Vivaldi (web browser)
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![]() Vivaldi 3.0 running on macOS | |
Developer(s) | Vivaldi Technologies |
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Initial release | April 6, 2016[1] (Technical Preview released on Jan 27, 2015) |
Stable release(s) | |
Preview release(s) | |
Repository | |
Written in | C++[6] |
Engines | Blink, V8 |
Operating system | |
Platform | IA-32, x86-64, ARM (macOS, Linux & Android only) |
Size |
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Available in | 53 languages[8] |
List of languages Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Basque, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Frisian, Galician, Georgian, German, Greek, Hungarian, Icelandic, Ido, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Kurdish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Lojban, Macedonian, Norwegian (Bokmal), Norwegian (Nynorsk), Persian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Sardinian, Scots Gaelic, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Spanish (Peru), Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese | |
Type | Web browser |
License | Proprietary freeware[9] |
Website | vivaldi![]() |
Vivaldi is a freeware, cross-platform web browser developed by Vivaldi Technologies, a company founded by Tatsuki Tomita and Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner, who was the co-founder and CEO of Opera Software. Vivaldi was officially launched on April 6, 2016.[10][11]
Although intended for general users, it is first and foremost targeted towards technically-inclined users as well as former Opera users disgruntled by its transition from the Presto layout engine to a Chromium-based browser that resulted in the loss of many of its iconic features.[10][12] Despite also being Chromium-based, Vivaldi aims to revive the features of the Presto-based Opera with its own proprietary modifications.[13][14]
Vivaldi released a mobile (Android) beta version on September 6, 2019 and a regular release on April 22, 2020.[15][16]
As of September 2021, Vivaldi has more than 2.3 million active users.[17]
History[]
Vivaldi began as a virtual community website that replaced My Opera, which was shut down by Opera Software in March 2014.[18] Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner was angered by this decision because he believed that this community helped make the Opera web browser what it was. Tetzchner then launched the Vivaldi Community—a virtual community focused on providing registered users with a discussion forum, blogging service, and numerous other practical web services—to make up for My Opera's closure. Later, on January 27, 2015, Vivaldi Technologies launched[19] the first technical preview of the Vivaldi web browser.[20] Its name comes from the Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi, which, according to one of its creators, is an easy name to be remembered and understood worldwide.[11]
In September 2021, Vivaldi replaced Firefox as the default browser on the Manjaro Cinnamon Community Edition, the decision its developers cited on its feature-richness and exceptional customizability.[21] In December 2021, Vivaldi became the first web browser to be available for the Android Automotive operating system used in the Swedish electric vehicle manufacturer Polestar's Polestar 2. For safety purposes, the browser can only be used when the car is parked.[22]
Releases[]
Vivaldi version history | ||
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Version | Date | Features |
Technical Preview 1[10] | January 27, 2015 |
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Technical Preview 2[23] | March 5, 2015 |
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Technical Preview 3[24] | April 28, 2015 |
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Technical Preview 4[25] | July 16, 2015 |
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Beta 1[26] | November 3, 2015 |
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Beta 2[27] | December 18, 2015 |
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Beta 3[28] | March 4, 2016 |
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1.0[29] | April 6, 2016 |
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1.1[30] | April 26, 2016 |
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1.2[31] | June 2, 2016 |
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1.3[32] | August 11, 2016 |
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1.4[33] | September 8, 2016 |
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1.5[34] | November 22, 2016 |
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1.6[35] | December 15, 2016 |
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1.7[36] | February 8, 2017 |
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1.8[37] | March 29, 2017 |
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1.9[38] | April 27, 2017 |
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1.10[39] | June 15, 2017 |
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1.11[40] | August 10, 2017 |
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1.12[41] | September 20, 2017 |
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1.13[42] | November 22, 2017 |
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1.14[43] | January 31, 2018 |
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1.15[44] | April 25, 2018 |
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2.0[45] | September 26, 2018 |
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2.1[46] | October 25, 2018 |
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2.2[47] | December 13, 2018 |
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2.3[48] | February 6, 2019 |
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2.4[49] | March 27, 2019 |
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2.5[50] | May 8, 2019 |
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2.6[51] | June 20, 2019 |
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2.7[52] | August 21, 2019 |
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2.8[53] | September 19, 2019 |
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2.9[54] | October 31, 2019 |
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2.10[55] | December 19, 2019 |
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2.11[56] | February 12, 2020 |
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3.0[57] | April 22, 2020 |
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3.1[58] | June 11, 2020 |
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3.2[59] | August 5, 2020 |
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3.3[60] | September 8, 2020 |
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3.4[61] | October 15, 2020 |
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3.7[62] | March 17, 2021 |
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3.8[63] | April 29, 2021 |
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4.0[64] | June 9, 2021 |
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4.1[65] | July 28, 2021 |
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4.2[66] | September 15, 2021 |
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4.3[67] | October 7, 2021 |
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5.0[68] | December 2, 2021 |
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Features[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Chromeless_UI_w_przegl%C4%85darce_Vivaldi_w_OS_X.png/220px-Chromeless_UI_w_przegl%C4%85darce_Vivaldi_w_OS_X.png)
Vivaldi has a minimalistic user interface with basic icons and fonts, and, optionally, a color scheme that changes based on the background and design of the web page being visited.[69] The browser also allows users to customize the appearance of UI elements such as background color, overall theme, address bar and tab positioning, and start pages.[70] According to CEO Jon von Tetzchner, Vivaldi's unique customizability is how the browser caters to experienced users.[71]
Vivaldi comes with built-in ad blocker, pop up blocker and tracker blocker. These features block intrusive ads, help web pages load faster, and protect against malicious ads and trackers.[72] It comes with built-in e-mail client with IMAP and POP3 support. Some of the Mail features are saved searches and offline message search.[73] The browser can be used as a feed reader to save RSS and Atom feeds.[74] It also comes with built-in Vivaldi Calendar to manage events in the browser.[75] Vivaldi Translate is powered by and can instantly translate websites, without the need for third-party extensions.[76]
Vivaldi features the ability to "stack" and "tile" tabs, annotate web pages, and add notes to bookmarks.[77][78] Furthermore, users can place digital bookmarks on a "speed dial" page for quick access and harness "quick commands" to search bookmarks, browsing history, open tabs, and settings.[79] Vivaldi is built around and based on web technologies such as HTML5, Node.js, React.js, and numerous NPM modules.[80] As of Technical Preview 4, Vivaldi also supports numerous mouse gestures for actions like tab switching and keyboard activation.[71] Vivaldi can also be set to a "Chromeless UI", which gives users more screen real-estate and the ability to focus on a single page without distractions.[81] To accommodate users who prefer to use a large number of tabs at the same time, Vivaldi supports hibernation for both individual tabs and for tab stacks, freeing resources while the user does not actively use those tabs.
Extensions[]
Vivaldi can use many browser extensions developed for Google Chrome and Firefox (they use common WebExtensions API[82]), and users can install extensions directly from the Chrome Web Store. Most of these work properly in Vivaldi, with the exception of user interface customizations due to its visual changes to the Chromium source code.[83][84]
[]
Starting with version 2.10, Vivaldi changed its user agent string to mimic a generic build of Chromium, which results in it not being recorded as a unique browser and causing a decrease in its recorded market share.[85]
Reception[]
![]() | This section needs expansion. You can help by . (December 2021) |
Ars Technica reviewer Scott Gilbertson wrote about version 1.0 in April 2016. He praised its innovative features, such as its tab handling, while noting that it will most likely remain a niche browser and not see widespread uptake.[86] In October 2018, Gilbertson gave version 2.0 a very positive review and stated that Vivaldi is now his usual browser and that he would be hard put to go back to a browser without its unique features.[87]
Ghacks author Martin Brinkmann wrote about the privacy of Vivaldi in January 2018. He criticized the lack of an opt-out option for the unique user ID it generates to get general statistics about the browser's userbase. Though he commented that the unique ID "is easy enough to delete" and "it is different anyway if you use Vivaldi on multiple devices".[88]
References[]
- ^ Andrii, Degeler (April 6, 2016). "Vivaldi 1.0 tries to reverse web browser simplification trend". Ars Technica. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
- ^ "Minor update(4) for Vivaldi Android Browser 5.0". January 20, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Minor update (6) for Vivaldi Desktop Browser 5.0". January 22, 2022. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
- ^ "Happy New Year – Vivaldi Android Browser snapshot 2541.3". January 7, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Fix for the extension store – Vivaldi Browser snapshot 2553.3". January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
- ^ "Vivaldi browser: Interview with Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner". utappia.org. September 21, 2016. Archived from the original on November 5, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
- ^ "Download Vivaldi". vivaldi.com. Vivaldi Technologies. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
- ^ "Vivaldi version 1.13.1008.32 for Windows (7+)". Vivaldi Technologies. November 25, 2017.
- ^ "Vivaldi End User License Agreement". vivaldi.com. Vivaldi Technologies. November 18, 2016.
Subject to the terms and conditions herein, Vivaldi hereby grants You a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable license to install and use the Software and Services for its intended purpose. [...] Without limiting the foregoing, you are neither allowed to (a) adapt, alter, translate, embed into any other product or otherwise create derivative works of, or otherwise modify the Software; (b) separate the component programs of the Software for use on different computers; (c) reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble or otherwise attempt to derive the source code for the Software, except as permitted by applicable law; or (d) remove, alter or obscure any proprietary notices on the Software or the applicable documentation therein.
- ^ a b c Shankland, Stephen (January 27, 2015). "Ex-Opera CEO composes Vivaldi, a new Web browser". CNET. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 27, 2015.
- ^ a b "Vivaldi: testamos o navegador de internet que tem personalização completa". Tecmundo (in Portuguese). Grupo NZN. November 4, 2015. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
- ^ Minic, Ivan (February 10, 2015). "Jon S. von Tetzchner: We will (re)create a browser you love". Medium.
- ^ Gilbertson, Scott (March 6, 2015). "Hands-on with Vivaldi, the new Web browser for power users". Ars Technica. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on May 2, 2015. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
- ^ "Vivaldi is building "Opera as it should've been"". www.arstechnica.com. Ars Technica. January 16, 2017. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
- ^ "Vivaldi goes mobile". Vivaldi Browser. September 9, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
- ^ "One day. Two big Vivaldi browser releases". Vivaldi Browser. April 24, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
- ^ "We're in Control". vivaldi.com. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
- ^ Shankland, Stephen (January 23, 2014). "Ex-CEO picks up where Opera left off, launching Vivaldi site". CNET. CBS Interactive.
- ^ "The Vivaldi Community is driving the Vivaldi browser development". Vivaldi.com. Twitter. January 29, 2015.
- ^ Dagenborg, Joachim (February 6, 2015). "Vivaldi browser hits 500,000 downloads in first 10 days". Reuters. Oslo, Norway. Archived from the original on February 8, 2015. Retrieved May 2, 2015.
- ^ "Vivaldi Replaces Firefox as the Default Browser on Manjaro Linux Cinnamon". betanews. September 9, 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2021.
- ^ "Vivaldi in Polestar: The first browser for Android Automotive OS". Vivaldi Browser. December 22, 2021.
- ^ Tatsuki, Tomita (March 5, 2015). "Technical Preview 2 is here!". Vivaldi Technologies. Archived from the original on February 2, 2016.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (April 28, 2015). "TP3 is here!". Vivaldi Technologies. Archived from the original on September 18, 2016.
- ^ Tatsuki, Tomita (July 16, 2015). "Vivaldi browser Technical Preview 4 is here!". Vivaldi Technologies. Archived from the original on September 18, 2016.
- ^ Tatsuki, Tomita (November 3, 2015). "Vivaldi launches its first beta". Vivaldi Technologies. Archived from the original on January 19, 2016.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (December 18, 2015). "Happy holidays: Vivaldi browser Beta 2 is here in time for holidays". Vivaldi Technologies. Archived from the original on September 18, 2016.
- ^ Tatsuki, Tomita (March 4, 2016). "Vivaldi getting closer to 1.0. Beta 3 is here with New session load/save, tab zoom and a lot of new options!". Vivaldi Technologies. Archived from the original on July 6, 2016.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (April 6, 2016). "Vivaldi 1.0: Not for everybody, just you". Vivaldi Technologies. Archived from the original on April 6, 2016.
- ^ Tatsuki, Tomita (April 26, 2016). "No time to rest. Vivaldi 1.1 is here with enhanced tab handling, better hibernation and more!". Vivaldi Technologies. Archived from the original on September 18, 2016.
- ^ Tatsuki, Tomita (June 2, 2016). "Ready to make your own mouse gestures? Now you can with Vivaldi 1.2". Vivaldi Technologies. Archived from the original on September 18, 2016.
- ^ Tatsuki, Tomita (August 11, 2016). "The most customizable browser is now the most colorful: Vivaldi version 1.3 debuts with custom themes, enhanced privacy and much more". Vivaldi Technologies. Archived from the original on September 18, 2016.
- ^ Tatsuki, Tomita (September 8, 2016). "Vivaldi 1.4 is released with more control! Schedule, Restore and get more flexibility!". Vivaldi Technologies. Archived from the original on September 18, 2016.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (November 22, 2016). "Lighten up your Day with Vivaldi Browser". Vivaldi Technologies. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (December 15, 2016). "Details matter. Vivaldi 1.6 is ready". Vivaldi Technologies. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (February 8, 2017). "Seize the moment with Vivaldi 1.7". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (March 29, 2017). "Vivaldi makes History". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (April 27, 2017). "Vivaldi 1.9 – Plant trees as you browse". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (June 15, 2017). "Vivaldi powers up the Start Page and adds docked Dev Tools". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (August 10, 2017). "Vivaldi 1.11 – Focus on accessibility". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (September 20, 2017). "Vivaldi 1.12 – Giving you the browser you want". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (November 22, 2017). "Vivaldi 1.13 adds Window Panel, improves Downloads and brings under-the-hood enhancements". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (January 31, 2018). "Vivaldi 1.14 – Three years of continuous innovation". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (April 25, 2018). "Vivaldi 1.15 : Just Better". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (September 26, 2018). "Vivaldi 2.0 : Your browser matters". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (October 25, 2018). "Vivaldi 2.1 launches with improved Quick Commands". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (December 13, 2018). "Vivaldi 2.2: Focus on details". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (February 6, 2019). "Vivaldi 2.3 introduces Auto-Stacking in Tabs, addresses the Address Field and more". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (March 27, 2019). "Vivaldi 2.4: Next level Toolbar Customization". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (May 8, 2019). "Browse with full color: Vivaldi browser enables Razer Chroma". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (June 20, 2019). "Vivaldi browser blocks abusive ads, improves profile management and more". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (August 21, 2019). "Vivaldi 2.7 : Bring more productivity to your day". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (September 19, 2019). "Vivaldi 2.8: Inspires new desktop and mobile experiences". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (October 31, 2019). "Vivaldi 2.9: Adding more to the Vivaldi Menu". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (December 19, 2019). "Vivaldi 2.10: No strings attached". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (February 12, 2020). "Vivaldi 2.11 improves Pop-out video". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (April 22, 2020). "One day. Two big Vivaldi browser releases". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (June 11, 2020). "Vivaldi introduces a full-page Notes Manager and configurable menus to its browser for computers". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (August 5, 2020). "Vivaldi adds mute button to Pop Out Video on Desktop". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (August 5, 2020). "Vivaldi releases minor update to address bug where browser would fail to load using certain locales". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (October 15, 2020). "Three Cheers to Vivaldi 3.4: a powerful and fun version arrives". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (March 17, 2021). "Vivaldi fires up performance". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (April 29, 2021). "Vivaldi crumbles cookie dialogs, raises the bar on privacy and design". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (June 9, 2021). "Vivaldi 4.0: Vivaldi Translate and betas of Vivaldi Mail, Calendar and Feed Reader are here". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (July 28, 2021). "Vivaldi unlocks full versatility with Accordion Tabs and Command Chains". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (September 15, 2021). "Vivaldi translates selected text into a selection of languages, more privately". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (October 7, 2021). "Big update alert: Vivaldi says no to Google Idle API, improves Capture, Download Panel, Sync, adds 68 new languages to Translate, and more". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ von Tetzchner, Jon (December 2, 2021). "Vivaldi 5.0: Announcing Shareable Themes, Translate Panel with automatic translations, and more". Vivaldi Technologies.
- ^ Lardinois, Frederic (March 8, 2015). "Vivaldi Is Quickly Becoming The Alternative Browser To Beat". TechCrunch.
- ^ Brinkmann, Martin (June 2, 2015). "Latest Vivaldi snapshot introduces interface scaling". Ghacks. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
- ^ a b Frederic, Lardinois (July 16, 2015). "Vivaldi Browser Gets New Customization Options, Mouse Gestures And Experimental Chrome Extension Support". TechCrunch. AOL Inc. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
- ^ "Ad Blocker – fast and free, no extensions needed".
- ^ "Mail | an email client built into your browser | Vivaldi".
- ^ "Feed Reader | Read feeds from the sources you choose | Vivaldi".
- ^ "Calendar | Manage private and shared calendars | Vivaldi".
- ^ "Translate | Private translation on desktop and Android | Vivaldi".
- ^ Williams, Owen (April 28, 2015). "Latest Vivaldi browser preview brings useful tab stacking feature and more". The Next Web.
- ^ Paul, Ian (April 28, 2015). "This is neat: You can stack and tile browser tabs in the Vivaldi beta browser for power users". PCWorld.
- ^ Clarke, Victor (January 27, 2015). "Vivaldi Browser: a Quick Look at the Opera Successor". hackerspace.lifehacker.com. LifeHacker. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
- ^ Williams, Owen (January 27, 2015). "Meet Vivaldi, a new browser from the former CEO of Opera". The Next Web.
- ^ Ødegaard, Ruarí (July 17, 2015). "Snapshot 1.0.228.3 – With Chromeless UI". Vivaldi Technologies. Archived from the original on April 2, 2016.
- ^ "MDN: Browser Extensions".
Extensions, or add-ons, can modify and enhance the capability of a browser. Extensions for Firefox are built using the WebExtensions API cross-browser technology. The technology for extensions in Firefox is, to a large extent, compatible with the extension API supported by Chromium-based browsers such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Opera. In most cases, extensions written for Chromium-based browsers run in Firefox with just a few changes.
- ^ Williams, Owen (July 16, 2015). "Sick of Chrome? Vivaldi can now run your favorite extensions". The Next Web. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
- ^ "Using Extensions in Vivaldi". Vivaldi Browser Help. January 29, 2016.
- ^ "Vivaldi 2.10: No strings attached". Vivaldi Technologies. December 19, 2019.
- ^ Gilbertson, Scott (April 28, 2016). "Even at 1.0, Vivaldi closes in on the cure for the common browser". Ars Technica. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
- ^ Gilbertson, Scott (October 19, 2018). "Vivaldi 2.0 review: The modern Web browser does not have to be so bland". Ars Technica. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
- ^ Brinkmann, Martin (January 30, 2018). "Vivaldi browser and privacy". Ghacks. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
External links[]
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