-clone, Chrome extensions have technically worked in Opera, although the way to actually get them working was very hackish and inconsistent. But in the newest versions of Opera, many Chrome extensions work great right out of the box—there's even an extension that lets you install them straight from the Chrome web store. They've also reintroduced bookmarks and settings synchronization back into the mix, along with adding a built-in news aggregator, ad-blocker, and battery saver—all things I use anyway.
On top of all that, Opera feels snappy. It's really fast and still completely standards-compliant, all with an interface that's fresh, clean, and minimalistic. And while they've tried to keep to the essential with the main version of the browser, the Opera team has been trying out even more new things elsewhere, like their new browser, Neon, which packs in a few of the old features people have been missing (like splitting a single browser window between two tabs) along with some new ones that are pretty slick.
When all is said and done, I still don't know if I'm ready to fully ditch Chrome for Opera, but I'm getting really close. I'm using both right now, but I am mostly using Chrome as a handy shortcut to the Chrome apps that I still use, which won't even be available soon. And once they're gone from Chrome, there's a good chance that I will be, too.
Most people install a browser once (or just use the default browser) and don't think about it much after that. As a software tester and web developer, I work with four or five browsers on a daily basis, so I'm constantly noticing the differences between them and seeing what I like and what I don't.
When Google Chrome came out in 2008, I was all-in from the first time I used it. At the time, it was revolutionary: It completely changed the look and feel of the web browser, and best of all, it was blazingly fast. The fact that most browsers now have all of those features shows just how needed they were. Over the years since, Chrome has had its ups and downs, but only one other browser has ever really tempted me to switch for good: Opera.
But with its own ups and downs over the years, I've gone back and forth between loving Opera and wondering why it still existed.
Opera was a different beast
Before version 12 (released in 2012—coincidence?), Opera really set itself apart. While all the other browsers were playing catch-up by cloning Chrome's UI—moving their tab-strips above the address bar, turning the address bar into an omnibar, allowing you to pull tabs off into their own window, hiding the File menu, etc.—Opera went a step further and added some really cool features.
On the UI side of things, Opera had all the same things as Chrome and the rest of the pack, but it also let you fully customize things, putting the tab-strip on either side or even on the bottom of the window, letting you hide the address bar, and even letting you tile, cascade, and stack tabs on top of each other as separate windows within the Opera window—almost like its own little desktop. (Since window-snapping wasn't yet easily accessible in Windows, the tab-as-window management was really pretty cool, and really helpful.)
Opera stood out in other areas, too. It had a built-in mail and chat client, a built-in notes client, a turbo mode for slow connections, and even (unique among well-known browsers) a built-in torrent client. It also had pages and pages of cool setting for nerds like me to sift through and customize to our hearts' content. And for a number of years, Opera was consistently the most standards-compliant and one of the very fastest browsers out there. I loved Opera.
Just another Chrome clone
Then came Opera 13, which they named Opera 15 to avoid the bad luck connotations (there was already an Android-only mobile version named Opera 14, so they couldn't call it that either). In my opinion, the 13 would have been surprisingly appropriate. The Opera people switched to the same layout engine that Chrome used, and as they did, they took out virtually every feature that distinguished it from Chrome. Tabstrip customization? Gone. Windowed tabs within the browser window? Gone. Torrent client? Email client? Other cool stuff? All gone. They also got rid of the ability to synchronize settings between devices, and even did away with bookmarks! And with all of that, the slight advantages in standards-compliance were the only noticeable difference between Opera and Chrome—except of course for the features that Chrome had that Opera didn't. Before the release of Opera 13—err, 15—I had been just about ready to switch for good. I liked it so much, I actually reverted the update and kept using version 12 for a while as my primary browser, but with new vulnerabilities exposed all the time, I knew that couldn't last long. With Opera now just another clone of Chrome, I started to wonder why it even still existed. I finally gave up and turned my back on Opera for good... (Well, for a few years, anyway.)
For the next few years, Chrome was king for me. Since I use all of Google's services, the tight integration was just what I wanted. As an occasional Chromebook user, I used Chrome's apps and extensions extensively—especially Chrome's panel feature, which created little (ironically) chrome-less floating windows that could be docked to the bottom or side of the screen. I used the built-in “OK Google” voice queries and the custom search engines and the Chrome notification center and the app launcher and the fully-offline-capable apps and games and everything else. But the more features Chrome packed in, the slower it started to get. Pretty soon, I started noticing the slow-down; I started noticing that Chrome was using more than half of my memory; and I started noticing the battery-drain issues that went along with it.
I wasn't the only one who noticed. To fix the problems, the Chrome people started hacking out features that not many people were using. The Chrome notification center? Gone. Chrome app launcher? Gone. Chrome panels? Gone. And last year Google announced that Chrome apps are on their way out, too, with new apps already no longer available for anyone except Chromebook users and all app capabilities being phased out by early 2018.
Another chance for Opera
Meanwhile, Opera's people have been trying out a few new things. For years, Opera Turbo has bypassed slow web connections by running webpages through Opera's own servers and compressing them there. Since they had already figured out how to run all your web traffic through their own servers, Opera took the next logical step and recently added a free, full, unlimited VPN to the Opera browser, right at a time when many are becoming increasingly nervous about their online privacy.
Ever since Opera switched to being a Chrome-clone, Chrome extensions have technically worked in Opera, although the way to actually get them working was very hackish and inconsistent. But in the newest versions of Opera, many Chrome extensions work great right out of the box—there's even an extension that lets you install them straight from the Chrome web store. They've also reintroduced bookmarks and settings synchronization back into the mix, along with adding a built-in news aggregator, ad-blocker, and battery saver—all things I use anyway.
On top of all that, Opera feels snappy. It's really fast and still completely standards-compliant, all with an interface that's fresh, clean, and minimalistic. And while they've tried to keep to the essential with the main version of the browser, the Opera team has been trying out even more new things elsewhere, like their new browser, Neon, which packs in a few of the old features people have been missing (like splitting a single browser window between two tabs) along with some new ones that are pretty slick.
When all is said and done, I still don't know if I'm ready to fully ditch Chrome for Opera, but I'm getting really close. I'm using both right now, but I am mostly using Chrome as a handy shortcut to the Chrome apps that I still use, which won't even be available soon. And once they're gone from Chrome, there's a good chance that I will be, too.
and it can be even harder to become familiar with individual objects. This post is a list of top tens in the solar system. Most of these top tens deal with size—the ten biggest things orbiting the sun, the ten biggest dwarf planets, asteroids, etc. I made these lists for myself, so that I could get to know our solar system a bit better. Hopefully it will be interesting to someone else, too.