Google Chrome and Firefox still remain the most popular web browsers for Windows and Linux, but every so often I like to check out some of the alternatives.
Opera is one browser that I used many years ago, so I decided to install the latest version to see what's changed. Past experiences with Opera have been good, but not good enough for me to switch, but after using Opera for the last 15 days, the whole user experience has been great and is a very good alternative.
Installing Opera
If you want to try Opera yourself on Ubuntu or Ubuntu based distributions, download the latest .deb file from the Opera website on the link below https://www.opera.com/
Once downloaded cd to the directory of the download and then enter the following command in the terminal to install the .deb package
sudo dpkg -i opera-stable_83.0.4254.27_amd64.deb
Once installed you can launch Opera from your main menu.
Here is a small rundown of the things I like about Opera
Side Panel
Sometimes these things can get in the way of your browsing experience, especially if your using a smaller screen. I'm not feeling that with this side panel, and having access to the things I use the most instead of going through menus at the top saves time. The side panel is also very easy to customise.
Extensions
One thing I like about Opera are the extensions. You don't need to be signed in to install extensions, and once installed this is added to the Side Panel. You don't need to go hunting around finding out how to activate it.
General Settings
Over the years as more improvements have been made to the browsers, the number of settings on these browsers have grown, which has made them harder to navigate and find individual settings. Opera seem to have some time thinking about the usability here, and all the settings can be found on one page.
General Performance
Performance has been on par with the other browsers and actually better on some websites. I get slightly better performance using YouTube
How to completely remove Opera
If Opera isn't for you, to completely remove it from Ubuntu or Ubuntu based distribution enter the following command
sudo dpkg -r opera-stable
To make sure nothing is left behind, you also need to remove the Opera folders in the following directories
/home/username/.config
/home/username/.cache.
.config and .cache are hidden folders which can be found under your home directory.
To view them select View >> Show Hidden Files in your file manager, or press CTRL + H on your keyboard
When you installed Opera, it may have asked if you would like to update Opera to the latest version when you update your system. If you did request this, then you need to remove Opera from the sources list.
