Otter Browser Beta 8 has been released

Otter Browser Beta 8 brings the open source browser one step closer to a final release. The new version introduces new features and improvements to the web browser.

The Otter web browser project was launched in January 2014 as a response to Opera Software's decision to restart the Opera web browser by discontinuing the company's own Presto engine.

Opera Software's decision turned a once feature-rich web browser into a streamlined basic browser based on Chromium/Blink. The move disillusioned many Opera users at that time and while things have gotten better in terms of functionality, it is fair to say that the new Opera browser is nowhere near the feature-richness of the old Presto-based Opera.

Otter Browser is a non-commercial project which explains the relative slow progress made since the first release back in 2014.

The project is still in beta at the end of 2015 and plans indicate that there will be at least two additional beta releases in 2016 before the first stable release.

That does not mean that the web browser is not stable right now, but it does not come close to the old Opera's functionality just yet.

In addition, core browser features such as a password manager or better control over cookies are not yet integrated.

The new beta release of the Otter Browser brings the project one step closer to a final release. The new version introduces important features to the browser.

New core features include address bar improvements, and here specifically suggestions based on bookmarks and the browsing history.

The mouse gestures system has been improved in this version, and you find configuration modules for mouse gestures and download handlers as well now.

Otter Browser Beta 8 ships with a SSL certificate viewer, support for popup window policies, FTP listing support, and a new website information dialog.

If you check the browser's to-do list on the project's GitHub web page, you will immediately realize the high aims of it.

The developers plan to add support for Firefox and Chrome API extensions, a mail client, support for Opera skins, an Instant messenger client, and a BitTorrent module.

For the first final release, plans are underway to add a password manager, spell checking, a feed reader, user scripts support, and tab grouping support among other things.

The Otter Browser is not the only web browser that tries to revive the classic Opera web browser. There is Vivaldi for instance which shares similar goals and also the new Opera browser which seems to come around as well by re-introducing some features of classic Opera.

Closing Words

While the Otter Browser may not be ready yet for use as a main browser due to the lack of features, it will be interesting to see if the developers will manage to integrate the features listed on the project's to-do list..