Vivaldi 5.6 launches with Mastodon integration

[harlan4096]

Vivaldi 5.6 Stable was released today. The new version of the Vivaldi web browser integrates Mastodon and stacked tab pinning, and includes a redesigned Settings page and security updates as well.



Vivaldi 5.6 is available already. Existing users may select Vivaldi Menu > Help > Check for Updates to run a manual check for browser updates. Any update found during the scan is downloaded and installed automatically. New users may point their browsers to the Vivaldi homepage to download the latest browser version from there.

Vivaldi 5.6Vivaldi 5.6 includes a redesigned Settings page. All Settings are still available, but the team has added colors and icons to each category to improve accessibility.



A new preference is available under Appearance to restore monochrome colors in the Settings.

Vivaldi 5.6 introduces an option to pin tab stacks. The browser's tab stacking functionality gives users more choice than any other browser. The new feature may be used to pin an entire tab stack on the tab bar. It is an option that is displayed when users right-click on a tab stack.

You can check out my full review of tab stack pinning in Vivaldi from October 2022.

Another new feature of Vivaldi 5.6 brings support for connecting to Mastodon. Mastodon is a popular decentralized social network that has grown significantly in the past weeks. Mastodon promises social interactions without data profiling or user tracking.

Mastodon is displayed as an icon in Vivaldi's sidebar. A click opens it next to the active website. Vivaldi Social opens by default.

Vivaldi offers better interface customization options than most other browsers. Panels, the sidebar of the browser on which Mastodon, mail and websites are placed, has joined the ranks of other editable toolbars in the browser. Basically, what it allows users to do is move icons around. It is now possible, for example, to move extension icons on the panels toolbar.

Vivaldi supports a new search engine choice. The company has added the You search engine to the browser, which users may select from the available search engines. You is available for users in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Germany right now.

The full changelog lists fixes and smaller changes to the browser. Mail and calendar components have received a large number of fixes and improvements, among them the ability to create local accounts.

One important change is the upgrading of Chromium, the core that Vivaldi shares with Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge and other browsers, to version 108.

Now You: have you tried Vivaldi recently? What is your take on this new release?
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