Vivaldi offers users a 'break' from browsing. No, don't switch to Chrome... don't sw..

Browser maker Vivaldi has made the bold claim that its latest release will allow users to "pause the internet." Alas, its new "Break Mode" only applies to the browser itself. The rest of the desktop will keep on rocking as if nothing had happened. Thus "unplug from continuous work" only really applies if that continuous work …

[Cronus]

I really don't see the point of this feature. If you need a break, just minimise or close the window.

[Anonymous Coward]

No rational person needs this but the idiots who have to be told to take a break might benefit . . . but they'll just switch to Facebook.

[logicalextreme]

As a Vivaldi fanhyooman, I agree. I don't think the average Vivaldi user is going to have many intrusive pages open.

[a_yank_lurker]

At best it seems like a niche feature that will be useful for a few. For most closing the browser when not needing it seems like a better idea.

[mdava]

I disagree - I much prefer Vivaldi's approach - ad-blocking built in, mouse-gestures, tab-stack, tab-preview, side-panels and probably lots more that I use all the time but don't remember now.

[logicalextreme]

What are your sources for the spyware claim? And what's the problem with adopting the values of arguably the most innovative browser that ever existed?

My only real gripe with Vivaldi is that it isn't open-source. I know that that can be a cause for concern when it comes to trusting something that you're going to be putting passwords and card details into, but for the moment my trust's in them because of the ex-Opera folx running the show.

[First Light]

Not safe for travel

I think the concept is a good one, people do tend to get lost in browsing. However, I would hate to lose a good fare or hotel room deal because my browser conked out at the wrong moment.

[JDPower]

Re: Not safe for travel

Unlikely given it'll only 'conk out' if you press the 'conk out' button. And then you could just re-press the conk out button to unconk anyway.

[Hubert Cumberdale]

Hmm

"It pauses audio/video that's playing ... hides pop-out video, mutes tabs and hides the content in Vivaldi."

Sounds more like a good ol' boss key to me. Might also be useful in a household situation if you wanted to make sure a significant other didn't catch you, erm, buying a gift for them. Yes, that's it. Surprise shopping. Exactly what Private Browsing is used for. All the time.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Hmm

Except you now have to explain to your boss why you have been sitting in front of a blank browser, smirking, for the past 15mins

It's on a par with chocolate fireguards and Edge's "you appear to be offline. would you like to play a game rather than crawl under your desk tracing the ethernet cable"

[logicalextreme]

Re: Hmm

Decreased Productivity for me. Works fine in Vivaldi.

[RM Myers]

"Decreased productivity"

Isn't decreasing productivity the browser's job? Do you really need an extension also?

What, it isn't really intended to decrease productivity? But the name says ...

[Terje]

May have some niche use

While I don't see myself using this feature a lot, i can think of reasons to use it, if you have some reference stuff you need to check once in a while on one monitor and doing something constructive on the other, I have had times when instead of a distracting second monitor with animated adds and other stuff a simple white page would be less distracting while still leaving it on top and available without finding the right minimised browser window.

Btw I do recommend Vivaldi as a browser.

[druck]

Re: May have some niche use

...such as when your boss kindly asks you to take a break from the browser for a couple of minutes - to do some bloody work!

[Moonrunner]

I am a happy Vivaldi user. I really don't see why I'd want to switch to Chrome. The reason I used Opera, until they became more Chrome-like and got on the Vivaldi bandwagon was that I wanted a powerful and customisable browser, instead of a dumbed down user experience that Chrome and other Chrome-like browsers offer. I probably won't be using this feature other than when I'm in a meeting and don't want sound notifications from certain IM service's web client.

[Lee D]

Paid Opera user from 3.5 up till 12.

I gave up on them when they just removed the email client, and then changed their custom web engine for another-Chrome-a-like.

Went with Vivaldi because that looked like the thing to do.

They ditched the mail-client (even though one preview accidentally included it!) too. So now I have a Chrome-a-like where the only setting I really change are cosmetic (e.g. removing that ridiculous "Start Page" junk) and hotkey (I like Ctrl-N for new tab, not new window).

I regularly question why I bother. It's just Chrome. But they make all the same mistakes as Opera did (and they are the same programmers!) - forcing a custom user-agent and then realising it just breaks lot of websites and reverting it in the next release.

But they've changed the application icon no less than FOUR TIMES since they started Vivaldi, each time listing it in the changelog like it's some marvellous advancement.

To be honest, Vivaldi is just another-Chrome that I use to save me running Chrome and Chrome Private Window, so I can have two different Google Drive etc. sign-ins simultaneously.

Each day I use it, I question more why I do.

[logicalextreme]

I think the actual interface of the window can be changed in all the ways I was used to in Opera. I never saw any issues as a result of the user agent string, though I'd hope that's less of a thing now if they're just using Chrome's.

They do do a lot of fluff that doesn't seem particularly useful when so many people want a mail client, but it's a hundred times nicer to use than Chrome in every way that I can think of — I've got more information displayed in my configuration than Chrome, still with more screen space devoted to actually displaying the webpage.

[Doctor Syntax]

"But they've changed the application icon no less than FOUR TIMES since they started Vivaldi, each time listing it in the changelog like it's some marvellous advancement."

A sure sign marketing is in charge.

If you want a combined browser/mail (and more) client, try SeaMonkey. Add in Lightning and Lightbird if you want to include a calendar function.

[John Savard]

Voluntary

Since this is a feature you have to choose to turn on, most people will just ignore its very existence.

That it might be helpful to some people who want a reminder to take an occasional break, however, is not something I can really dispute. Certainly, the intentions of Vivaldi's developers in providing this feature were good.

But I think that many other features would have been more useful.

[Pascal Monett]

Don't you just love it ?

Another group of holier-than-thou telling you how to manage your life. A pause button in a browser, really ?

Because you think I need you to tell me to step away from the keyboard every now and then ?

Why don't you step away from your keyboard and go and think of something actually useful like, I dunno, an ad blocker that works despite Google's best attempts, or better cookie control and privacy safeguards that don't depend on the good will of the site you're visiting ?