Notices by Jon S. von Tetzchner (jon@social.vivaldi.net)

10 years since first Vivaldi Technical Preview. If you have not joined us already, how about now?

https://vivaldi.com/blog/ten-years-of-making-new-friends-by-building-a-browser-for-you-not-big-tech/

Facebook did not have an over-censorship problem. Facebook main problem was that its algorithms promote hate speech and disinformation, lately with the addition of inauthentic content. Fighting that through fact-checking is always going to be an uphill battle.

This is the reason I believe that content algorithms have no place in social media and that user profiling should be banned. Spreading misinformation and hate speech is a lot harder without the amplification algorithms.

https://mastodon.social/@eff/113789440544631242

#Meta #Facebook #Mastodon #Twitter #X #Misinformation @eff

iOS 18.2 is out!

As part of the release, you should be seeing a choice screen in Europe. I hope you will be making Vivaldi your default browser from now on, if it is not already!

The way Apple have implemented this, you will only see the choice screen when starting Safari and only when Safari is the default.

I hope the rest of the world will be given the same choice soon.

I have been competing with Microsoft for 30 years and one thing they have never done is to play fair. There is a reason why we are joining with others to get this right.

This is an article I wrote 3 years ago:

https://vivaldi.com/blog/microsoft-back-to-its-old-tricks-to-get-an-edge-on-the-competition/

#Microsoft #Edge #Windows #Competition #Computer #Linux #Vivaldi

At @Vivaldi we love the Fediverse!

More and more are joining. I urge you all to help your friends join as well!

https://vivaldi.com/blog/social-web-foundation-launches-supported-by-vivaldi/

#fediverse #Mastodon #Twitter #BlueSky #Facebook #Computer #Mozilla

Are you still just using Webmail? Time to take a step away from Big Tech and start using Vivaldi Mail, built into the Vivaldi web browser!

https://vivaldi.com/blog/desktop/desktop-releases/vivaldi-on-desktop-6-8/

#Windows #macos #Linux #Mail #Calendar #Thunderbird

Obviously, if you are one of those that has not tried Vivaldi yet, why not give it a try?

https://vivaldi.com

Do people want AI in their browsers?

If the survey I did on Mastodon is anything to go by, most people do not.

2% Want AI in their browser.
25% Want AI in their browser, if their data is not used for other purposes, such as ads and profiling.
73% Do not want AI in their browser at all.

575 entered the poll.

A lot of browser companies are now pushing AI in their browsers.

I guess the 2% have a lot of browsers to choose between.

#browser #Vivaldi #Android #Windows #macos #Linux #Ios #Computer

Congress in the US has banned Copilot for security reasons. I would take it further. Really the way Windows is coded now, it is a significant security problem. The idea that it is unclear whether you are using local data or online data is unacceptable.

This includes:

- Login. Login should be local. You are not logging into a service. You are logging into a computer. The service should be separate from the computer.

- Copilot. Clearly another case where you may not realize that you are sharing data by asking a question.

- OneDrive. Another case where local data is backed up in the cloud, without active actions by you as a user. Backup is great, but you should have to explicitly enable it and there should be a warning that your data may be scanned.

- Windows. In reality even Windows is now a problem given the login issue and any tracking that is happening.

Online cloud services can be great, but one should never be forced into online services or lured into them. Any computer should work fine without having to use OS online services, except basic services, like updates and the like.

#Windows #Linux #Microsoft

https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-congress-bans-staff-use-microsofts-ai-copilot-axios-reports-2024-03-29/

There is a lot of reasons to love Mastodon and the Fediverse. One of them is the lack of algorithmic content. It does take a bit longer to get going and build up content providers, but not having a feed full of crap is all worth it!

It is time to invite more of your friends to join us. Invite to your current server or you can invite them to Vivaldi Social! Help them get going. They will thank you!

#Vivaldi #Mastodon #fediverse

We at @Vivaldi continue to be the only browser company all in on Mastodon and the Fediverse.

We have made our own instance, Vivaldi Social. Any user that has a Vivaldi account for sync or other services, can easily enable a presence on Vivaldi Social.

We have integrated Mastodon as a Web panel into Vivaldi.

We include links to Vivaldi Social into Vivaldi.

We also work on integrating our blogs and forums into the Fediverse.

We hope others will follow. Mozilla has talked a lot and we hope they will join us fully soon.

#Vivaldi #browser #Mozilla #Linux #Windows #Android #iOS #Macos #fediverse #Mastodon

One of my favorite @Vivaldi features on computers is single key keyboard shortcuts. This feature is turned off by default, but once enabled, you can perform functions with a single key.

Here are a few shortcuts:

Z - back
X - forward
9 - zoom out 10%
0 - zoom in 10%
6 - reset zoom
WASD - spatial navigation

This is an advanced feature, so only enable if you love using the keyboard!

#browser #Windows #Mac #Linux #Desktop #Computer

Vivaldi on iOS also get a significant update. Custom colors and dark mode. Plenty of cool improvements to play with!

https://vivaldi.com/blog/vivaldi-on-ios-6-6/

#ios #iphone #Ipad #Vivaldi #browser #Mobile

The new @Vivaldi office in Seltjarnarnes, Iceland.

The default number of options in a survey in #Mastodon is 4. I love doing surveys, but I was running into this limit a lot and those answering the survey often complained about their favorite option not being there.

Thus we have decided to extend the number of options to 8 in Vivaldi Social.

Enjoy!

#Vivaldi

All the cool cars get @Vivaldi .

https://vivaldi.com/blog/renault-5-makes-an-electric-comeback-now-with-the-integrated-vivaldi-browser/

It started with the question and answer :

Question : Do you know how Norwegians fill out their tax returns?
Answer : They don´t.

Then the survey:
Does your country provide you with a pre-filled tax return for you to rectify and modify?

45% yes.
55% no.

This was, however, not the full story. There was a lot of people that then gave me more details, which was very interesting.

Countries that have a pre-filled tax return, based on replies:

- Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, France, Spain, Netherlands, Poland, Italy, Greece, UK, Romania, Portugal, Austria, Estonia, Lithuania, Germany, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa

Countries that do not have a pre-filled tax return:

- USA
- Canada

People that have pre-filled tax returns seem really happy about it! What a big surprise...😀

People that have to do the hard work to fill out their tax return seem generally unhappy about it and wish they did not have to and it was automatic.

Some of those having to fill out their tax returns made the case that the automatic system is easy in a small country, but it seems like it is possible in countries like Germany, France, Italy, Spain and India and I think most would agree that those are large countries with plenty of complexities to deal with!

Lets hope things improve soon in the US and Canada!

Question : Do you know how Norwegians fill out their tax returns?
Answer : They don´t.

This is an oversimplification, but years ago Norwegians started to get pre-filled tax returns in the mail. Later they stopped getting them, but instead had to do an OK online. Now even that is not needed. No comment means it is is OK. You can rectify and modify details online, if needed.

The reality is that the government already had most of the data needed for most individuals. Your salary is reported by the company you work for. Your bank details, including anything you have in your accounts, any loans, stocks, bonds, etc., is reported as well. Your kids are known as well. There might be details to add, but most is known. Why waste people´s time filling out details that are already known and risk people making mistakes?

When will the US get there?

The DMA is having an impact and the choice screen is coming! Soon you will be asked to select your browser of choice, when setting up a new phone or updating it. This only applies in the EU and Europe, at this time.

@Vivaldi will be there. On Android and on IOS.

Make sure to look for Vivaldi and make it your choice!

#Vivaldi #browser #Android #ios #DMA #EU

@EU_Commission

Soon it will be possible to run browsers on iOS that are not using Webkit. That is a big deal.

Apple is trying to frame it as dangerous.

Sadly it will only possible to run those browsers in the EU and browser makers need then to provide different browsers in the EU and outside. This requires more resources, which makes it harder for smaller developers.

Apple also wants developers to pay for the right to provide downloads from other app stores, which now become possible in the EU, and directly.

IMHO every user on an iPhone, as well as on any other device, should be allowed to run the browser of their choice!

#Apple #DMA #Regulation #Android #Windows #Linux