For the past several years, my browser of choice has been Opera. It has some features that I really like, so much so that other browsers almost feel unusable without them. It’s akin to trying to use Notepad after using vi for so long (programmers represent). Recently though, I’ve become more and more disappointed with my experience with Opera and I’m considering converting back to Firfox. However before I do, I want to explain the features I can’t live without in Opera and why I like them so much.
- Mouse Gestures – While I don’t take full advantage of this feature, you have no idea how handy it is to be able to hold one mouse button down and tap the other to browse forward or backward. It cuts down on browsing time and theoretically increases my efficiency, I can’t live without this because it simply makes browsing easier. It also makes me look like a complete jackass when using another browser because I use the mouse gestures and nothing happens and it takes a little bit for it to sink in that I’m not using Opera.
- Opera Sync – Opera has a centralized system that syncs browser preferences, browsing history, bookmarks, open tabs, saved sessions, and I believe saved passwords between any computer you choose to have synced to the system. This is incredibly handy when I run from work to class in the middle of something and be able to open Opera on my laptop and be right where I left off at work. I suppose its a detriment to my school work since, because of this, I rarely pay attention in class.
- Speed Dial – This really boils down to how you like to organize yourself. Are you a Bookmarks menu type person or do you put all your commonly used bookmarks on the toolbar? Or are you like me and like to have a special page devoted to your commonly visited pages that pops up whenever you open a new window/tab. Did I mention that these are synced with Opera Sync? Yeah they are.
I know that Firefox can replicate all of these feature through extensions, but I really like that by default Opera has a syncing function that just works. The other two can be replaced with an extension without any complaints from me. I also like the fact that flash actually works in Firefox on Ubuntu whereas in Opera its choppy and unusable. Plus, over time Firefox doesn’t nibble away at your system resources either and randomly leave an open lockfile when you exit.