Windows/Mac/Linux: The Opera browser has always had its “Turbo” mode in its back pocket, and it’s a powerful feature. Now the browser runs even faster on the slowest connections, using Google’s WebP technology to downsize images further and pump them through their servers to your browser.
Opera has made a lot of small, subtle improvements in version 11.10, including some upgrades for the Speed Dial auto-start-page feature. But it’s the sped-up Turbo function that’s the main bragging point here. You can turn Turbo on and off from a small switch in the lower-left corner, or set it to Automatic to turn on only when a “slow” network connection is detected (though there’s no apparent way to set that threshold).
Turbo doesn’t leave your images entirely unaffected, as you can see in the screenshot of Lifehacker.com above (with a slight border added) — some of your images may come out with pixelated edges, and layouts and fonts may take some rough turns. But if you’re choking along on bad Wi-Fi, or a tethered cellular connection you’d rather not max out, Turbo is good at being fast and frugal.
Opera 11.10 is a free download for Windows, Mac and Linux systems. Any other features worth a better slice of attention? Correct our speed obsession in the comments.
Republished from Lifehacker