Google Earth can be a handy - or at least fascinating - tool to use, and though it's available as an iOS and Android app, its web implementation has been fairly limited. Thus far, Google Earth on the web has only been available through Chrome, and though Chrome is a popular browser, that ultimately limits the number of people who can access Google Earth on the web.
Opera R2020 (aka, Opera 67), the latest version of the popular web browser, brings new features that enable power users to better manage their tabs and the features they use most often. The biggest part of the new update is tabbed workspaces, which are customizable and separate workspaces that feature tabs related to each workspace's category. As well, the browser's sidebar can now be customized and more.
Last week, Opera browser for Android was updated to version 56, adding a couple of important features alongside a bunch of smaller, but no less important, tweaks. The biggest change to arrive in Opera 56 for Android is the addition of a new Reader Mode, a feature that makes it easier to read cluttered, messy web pages. As well, users can now customize the browser's action button.
Back in the days when phones weren't exactly smart, the only way people could browse the Web was often through Opera. In the age of smartphones and Google Chrome, however, Opera has become almost a legacy, a legacy that might soon be tarnished by the company's own actions. It turns out that Opera is using what can only be described as predatory loan apps on Android to make a profit but could, in turn, get it banned from Google Play Store for good.
With Google Stadia's launch and developments in browser technology, you might think that browser makers like Mozilla and Opera will be jumping onto the game streaming train. That idyllic future might still be far away and, until then, browsers and games will exist separately and sometimes in competition for computer resources. Despite that situation, Opera wants to paint itself as a gaming-friendly browser developer, which is why it created the Opera GX "gaming browser" that it is now making available in early access on macOS.
Night modes are a beautiful thing, aren't they? Opera seems to understand that, as today it's shipping out an improved night mode in Opera for Android version 55. There are a few other changes coming along with this update, but the bulk of it seems to be the improvements the company has made to night mode.
Once upon a time, you couldn't go living a normal Internet-connected life without an anti-virus software of some kind. While the threat and effects of malware haven't really gone down, the quality of said security software sadly has. Some of the giants in that industry have been gobbled up by even bigger giants while others have been accused of using their reach for their government or for their own profit. The latest to fall prey to that tactic is Avast, which also owns the free AVG software, and its questionable activities are apparently also at work even on web browsers.
Opera has released the latest version of its desktop browsing, bringing improvements to the tracker feature it introduced in a previous iteration, as well as a revamped bookmarks sidebar and more. The biggest change involves far more control over the browser's tracker-blocking feature, enabling users to view which trackers are being blocked and more.
The Web may be filled with information, some of which we may have wished never came to light, but it has also become a scarier place as well. Never mind the "dark web" and hackers and spies, even companies seem to be out to get you, or at least your information. Web browser makers like Google and Mozilla are stepping up in this game of cat and mouse, blocking ads and cookies that don't play nice. Opera is joining the chorus with an addition to its arsenal of privacy tools which it is only too happy to remind users comes built into the desktop browser and, better yet, available for free.
Security flaws are never a good thing to encounter, but when those flaws can potentially compromise a password manager, that's when things get particularly alarming. LastPass has notified users of a flaw with some of its browser extensions which may have allowed certain passwords to be revealed. The good news is that the flaw has already been patched out and that users would have needed to carry out a specific set of actions for their passwords to be compromised.
For some people, the browser wars have mostly been reduced to a fight between Chrome and everyone else. That “everyone else” fortunately has a lot of room for all sorts of browsers with priorities beyond becoming the world’s #1. Opera might still dream of eventually dominating the browser market but it is doing so via a rather unconventional route. Instead of trying to appeal to the masses, it is pushing its resources towards supporting the Web users of the future. That mostly means supporting blockchains and distributed systems, features that have finally landed on its iOS app.
Opera has launched a new browser focused on gamers, allowing for precise control over just how much of your PC resources the app can tap into. Opera GX won't be released fully until later in the year, but an early access program is kicking off today to give gamers a taste of what to expect.