New Web Browsers - Vivaldi and Yandex Alpha

Download Vivaldi
Download Yandex

Following on from my previous blog which focused on web browsers which are currently popular, I will now take a look at browsers which are currently under development.
A big change in the web browser market is about to happen as Microsoft is reducing the focus on Internet Explorer in favour of a project currently referred to as Spartan. However, I have chosen to look at two lesser-known browsers: Vivaldi and Yandex.

When you first open a new tab in Vivaldi, you will see the speed dial feature. This allows you to pin your favourite websites, making them quick and easy to access. It has different tabs and each page can have single website tiles, or folders which contain multiple links. There is also a bookmark manager if you prefer to organise your favourite sites in a more traditional way.

Interesting functions available in Vivaldi include:

• You can create a ‘tab stack’ by pulling a tab on top of another tab, which is useful if you have lots of tabs open.
• You can use the ‘load pages without images’ function to reduce loading times if you have a slow internet connection.
• You can easily zoom in and out of webpages by using the slider in the bottom right of the window.
• The colour of the area at the top of the window changes to match the colour of the favicon of the website you are currently on, but you can switch this off if you find it annoying.

The main attraction of the Vivaldi browser is that it already contains many features without the need to add extensions. On the side panel, you will find sections for bookmarks, contacts, notes and downloads.

• Bookmarks – Lets you see all of your bookmarks
• Contacts – An address book
• Notes – Take a note and include a URL and a screenshot
• Downloads – Shows all your downloads and allows you to pause current downloads

An email feature will soon be added to the side panel and the ability to more add extensions is expected. You can keep up-to-date with new developments on Vivaldi's blog.

Yandex Alpha offers a somewhat unorthodox approach to the browser interface, yet it is still intuitive. It has a speed dial-like feature called Tableau. You can customise your tableau by adding websites you access frequently and change the background to another from the lovely selection of backgrounds available. Some of the backgrounds are animated - if you find this distracting you can select a static one or ‘pause’ it.

The window has the ‘SmartBox’ at the top. Clicking here give you access to various options for the webpage you are currently on. The share function is particularly useful as you can put the link on Facebook or Twitter with just a few clicks. Contrary to the majority of web browsers, Yandex Alpha puts the tabs at the bottom.

Yandex Alpha tries to help you focus your attention on the webpage rather than including lots of extra clutter (so, in this aspect, it is the opposite of Vivaldi). However, if you feel the need to get some extensions to enhance your experience, they are available.

As Yandex Alpha is still under development, you may come across some bugs (problems and errors) but it is easy to report them using the ‘bug report’ extension.

Why don’t you give these new browsers a try and see how they compare with your old favourite? What do you like about innovative, new browsers? Do you prefer to stick with what you know? Let me know in the comment section! 

Web Browsers - Chrome and Firefox

Download Chrome
Download Firefox

In this blog, I will compare various features of both of these browsers. The features I mention are just a start. If you want to get to know these browsers, explore for yourself and decide which one you prefer.

Apps

Apps for Chrome can be downloaded from the Chrome Web Store. There is a wide selection available. Some apps run offline (without an internet connection). You can also find apps for Chrome that are also available for Android.Apps for Firefox can be downloaded from the Firefox Marketplace. This is where apps for Firefox OS (for mobiles) are also downloaded. Not all apps are available for both platforms, though. (For help with this see: http://mzl.la/1AohSJ2)

Extensions/Add-Ons

Extensions for Chrome are also downloaded from the Chrome Web Store.

Firefox calls extensions ‘Add-ons’ and they can be found in Firefox’s add-ons page.

Both browsers have a wide selection of extensions/add-ons.

Themes

Chrome has a large selection of themes available in the Chrome Web Store. You can look specifically for themes created by Google or by artists.

A wide selection of themes for Firefox can be found on the add-ons site. Hovering over the picture will allows you to preview how your browser will look.

If you want to completely change the way your browser looks, you can try a ‘complete theme’.

New Tab

Chrome’s new tab page displays thumbnails of your frequently visited pages. Additionally, the bookmark bar is displayed along the top.

The background of the new tab page depends on which theme you have.

If you have a dislike for Chrome’s new tab page, ample alternatives can be found in the Chrome Web Store

Firefox’s default new tab page isn’t very exciting. Some thumbnails appear based on websites you’ve visited recently and you can ‘pin’ website you want to remain there permanently or remove ones you don’t want.  Apart from that there is negligible customisation. You can, however, install a ‘new tab’ add-on to replace the default one.

Bookmarks

To add a bookmark in Chrome, simply click the star in the right side of the Omnibox. From here, you can change the thumbnail, title, description and folder.

Chrome’s bookmark manager is very visual. There is the option of sharing a folder of bookmarks with other people.

In Firefox, new bookmarks can be easily added by clicking the star. Clicking on the star again allows you to edit the bookmark – change its name, move it to another folder (by default it goes into ‘Unsorted Bookmarks’), add tags or just remove it.

Firefox’s bookmark manager allows you to keep your bookmarks well organised.

Search Engines

Chrome allows you to search from what it calls the ‘omnibox’ (the bar at the top). Going to Chrome’s settings page allows you to manage your search engines: you can change you default search or how you can easily search other website buy typing its keyword and pressing tab.

You can add search engines to Firefox by going to the ‘search’ section of the ‘add-ons’ site or, if the website you are currently visiting can be added, you will see a ‘+’ symbol in the search box.

Windows 8 Mode

When Chrome is set as your default browser in Windows 8, you can select the ‘Windows 8 Mode’ option from the menu. This makes the app take up your entire screen.

Along the bottom of the app, you can access your Chrome apps; it somewhat resembles a Chrome desktop. If the app ‘works offline’ it will open in a new ‘window’.

Firefox was originally going to introduce a Windows 8 mode but this project was cancelled.

Special Features

When you have no internet connection, you can play a game on Chrome by pressing the spacebar. The aim is to get the dinosaur to leap over the cacti without bumping into any.

Firefox Hello is a feature which allows you to have video chats with people – you don’t even need to sign in. It’s really simple to use, all you need to do it click the icon then ‘start a conversation’. You then get a link for the conversation which you can send to a friend.

Links you might be interest in...

Keep up-to-date with developments of these browsers on their blogs:

Chrome Blog | Firefox Blog

Over to You

Which browser do you prefer between Chrome and Firefox? Or, is there another browser you prefer? Feel free to let me know in the comments. In my next blog, I will look at new browsers which are still under development which could soon become your new favourite. 

Pushbullet | App Review

Download apps and extensions from:
 https://www.pushbullet.com/apps for free!

Pushbullet allows you to send files/links/photos/notes between devices and web browsers using apps and extensions. You can send them to yourself or to your friends if they also use Pushbullet.

Examples of using Pushbullet include:

• Finding a website you like on your phone and you want to view it on your computer.
• You think of a good idea when you’re out and you want to be reminded of it when you get back to your computer.
• You take a photo with your phone and want to edit it on your computer.
• You start working on a document on the train home and want to continue working on it on your computer.

And it’s not just about sending stuff from your phone to your computer as this video from Pushbullet shows: 

A useful feature of Pushbullet is that you can send SMS (text) messages from your computer via your phone. Your contacts list on your phone will appear in the ‘To’ box when you are about to send a message. Additionally, Pushbullet can ‘push’ notifications from your phone to your computer. You can disable this feature if you don’t like it or mute specific apps you don’t want to be notified about. If the notification is about a message you’ve received, you can reply to it using your computer by clicking ‘reply’ in the notification. Currently this works with WhatsApp, Telegram, Hangouts, Facebook Messenger, and Line. These features mean you can communicate using messages without having to change between your computer and your phone. Additionally, it means you can use the larger keyboard for your computer rather than a fiddly phone keyboard!

Pushbullet allows you to subscribe to a selection of channels. These allow you to stay up-to-date about something you are interested in. An example of this is updates from the Pushbullet blog.

The speed that Pushbullet operates is dependent on the speed of your internet connection. A slow connection will mean that you will need to wait a while for files to be uploaded and downloaded from the cloud.

Another thing to consider is you can only send one photo/file at a time between your phone and your computer. This means it could be time consuming if you wish to send many files as you’d have to select them all individually.

Contact

Website: pushbullet.com

Social Media Links:

• Twitter:@Pushbullet
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pushbullet 
• Google+:https://plus.google.com/+Pushbullet/videos