boot13Opera’s latest release is version 37.0.2178.54. The new version includes a few bug fixes related to the new pop-out video feature, as well as some security updates by way of a new version of the Chromium browser engine. The full change log provides additional details.
All posts by jrivett
Vivaldi: not ready to replace Firefox
Well, I tried. I used Vivaldi as my main web browser for a month, and while there’s a lot to like, I found I had to change the way I work to get around its limitations and problems.
The biggest problem is Vivaldi’s inconsistent and confusing handling of links, bookmarks, and tabs. The Vivaldi developers have apparently failed to grasp that links should behave differently, depending on their context.
The bookmark editor is extraordinarily clunky, which is surprising, given that it should be a simple feature to code.
A lot of basic functionality that I take for granted in Firefox and other browsers is still missing from Vivaldi. Dragging and dropping bookmarks (eg. from the address bar to the bookmark sidebar) doesn’t work. Hovering the mouse over a bookmark doesn’t show the full URL. There’s no way to edit bookmarks directly in the bookmark toolbar. The right-click context menu for images doesn’t include a ‘Properties’ option. And so on.
Vivaldi’s developers seem to be aware of these issues, and have been working on them in developer ‘snapshot’ versions of the browser. I started using the snapshot versions in the hope that I’d get some relief from the problems I mentioned, but instead ran into even more problems.
Meanwhile, I’ve switched back to Firefox. I’m still optimistic about Vivaldi, but for now I’m only using it experimentally.
Latest Hard Drive reliability report from BackBlaze
Backblaze provides online backup services. The core of their service is an enormous collection of hard drives of various makes, capacities and models. Backblaze tracks the reliability of the hard drives in their systems, and publishes their findings yearly.
This year’s report shows that HGST (Hitachi) drives are still the most reliable, but also shows substantial improvement in Seagate drives over previous years.
Chrome 51.0.2704.63
It’s a new version of Chrome, and there are at least 42 good reasons to install it, namely the 42 security issues Chrome 51.0.2704.63 addresses.
The release announcement doesn’t mention any new features, so although the full change log is another massive, browser-killing abomination, I’m going to leave parsing it as an exercise for readers.
Ads in Windows 10 to increase in July
Microsoft recently announced that it will double the number of advertisements on the Start page in Windows 10 starting around July 2016. Does anyone still doubt that Microsoft’s long-term strategy is heavily focused on advertising? Or why Microsoft has been pushing people so hard to upgrade to Windows 10 its new advertising platform?
Relief for Windows 7 update headaches
As if in response to my recent post about the joys of updating new Windows 7 installs, Microsoft has just announced a solution. It’s effectively Service Pack 2 for Windows 7, but Microsoft is calling it the Windows 7 SP1 convenience rollup.
The new package will install all post-SP1 updates up to April 2016. After you install Windows 7 with Service Pack 1, you need only install the April 2015 servicing stack update for Windows 7 (KB3020369), a prerequisite for the rollup, then install the rollup, then install any updates published after April 2016.
I haven’t yet tried the new rollup, but it’s difficult to imagine how it could fail to be an improvement.
Microsoft also plans to provide monthly non-security update rollups for Windows 7 and 8.1.
Windows 10 Insider Preview build 14342
I’ve been running build 14342 for a few days now on my test PC. I haven’t experienced any new problems, and it seems to have resolved at least one annoying networking problem left over from the previous build.
What’s New in Build 14342
User Account Control prompts now look different, but their functionality hasn’t changed. There are enhancements for Microsoft Edge, and improvements for the new BASH shell integration. A new setting, Settings > System > Apps for websites doesn’t work yet, but will in the future allow you to designate an app to open specific web sites. The Feedback Hub was also improved in this build.
Build 14342 contains fixes for numerous issues in previous builds, including problems with media playback, Cortana, displays, login, the user interface, apps, location, and anti-virus software compatibility.
Interestingly, the Wi-Fi Sense feature has been disabled. There’s been a lot of debate about the security of this feature since Windows 10 was released. Microsoft says the feature was disabled because nobody was using it. The Verge has more about this, as does Brian Krebs.
Vivaldi 1.1.453.59
The release notes for Vivaldi 1.1.453.59 aren’t exactly overflowing with information. The current version is only referenced in the page URL, while previous versions are listed below, in a series of rather confusingly-titled and somewhat redundant sections that all look like this:
Changelog since 1.1, the fourth release.
Parsing what information is available, I concluded that this version was released to fix one security vulnerability: [Security] Address bar spoofing using HTTP status code 204/205.
It’s a security update, so if Vivaldi is your browser of choice, you should navigate to Help > Check for Updates... on the Vivaldi menu.
Chrome 50.0.2661.102
50.0.2661.102 is the latest version of Chrome, and it includes fixes for five security issues, as well as about thirty other minor changes. See the full change log for details.
Flash zero-day fixed
The Flash zero-day vulnerability we reported a couple of days ago has been fixed. Anyone who uses Flash in a web browser should make sure they’re running version 21.0.0.242.
As usual, Internet Explorer in Windows 8.1 and 10 will receive the new version via Windows Update, and Google Chrome will update itself automatically.