Yandex.Browser - Beta

[danielson]

Originally Posted by deya

No problem.

I've never had so many extensions enabled in a browser before - I started to hyperventilate at one point

Over the years i've easily accumulated over 20 (if not 30) of them on Firefox.
At least "confliction" stories between them (on any browser) has diminished considerably over the years.

[deya]

Yes, just joking, each to their own and if people add fifty extensions to a browser then that's up to them. I prefer to keep them to a minimum, but then that's just me.

I think it's not a bad idea to have the ten built-in extensions on this browser, some of them are useful ones, and popular.

[danielson]

Keeping them to a minimum is a wise thing to do.

Not sure i like having two adblockers setup by default and then, not having the option to remove either. Adguard was already my favorite.

[brotherwilber]

Originally Posted by deya

I'm using the new look Yandex browser - still in Beta at the moment so take that into consideration. It has a redesigned user interface, minimalistic, but it also has features that allow you to put your own mark on the browser.

http://browser.yandex.com/future/

The browser has a start page that allows you to add favourite Websites in the form of tiles, a Tableau, like a speed dial, and has a smart search box at the top. The browser tabs are displayed at the bottom of the window. The new look does give the feel of more page space, it's very neat looking.

Settings and features are accessed from a menu icon at the top right of the window, and from there you can go about setting the browser up to your liking - Chrome style.

Yandex comes with ten pre-installed extension, although not activated, so you can choose which ones you want to use. WOT, Adguard, Lastpass, Evernote are there, as well as Turbo, which is Opera Turbo and can be set to your liking. You can also add many other extensions, should you wish to, from the Opera Extensions site - so, no WebStore. Once activated the extension icons are displayed at top right of the browser window.

Mouse gestures are built into the browser and work well. There's also a built in translator which is very good, translates whole pages or even the site. It also lets you translate highlighted single words or sentences. Another useful feature, if you're reading a page and are scrolling down, clicking on the tab will automatically send you back to the top of the page. Click it again and the page scrolls back down to where you were before. Can't recall coming across this before - maybe some other browsers do it.

The new Yandex is no heavier or lighter on resources than other Chromium type browsers, and for a Beta it's very stable. Hasn't crashed once on me yet. But just a note of caution. Some of the start page images (you can change them) are animated and so you may get high CPU when they're running. If this is the case then you can click them to stop the annimation running - like pausing and starting a video. But just be aware of that if you try it.

I'm still kind of discovering things as I go along with it. There's a good help page here if you need it;

http://help.yandex.com/newbrowser/

... it can also be accessed via the menu icon - Advanced - Help Centre. It's very informative and easy to understand.

I haven't had the time to try many different browsers over the past few months, too many other commitments, but I have the time in the next few weeks so I'm trying a few out now. This, Yandex, is one of the best I've tried so far. It's very good - if you like the new look thing. It's different, that's for sure, but in a good way. There are similarities in Yandex from other browsers, kind of mixed together to give the browser some very nice touches.

If you're interested it's well worth a try. The usual geographics of it all - Yandex is a Russian browser, so ...... you either do or you don't.

From what I've seen of it so far they've created a really nice, modern Web browser.

Write up on the Yandex Company Blog, here;

http://company.yandex.com/press_cent...try.xml?pid=65

I mentioned this on the Maxthon Nitro thread but thought it best to give it a thread of its own.

deya
I must say I enjoyed your review it was very informative, you made excellent points and good tips with helpful links. I had a question yandex related particularly the the start page that are not in english, I know it is a russian browser I read that. I mean I tried to change the browser main language to english yet, I keep getting pages in russian. if you know of a feature I can use or lik that will help I would really would appreciate it,thanks.

[brotherwilber]

danielson
I think an extra add blocker as a back up if the other for some odd reason stops you don't have to install you just turn it on. It also saved you some time. I just learned this browser noticed my browser struggling to load the page graphics so, it only loaded some graphics with the option to load all if you wished to, nice consideration.

[danielson]

Originally Posted by brotherwilber

danielson
I think an extra add blocker as a back up if the other for some odd reason stops you don't have to install you just turn it on...

I suppose turning it off doesn't do any harm either.

Looking around, most Chrome based browsers have some extension or other annoyances added on by default (Slimjet for example: has mouse gestures but also bookmarks in toolbar to eBay, Amazon etc.).

Moves like these remind me of the "Hello" and "Pocket" extensions recently added to Firefox by the brains at Mozilla. All of which could be handy for newcomers but an annoyance (akin to useless toolbars) for established "geeks".

[deya]

Hello brotherwilbur, just to clarify;

1. Are you saying that the version of Yandex you have installed is Russian, meaning the language that the browser displays when looking at settings etc. is Russian?

2. Are you saying that you are using the English version of the browser displaying settings etc in English, but you are getting Russian pages in your search results while using the default search/start page?

[danielson]

Just installed latest Yandex and it is at 15.10.2454.3865

Really like the new icon!
They seem to have done away with their transparency style of viewing pages.
Feels more like an Opera/Chrome clone now.

Gradually appearing extension icons issue seems to be resolved.

[danielson]

15.12.2490.3614 beta is latest.
Me bad!

Had done a search via Opera and it had brought me to the previous version i guess.
Weird.

[deya]

Yes, 15.12.2490.3614 Beta is the latest version. Best to download it from their official site, that way you'll get the version that's in your language. If you use other download sites you'll sometimes get the Russian version - which is why I asked brotherwilber the question.

The default start/search page in the English version is Russian for some reason, you have to change it in settings - manage search engines, or you'll get Russian pages in your search results. Also, the Russian entry of the search engine cannot be deleted, unlike the others. And I suspect that was what brotherwilber was referring to.