New browser Chrome 76 has a number of new features

(July 30)Google has now released Chrome 76 browser in stable form with several new features that users should know about. The last big feature was dark mode introduced in Chrome 73 and carried over into Chrome 74 and 75.

Adobe Flash will be blocked by default

For several years Adobe Flash has been blocked by major browsers in one way or another even though it is not truly dead until 2020. In Chrome 76, Flash is blocked by default. You can still access Flash as explained in a recent article: "The Chrome 76 beta by default blocks Flash in the browser. However, users still have the option [chrome://settings/content/flash] to switch back to the current “Ask first” option — where explicit permission is required for each site after every browser restart — for several more releases."

Incognito mode

Another new feature is that websites will no longer be able to detect when your browser is in Incognito Mode. This new feature of incognito mode will cause problems for publishers such as the New York Times that use the detection schemes to keep you from reading an infinite number of free stories and guide you into paying for a subscription.

Dark Mode

An enhancement for dark mode is that web developers can program their sites to automatically serve up a dark version of their website when it sees your dark mode browser. Techopedia explains dark mode: "“Dark mode” in IT refers to user interfaces that work to decrease light output by changing the way that information is presented on the screen. Specifically, IT pros use the term “dark mode” to talk about light text showing up on a dark screen background." IT means "information technology".

Other new changes can be found at Google's Chromium blog post. Chrome is by far the most popular browser with over 69 percent of desktop browser and 60 percent of mobile browsers.

Previously published in the Digital Journal

Upcoming Chrome browser will block unwanted redirects

Starting with a new version of Chrome in 2018 the Google browser will stop annoying redirects from a website to another page that you did not expect or want.

When you are navigating to a particular web page and then suddenly your browser jumps to a different page in what is called a redirect this is annoying and often something the original website target did not want to happen.

Chrome 64 that is now being tested and is expected to be released early next year will block that kind of redirect.

Google product manager Ryan Schoen said in a blog post: "We've found that this redirect often comes from third-party content embedded in the page, and the page author didn't intend the redirect to happen at all." Chrome will inform you of its blocking action.

When you click on a link, sometimes the website will open in a new tab while the existing tab displays a page you did not request. Chrome 65 which is to be released a few weeks after Chrome 64 will prevent this from happening.

Already ad blockers are available for browsers as add ons and Chrome plans to incorporate what they call an ad filter in their browser early next year.

The Ad Blocker extension to Chrome can be downloaded here as well as other places. Apparently the blocker works on Safari the Apple browser as well. I am using it on the Vivaldi browser. One can unblock a sites' ads should you wish.

According to browser analytics firm StatCounter, Chrome is by far the global leader in browser use with 54.75 percentage worldwide at the end of October. Safari was used by 14.54 percent globally. UC browser common in developing countries had a 7.8 percent share. Firefox was at 6.08 percent. Even Opera was ahead of the once dominant Internet Explorer(IE) at 3.89 percent compared to 3.74. Edge the replacement for IE was even lower.

Chrome 64 will also block automatically playing videos that have audio as does the new version of Apple's Safari browser. The ad blocker is already available as an extension to Chrome as discussed in a recent Digital Journal article. An add on is also available for the browser Opera.

The changes to Chrome are part of Google's ongoing efforts to make websites filled with ads more bearable. The changes will be rolled out gradually and are expected to be released to everyone in the first few months of next year.

Google will be working with the Coalition for Better Ads that includes other tech giants as well as social media groups so it will not be making decisions on its own without considering the views of others.

New version of Vivaldi browser worth a try

There are many good browsers available with the main ones being Firefox, Chrome, the new Edge for Windows 10 and the older Internet Explorer that Edge replaces. There is also Safari for Apple's Mac computers. All are free.

The newest version of Vivaldi does a good job of competing with these big names in browsers.

Version 1.12 has added instant access to image properties, advanced download information, and the ability to tone down a websites' colors if you wish. The additions are reviewed in this article.

Vivaldi is a relatively new browser with version 1.0 coming out in April of 2016. Jon von Tetzchner, an Icelandic businessman who was at one time closely associated with the browser Opera, is one of several important figures behind the development of Vivaldi.

Digital Journal has a recent review of Vivaldi 1.11. There is also an article on the earlier version of Vivaldi in Digital Journal in March of this year.

On my main computers I have downloaded Firefox, Chrome and Opera, also a fine browser but not as popular as the major browsers. I also downloaded Vivaldi. I was using Chrome on both of my main computers as it seems to work well on all the sites i visit and functions well, composing and copying for my blog and Digital Journal. From time to time when an issue arises I just try another browser. I have used Opera in the past and tried Vivaldi as well. However, both Opera and Vivaldi had difficulties in some situations while Chrome worked everywhere.

However, I downloaded Vivaldi 1.12 and it has performed flawlessly on every task so I have made it the default browser on one of my computers. One advantage of Vivaldi over Edge or Safari is that it is available for use on all main operating systems including Linux. While Chrome works fine there are many features of Vivaldi that I like.

Although VIvaldi is often claimed to be for power users, it is not difficult to use and can be customized to suit your particular needs. Vivaldi is based on technology used to build Google Chrome. Extensions available from Google store will work on Vivaldi.

Vivaldi is entirely open source. Tatsuki Tomita, Chief Operating Officer of Vivaldi said in an interview about the earlier version: “We’re a startup, and there’s no reason for anybody to use yet another browser if it looks the same as the others and works the same way. So, we’re focusing on users who want more out of the browsing experience.”

Right from the start there are clear choices given to you when setting up. You have your choice of many themes and colors and where you want your tabs to appear. You can always change them in the Settings menu afterwards if you don't like them or want new ones. You can do more with tabs than in any other browser even being able to stack them. There is a very helpful video that walks you through downloading and setting up Vivaldi.

The site for downloading the most recent version of Vivaldi can be found here.

Internet Explorer still number one but in decline

 Many analysts think that eventually Mozilla's Firefox browser might one day overtake the long time leader Internet Explorer. However according to data from Stats Counter Chrome is now in second place but another company's data still have Firefox in the second position. Both companies show Internet Explorer in decline. The article with graphs can be found here
    The Stats Counter figures show Internet Explorer (IE) declining from 46 % to begin 2011 to 38.65 per cent at the end. This is barely 11 per cent above Google Chrome. Chrome went from 15.68 per cent at the start of 2011 to 27.27 at the end. Firefox also declined from 30.68 per cent to 25.27 per cent.
    The numbers at NetMarketShare were rather different. According to their figures IE went from 56 per cent to 47.76 per cent. Firefox went from 22.75 per cent to 20.09 per cent. Chrome as in Stats Counter figures showed a sharp increase from 10.7 per cent to 17.58 per cent.
   Given the trends in both sets of figures it would seem that Chrome could threaten IE's long held first place position. We have three computers. On two we use Chrome and on one IE. I have tried to use Firefox on this Acer computer with Vista and it refused to install properly every time I downloaded it. People I know who use it say that it is an excellent browser. IE is on an old laptop computer with XP that I just bought and use  to play stuff on the TV from the Internet. It seems improved from earlier versions that led me to adopt  Chrome.
  Statistics are kept on my blogs about the browsers used by people who visit. IE is almost always at the top and Firefox next. Chrome is usually third but at times Opera takes third place. The Apple Safari system is usually behind Opera. Several people also use the museum piece Netscape which has long been abandoned by everyone else! Perhaps odd people read my blogs!
    In operating systems according to my blog statistics Microsoft Windows systems run at about 90 per cent with Linux next and then the Apple system. More mobile phone and tablet systems are appearing such as Android.