A mindfulness-themed browser is (calmly) shaking up search
An internet browser with built-in mindfulness and meditation tools? Sounds a little like buzzword fodder to me. However, I'm a tired, jaded journalist who'll try anything to feel more alive, so I tested the early access release, mindfulness-focused Opera Air and found its features straightforward and genuinely beneficial in the short period I played around with it. Built by Norwegian browser maker Opera, Opera Air claims to be "the first browser built around the concept of mindfulness." Opera has released thematic versions of its own browsers in the past, including a gaming-focused browser with a “Panic Button,” and a crypto browser. The latest, Air, is designed as a browser that both functions like Chrome, Firefox, and Safari but also "helps its users manage stress, enhance their focus, and maintain emotional clarity throughout their day." SEE ALSO: How to choose a meditation app that's right for you Tech platforms, apps, and wearables aimed at boosting mindfulness have made companies and startups a mint for years, so it's understandable why eyebrows disappear into hairlines when a shiny new one comes along. However, the internet is a truly shitty place of late, a veritable tidal wave of misinformation and tech bros getting rich off unbridled abuse and harassment. We're all on it, day after day, so a browser pinging me to "Take a Break" on the regular doesn't seem like the worst thing in the world. So I tried it out. Opera Air is instantly recognizable as a modern mindfulness offering When you first install Opera Air, you'll meet the requisite verdant landscape of rolling hills and a lone hiker, overlaid with an inspirational Jon Kabat-Zinn quote: "You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf." Drenched in that overt earnestness, let's take a look around. You can choose a different wallpaper from mountaintop clouds, a meditation rock in a forest, or the company’s signature bubble overlaid on some naturescapes. Mountains, check. Inspirational quote, check. Cr
A mindfulness-themed browser is (calmly) shaking up search