When did you start using Vivaldi and what’s your favourite feature?
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First time using Vivaldi: December 14, 2016
I have multiple browsers installed, each one for dedicated tasks: one for Web design work, one for online marketing, one for my music career, and one for personal recreational stuff (email, Facebook, etc). This allows me to keep bookmarks and features specific to each need well organized and separate from one another.
In 2016 I had been using Maxthon as my music browser for three years, and had no problems with it until I read about some sketchy practices by the developers regarding privacy and such. So off to Google I went to find a new one. There was a review site that reviewed 5 different browsers, and Vivaldi (the perfect name for a musician's browser) was one that I'd never heard of before.
So I did some research for a few hours, and found surprisingly few (almost none!) negatives about it. So I installed it to see how it looked and performed. I was gobsmacked! Very short learning curve and I had it set up with all my imported bookmarks and settings very quickly. No guessing games or multiple trips to Google to figure it out! And it was a good-looking browser as well.
There were a couple things that I had to ask about in the forums, but for the most part it was like I'd always been using it. Comfortable from the start.The one feature I couldn't live without is the bookmarks bar. Even though every browser has one, if Vivaldi did not, I would have to go elsewhere in spite of all its other greatness. While Speed Dial is cool and useful, I never actually use it. The bookmarks bar is always immediately there (no need to open a new tab or sidebar to reach it), and therefore a faster and more convenient/efficient tool for me.
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I am using it for longer than a year now and I love the personalization and the organization options. Especially the Speed Dial customization options are great, I enjoy creating my own design for the websites! Ever since my friend suggested it to me, I kept using it. I sometimes tried different browsers to see if they were good, but I have always come back. No browser suits me better than Vivaldi!
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Vivaldi first showed its face to the world on 27 January, 2015. It took me several hours to become aware of it, so I didn't download and install it until several hours later - on 27 January 2015.
I had up until that time been using Opera for the prior 16 years or so, but had become disenchanted with it when it abandoned its original emphasis on versatility and configurability. When Opera switched engines from Presto to Blink it ceased to be "my" browser and became one adhering to simplicity for "the masses." Literally millions of Opera users seemed to feel the same way I did, and either fled to another harbor or hung on in desperation hoping the old Opera would make a comeback on the new engine. I was one of these latter. Then on the Opera blog, someone mentioned that Jon S Von Tetzchner (co-founder of Opera who had parted ways with the company a couple of years or so before) had introduced Vivaldi to the world, so I had to go look.
It was like putting on an old pair of shoes. Comfort and familiarity. The new browser was still pretty rudimentary, but it came right out of the gate with options that I had been missing dearly for the whole time I had been using the "new" Opera, and which had seemed impossible to implement (or forbidden by the new management to implement) using the Chromium-based engine. Jon's new browser had struck a chord with me on the first try.
I'm a user who, through curiosity and long familiarity, pretty much gets how the web and browsers work, but who still has my habits and my "comfort zone" and does not stray far from what is familiar to me, preferring the low-effort mode of trying to stick to what I'm used to. In that light, though Vivaldi in its fourth year is already miles ahead of other browsers in the adaptations it CAN make to user preference, the things that are my favorite features are still those that I loved in the old Opera, and that the new Opera took from me:
Compliance to my personal preferences in appearance and workflow, and the ability to see/not-see and use/not-use what I want. I have my bookmarks toolbar at the top showing icons only, just as I like, and I have my tabs arranged vertically on the right, just as I like. I have a color scheme (theme) and background image that suit me. I have the few mouse gestures that I use, and they work as I expect. I have the colors, shapes and backgrounds that I like in the UI, and can change them at will if I get bored. If I want any of these items to be different from the way I see them now, I CAN!! This makes it so that I can retain a quiet mind, adapting the browser to me, and not vice-versa. As someone who works and pursues my livelihood in. my. browser. all day every day, it is hard to overestimate the value of comfort and ease within that environment. I'll stop now.
But when did I start to use it? On its first day of release over three and half years ago. What is my favorite feature? Configurability. My stress level is reduced using Vivaldi. Hence, I will probably live longer.
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Been a steady user since 1.13 I think.
Favorite features:
Web Panels (I'm watching the live Brook Falls bear cam via Youtube while I'm typing this.)
Customizable Keyboard shortcuts
Notes
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My first time with Vivaldi was mid August 2016. I was disgusted with both Chrome and Firefox and bored. So I Googled "web browsers" and found Vivaldi. Did some research and found very few bad reviews. Downloaded and installed Vivaldi. Discovered "this was different" and did some poking around. While poking around I found a browser that exists for the user not for stock holders. The more I poked around the more questions I had. Thankfully there is this forum.
What I like; 1) Configurable, 2) Easy on resources, 3) Fast, 4) Speed Dial, 4) Tab Tiling, 5) Tab Pinning 6) Appearance,
7) Options, Options, Options -
Like @Ayespy , I've also been using Vivaldi since the first public Technical Preview.
Back in 2015, it was a dark time in the world of web browsers. Opera had completely changed direction, Firefox was in decline (and I detested the Australis UI), Google Chrome was eating up market share, and desktop web browsers were seeking feature parity with stripped-down mobile browsers. There were no longer any good cross-platform web browsers out there that catered to advanced desktop users.
Then came Vivaldi. It was different. It was built differently. It was designed with a completely different philosophy that put its users and usability first. Right from the start, it strived to set itself apart from the rest of the pack. In the beginning, Vivaldi was very rough (who builds a browser without a Bookmarks menu?!?) but it clearly had a lot of promise. It respected platform conventions; it was the only alternative browser on macOS that put the "close button" on the left side of the tab. Most importantly, @jon and the core development team were innovators; they invented many (most?) of the modern features (that other browsers copied) that we take for granted today, and they continue their legacy of innovation to this day... all while respecting their users and putting privacy above all else.
It's hard to pick a specific favourite feature. The Vivaldi browser is simply a delight to use. It has the power of Chromium but was built with privacy in mind. It comes bundled with features that work well together without the need for extensions... but can be further enhanced by installing extensions if required. It's easy to customize and configure to accommodate my needs and preferences. I can browse with it using only a mouse, and I can also browse with it without taking my hands off the keyboard. I love how easy it is to customize the Theme to my liking, and I also constantly use features like Tab Stacks and Tab Tiling. There's no other web browser like it.
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I have been using Vivaldi for four days. I have used Firefox ever since it came out in the 90s. I am moving away from Mozilla and Firefox because of their "Internet Trust Initiative" which, as far as I'm concerned, is censorship. I want a free, open, uncensored web.
So far, I am most enjoying the start page, with its nested folders and the ability to use custom images for the web sites.
I thought the stacked tabs would be great, until I found that they are not persistent. Next, I'm going to investigate the web panels; they might give me what I was looking for from stacked tabs.
My biggest problem, so far, is that bold text on some web pages is indistinguishable from normal text. I have asked about this in the community forum, but I haven't found a solution yet.
Happy surfing, everyone!
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@nomoremozilla Welcome into the Vivaldi family
Thanks for sharing about Mozilla's Information Trust Initiative. I wasn't aware of it... scary.
About the tabs stack, what do you mean by "not persistent"? -
@ornorm said in When did you start using Vivaldi and what’s your favourite feature?:
About the tabs stack, what do you mean by "not persistent"?
I was hoping I could create a tab stack of related pages, then close everything, open Vivaldi later, then re-open the tab stack, I suppose by some kind of naming mechanism.
I know I can leave the tab stack open, close Vivaldi, and reopen Vivaldi with the tab stack still open, but I'm not the type who wants many tabs open all the time.
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@nomoremozilla Right-click on a tab-stack to bookmark it. You can also save sessions from the File menu.
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@nomoremozilla Pretty sure if you save a stack of tabs as a session, then when you open the session they will still be stacked.
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@pesala said in When did you start using Vivaldi and what’s your favourite feature?:
@nomoremozilla Right-click on a tab-stack to bookmark it. You can also save sessions from the File menu.
Thank you. I'll try it.
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When did you start using Vivaldi?
Using Vivaldi since very early version
But it is still my 2nd browser because Firefox just has more privacy-related settings and I prefer gecko engine with smooth scrolling and superior zoom.What’s your favourite feature?
I love that Vivaldi is power-user oriented. I don't want a browser without bookmarks I don't want a browser when a core features are being replaced by addons.favorite features:
- square tabs
- UI customization. You can change user interface zoom and use Vivaldi on the big TV
- many other "small features", e.g. option to disable close tab button.
- square tabs
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@ayespy said in When did you start using Vivaldi and what’s your favourite feature?:
@nomoremozilla Pretty sure if you save a stack of tabs as a session, then when you open the session they will still be stacked.
Thanks! I'll check it out.
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@nomoremozilla Have you tried tab tiling?
Tab tiling is one reason I use Vivaldi as my default browser. -
Thanks everyone for your insightful posts!
We've decided to create more than one story based on your feedback, and in fact, the first one is already published on the blog.
Take a look here: https://vivaldi.com/blog/10-tab-management-tricks/More to come!
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Recently retired after 35yrs IT. Been using FF since forever (Netscape, etc.). Never thought another browser would pull me away from FF - and have installed/tried many. But Vivaldi did just that.
Been using V for a couple months, and find the feature set robust, and have absolutely no problems on the computers which it's installed.
I'm suggesting friends/family/etc. to try it as well.Not sure I can come up with a fav feature. The whole browser is a fav feature :*) But,,,,quick access to adjustments; the bar on the left for more quick access, and very important: the SPEED (of the browsing). Also, the conservation of space.
Just an all-round robust/well-constructed-UI feature set.Thanks for all your effort!
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This thread was created 4 months ago, apparently, yet it only came to my notice today, when i saw it in "Unread" [which i peruse multiple times a day, every day]. Odd.
Anyway, i found this old note i wrote myself [per Notes Panel, natch] & thought it apropos here.
Vivaldi -- the new old Opera!!!
7/2/15 00:26: Cool - keep watching for V development... this might become the new old Opera!!!
22/2/15: I have now made Vivaldi my default browser. Even though it remains buggy, crashy, & still lacks much key functionality, it already has enough Pros compared to Chromium & Opera Dev that it is worthwhile taking this step.
31/3/15: Weekly updates have continued & it's just getting better & better. Stability hassles are substantially reduced, & it's just more & more a delight to use.Like many other "older" Vivaldiers, i came to V from O12 via the crushing disappointment of O-Dev [which itself caused me some months of forlorn testing of a multitude of potential alternative browsers, all of which i found wanting]. Thank you to that long-forgotten O-Dev Forum poster who, amongst all our plaintive complaints about the humongous list of beloved O12 features & functions excluded from O-Dev, mentioned this interesting new browser they'd discovered, V. Curious, i followed the link, & was almost instantly reduced to a giggling mass of delighted disbelief that someone was building a browser just for me!
My chief favourite is Tab-stacks...Tab-stacks and Mouse-gestures...Mouse-gestures and Tab-stacks.... my two favourites are Mouse-gestures and Tab-stacks...and Web Panels.... My three favourites are Mouse-gestures, Tab-stacks, and Web Panels...and Tab Panes.... My four...no... amongst my favourite.... amongst my favouritery...are such elements as Mouse-gestures, Tab-stacks.... I'll come in again.
I didn't expect a kind of Vivaldi Inquisition.
Nobody expects the Vivaldi Inquisition! Amongst my favouritery are such diverse elements as Mouse-gestures, Tab-stacks, Web Panels, and Tab Panes, and the Customisable UI - oh damn!
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@Steffie Now do you see the problems Vivaldi has created?
V offers the user so many features that sometimes it boggles the imagination.
A user can keep it really simple or they can go whole hog. I use only a few features but they are all I need.
Then there are those use a ton of features. What it all comes down to is how the user wants it. Each and every
one of us have our very own "personal" Vivaldi.Vivaldi...just about the most perfect browser there is.
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Been using vivaldi for a couple of months or so now,My favourite feature is the ability to use a window background in the GUI and then i customise the tab colour to match and gives a nice effect..Wood effect being my favourite.
