Opera 16 adds form filler, new browser tweaks

Opera Software today announces the release of Opera 16.0 FINAL.

As you might expect, the new rapid release cycle means that major changes are in short supply, but look closely and there are one or two interesting additions to be found.

The new build’s support for the W3C Geolocation API should help to deliver some interesting web applications, for example.

There’s a form auto-filler tool, and new support for jump lists on Windows, and presentation mode on Mac.

Entering opera:flags in the browser address bar gives you control over various work-in-progress features. Will enabling "experimental form filling" really make the process easier? What will happen if you turn on "smooth scrolling"? Might the "GPU Accelerated SVG Filters" speed up your browsing? Here’s where you get to find out.

If you’re not happy about the new Discover feature downloading content in the background which you may never use, then it’s now easy to disable: click Settings, scroll down to the Start Page section, and clear "Preload Discover contents".

And elsewhere, the new build now uses the Chromium 29 engine, has improved performance, and reportedly includes "tons of bug fixes".

Opera 16.0 FINAL is available now as a freeware download for Windows and Mac.