Vivaldi continues to grow steadily, as more people get to know us and the values we stand for. Our users are fed up with AI being shoved down their throat on every product, and they're fed up with the way the big corporations have been (mis)treating us all for decades.

We love building an alternative for all of you, because we truly believe you deserve better. But we wouldn't be here without your support, so if you're using Vivaldi: thank you!

We're now officially 4.5 million people. 🎉 Wouldn't it be amazing if we could make it to 5M before 2026 is over? 🙏

#Browser #NoAI #BigTech #European

If you would like to increase the cost of energy, oil, gas and electricity, what would you do? It is really all a game of supply and demand.

1. Reduce production of electricity. Stop wind, solar, hydro through bans, tarifs and reduction of incentives.
2. Create bottlenecks in the distribution of energy.
3. Create uncertainty in the energy markets.
4. Reduce incentives for EVs.

IMHO we need to do the opposite. We need to invest in wind, solar, hydro and various new technologies and we need to do it quickly.

We need to continue to move towards EVs at pace. f you are not driving an EV, remember to be thankful for those that do, as that reduces your gas prices, through supply and demand.

Oil has been ruining our planet in more ways than one. The sooner we stop relying on oil, the better.

#Politics #Technology #Markets

For a long time we have made our selves gradually more and more dependent on Big Tech. This applies when it comes to operating system, to browsers, to various services, to storage and now when it comes to AI.

More and more are realizing this was and is wrong.

You can take the first steps to be independent as a person or company. Obviously, given that you are here, you have already taken some steps. Here are some suggestions:

1. Switch browser... to Vivaldi. :)
2. Switch desktop OS. Personally I have switched to Linux. Currently running Kubuntu, Ubuntu and Zorin on different computers.
3. Switch mail service. Proton and Fastmail are good services, but there are others. Choose one that allows use of a mail client.
4. Switch calendar service. Most mail services also offer a calendar service.
5. Switch office package. Personally I use LibreOffice.
6. Switch Web conferencing software. Personally I use Whereby.
7. Switch search. Startpage, Ecosia, Qwant and DDG are great alternatives.

There are a lot of other great choices. The point is to start taking those steps away from Big Tech and Silicon Valley.

#Windows #Linux #Apple #MacOS #BigTech #Politics #Technology #Vivaldi

More and more sites are having to set up defenses from AI bots. It is costly to provide online services and they were not built for bots.

One can say that the AI companies are performing a global denial of service attack, which incurs costs to all of their competitors, as well as the rest of the Internet, while their own services can afford to withstand that load. The service owners are forced to perform costly operations to defend them selves, but also make the services worse for the users.

This is anti-competitive.

#AI #Regulation #Politics #BigTech

I am not a fan of gambling. Never have been. Personally I think most all gambling should be banned. Maybe with some limited exceptions.

What I am more than disgusted by is the so called prediction markets. That looks like the worst kind of gambling and marketed as just stats. TV channels, such as CNN, include gambling results from these companies as something equal to polling. Hidden marketing is a more accurate term.

There is also a lot of examples of people gambling on things they know the outcome of. Maybe not a big surprise with something like this.

Where are the regulators? Why is this allowed?

#PredictionMarkets #Scam #CNN #Politics

Seeing a lot more messages like this. Sometimes multiple times on the same site during the same session. Also seeing more geo blocking of sites.

The principle of the Web is in many ways global access, but that is eroding in some ways. AI is not helping there with harvesting of data. Too many bots.

#AI #Web #Vivaldi #BigTech @w3c

Today marks three years since we released Vivaldi for iOS. Hurray! We released Vivaldi on Android seven years ago. So what explains the iOS delay? Quite simply, Apple caused the delay. Here's a look at how we're working with other browsers and groups to liberate all platforms so you have the right to run the software you want on a device that you own. https://vivaldi.com/blog/ios/happy-3rd-birthday-vivaldi-on-ios/

RE: https://social.vivaldi.net/@brucelawson/117336112482208047

There is a choice for those that are fed up of Big Tech. There are great options out there. May I suggest you try @Vivaldi ?

#Vivaldi #Browser #Technology #BigTech #Politics

There are clearly many reasons why people are switching to Vivaldi. Interestingly, my little survey shows that the top reasons have more to do with our values than particular features.

The #1 reason (77%) is the fact that we do not have built in AI. #2 is that we do not build profiles on our users (67%). #3 is that we are made in Europe. #4 and #5 is that we do not build in Crypto currencies and the built in ad and tracker blocker.

We will continue to listen to our users. We have chosen a different path to our competitors and we continue to try to do the right thing.

Thank you for your support!

#Vivaldi #Browser #Windows #Macos #Linux #Android #iOS #Technology #EU #Politics #Europa #AI

There are clearly many reasons why people are switching to Vivaldi. Interestingly, my little survey shows that the top reasons have more to do with our values than particular features.

The #1 reason (77%) is the fact that we do not have built in AI. #2 is that we do not build profiles on our users (67%). #3 is that we are made in Europe. #4 and #5 is that we do not build in Crypto currencies and the built in ad and tracker blocker.

We will continue to listen to our users. We have chosen a different path to our competitors and we continue to try to do the right thing.

Thank you for your support!

#Vivaldi #Browser #Windows #Macos #Linux #Android #iOS #Technology #EU #Politics #Europa #AI

RE: https://social.vivaldi.net/@jon/117268959377151076

One day left of my little survey. Please let me know what you think!

More and more people are joining Vivaldi and there are many different reasons why. Which of these are important to you?

I am allowing multiple choices as I know for many of you it is not about one thing. Some of this is thing that we do, but I know for may it is also about things we do not do, such as including AI or Crypto currencies.

#Vivaldi #Browser #EU #Europa #Technology #AI #Politics #Windows #Macos #Linux #Mastodon #Fediverse

More and more people are joining Vivaldi and there are many different reasons why. Which of these are important to you?

I am allowing multiple choices as I know for many of you it is not about one thing. Some of this is thing that we do, but I know for may it is also about things we do not do, such as including AI or Crypto currencies.

#Vivaldi #Browser #EU #Europa #Technology #AI #Politics #Windows #Macos #Linux #Mastodon #Fediverse

There are consequences from lack of regulation.

IMHO we should have banned Crypto currencies. Most every expert warned about the consequences if we did not. Now we are dealing with Crypto companies, with plenty of cash on hand, buying crooked politicians as well.

We should have banned user profiling for ads and content algorithms. We did not and we live with the consequences to our societies and democracy.

Now the AI companies them selves, kind of like the social media companies, are asking to be regulated, as they seem unable to stop them selves. What to do?

#Politics #AI #Crypto #SocialMedia #SurveillanceCapitalism

Years ago I found this book on Amazon. It is fascinating that it even exists. A book from 1984 on how to control your home with the Timex Sinclair 1000, the sister computer of the Sinclair ZX81.

https://archive.org/details/control-things-with-your-timex-sinclair/mode/2up

ATTENTION! EXTENSIONS! Loads of you asked for extensions to be added to Vivaldi for Android. Nobody at all asked for LLMs to be integrated. At Vivaldi, we're not Big Tech. So we've implemented extensions, and added 0% A.I. to the browser. https://vivaldi.com/blog/vivaldi-on-mobile-8-2/

New @Vivaldi release on Android. This time we have added extension support!

Enjoy!

#Vivaldi #Browser #Android #EU #Europa #Norway #Iceland

https://vivaldi.com/blog/vivaldi-on-mobile-8-2/

New @Vivaldi release on Android. This time we have added extension support!

Enjoy!

#Vivaldi #Browser #Android #EU #Europa #Norway #Iceland

https://vivaldi.com/blog/vivaldi-on-mobile-8-2/

RE: https://w3c.social/@timbl/117208788570043139

Sir Tim is one of those people I only have the deepest respect for.

#Web #Innovation #Technology #W3C

As the global quest for better tech continues, we are still proud to be the European and AI-free browser alternative that puts users first.

Vivaldi 8.2 is already available for download with:

✨ More built-in functionality for an easier day-to-day browsing, including a local calculator in your Address Bar, and better PWA discoverability.

📢 The beginning of a new chapter, with the first Technical Preview of Vivaldi for enterprise.

#BigTech #DigitalSovereignty #browser

https://vivaldi.com/blog/vivaldi-on-desktop-8-2