Opera releases a new Browser

[Tron]

Opera Software have recently released version 7.50 of their tremendously popular web browser, aptly named ‘Opera’. Combining e-mail, IRC, notepad, downloads, contacts and literally hundreds of useful features and gimmicks – Opera is simply the best browser around.

http://www.opera.com

 

[theKeeper]

[stuned]

 

[lindaw]

I have used Opera since vs 6 and love it! The sad thing is so many sites out there are thrown together using WYSIWYG editors which means the code stinks and Opera will not render bad code. Opera is one of my main test browsers for client sites to ensure across the board compat.

I also love that it is CSS driven and you can edit so many things within the main files. I am running 7.5 final and love the new interface. They also offer tons of free skins or you can create your own. Well worth the 39.00 and they also offer a free download if you don't mind a small add at the top. No spyware in the ads which is nice and they are always open to suggestions on improving the browser. :} :}

 

[Erik]

I immediately installed it. They have beta-tested it for several months yet:

1/ It takes more than a minute to start up when the puter has been completely shut down.
2/ Although I registered, and registration is accepted and shown, it always starts up with that silly advertisement dialog. Trying their work-around, nl. filling in either option and closing, did not help.
3/ To get navbar embellsihments like other colour is Opera, you have to set this in the preferences. I did, but I do not get colour change: it always displays gray.
4/ Opera has so many settings that it requires quite a bit of a study before you can use them all.
5/ Its forum community is extremely arrogant and unfriendly.
6/ It has come a long way. In 5 one couldn't even upload to a server. But it still is very unforgiving when it comes to bad coding. In my opinion, this can be good for webdesigners, but it's sometimes a nuisance when it comes to browsing. I simply want to browse the Internet, and I don't want to be censored or hindered by a browser saying "sorry, but this page is badly coded, so I won't display it like it's meant to be."

It is my prefered browser as it is extremely fast and offers a lot of very handy features. But I suppose it won't be long before we see 7.51 appear. I hope today.

 

[Erik]

A ferw hours later: now 7.5 completely broke down: even its own pages at opera com are seen as unknown file formats, PSG does not exist on the server etc.
Never had these problems with 7.2!

 

[lindaw]

Wow Erik! [stuned] I am using 7.5 right now and i've had none of the problems you have mentioned so far. I am even running this on a Pent II machine. It only takes around 5 seconds to load the browser after a complete shutdown of the browser. I did have a problem with hitting this site using the beta vs but when I uninstalled 7.51beta and installed the final vs everything worked fine. I would say go to their forum but as you say they are not very helpful over there for sure. That is the one drawback to the browser. I have managed to get help when I needed it there but you have to deal with the "I hate the world" types during the process but you deal with that on every forum it seems.

Mine is installed on the D partition and the prefs are on C. The fact you could not change the color tells me that the install did not complete properly. Since I use this as a primary I would uninstall, wipe the prefs then reinstall but if you are not looking to use Opera then I would say trash bin.

 

[Erik]

Which I tried.

As the third attempt didn't work like it should, I downloaded a new copy and installed that.

After entering my code and getting the message " Opera is now registered", I closed and once again that ad window was there. But now I could indeed get rid of it by checking one of both options. It hasn't come back again.

Opera 7.2 simply took the settings of IE, but 7.5 doesn't. So when I found the preferences (once again moved to another place), I finally managed to check for things myself, and a necessary box (I'm on cable modem) wasn't checked. This should correct the long startup delay.

But since I did, I get a popup on every page I click. (see image).
I get rid of it and can go on.
Probably another safety setting.

And the scrollbar colouring on my own page (I'm constructing)doesn't work. It does in IE.

My final verdict: Opera is a very fast browser and has improved an awful lot. I prefer it by FAR when compared to IE or NN6.
But it is a browser for people who have a basic knowledge of the Internet and aren't afraid to have to enter several settings themselves. IE is much more user friendly. And also virus-friendly.

Opera has a perfectly working built-in pop up killer that allows several settings.
It's extremely fast, also for downloading. Several times, while using IE I had to wait, just like as if there was some code on a server to slow down IE. But in fact, its number of connections is limited. Downloading some tut movies or so is limited to two at the time. Opera takes ten, and wiyth ease. (never tried more).

Opera warns when a server certificate is outdated, etc etc.
Once it work, it works great. Which is why it is my preferred browser.

Its unforgiveness when it comes to bad coding makes it a very good tool for web-designers.

You know what this means, Linda?
Several times I asked questions over at the Opera forum but I never got another answer than style: "you stupid soab, how dare you ask such a basic question and disturb us in our high conversation on our preferred superficialities?" But no real answer.
Even Opera help themselves can only talk code for high end internauts.
But hey: they're vikings, aren't they?

 

[theKeeper]

Just to keep you guys up here... the site WAS down for a little while recently because some ignorant person was trying to suck the hell out of the Forum using a Web reaping type of program. They had a couple dozen ports open and scanning (for what i dont know). But it pushed the server very hard so they shut it down for a bit until they traced the person responsible. We know everything about this person now except what their name is. But that wouldn't take much to find out either if we decide to persue it. Anywho... we shut their IP off from the server/site now. So unless they get a new IP they're locked out.

And back on topic...
Well... not to be an instigator or nothing but... as far as i'm concerned, Opera, albeit a decent browser, is not a big player; yet. So to say things like this "unforgiving when it comes to bad coding" is a little off the mark. The coding isn't bad just because Opera can't render it. That's way too literal of a way to look at it.

Every browser out here sucks crap as far as i see it. The only thing that counts to each person is which piece of crap they care to try using -- and can manage to put up with.

For me, my 'opinion' is that Mozilla has the best browser at the moment. Partly because it's free. I'm not a big fan of having to pay for a browser. If things start going that way too far, then i'll be using my Windows folders to browse with. [stuned]

 

[gidge]

I have no opinion... for or against Opera [confused] [confused] did I just say that?

I still use IE... I mean it works eh...

bummer about your site Mark... :{ ah well, your up and running once again... one of life's little hiccups... back on to good energy now

 

[MindBender]

I'll second that Mark. Once you've gone FireFox, there's no going back.

 

[theKeeper]

Right-o Gidge! I couldn't agree more.

hehe, MB... even though i do feel Mozilla runs the better browser at the moment, i didn't really mean to sound as though i was advocating it. Because like i said before that, i think all browsers are crap right now. So i simply meant that Mozilla is the least crappy imho.

 

[MindBender]

So i simply meant that Mozilla is the least crappy imho.

I'm using Firefox right now.. and I've been pretty happy with it. I can't think of a many features of a web browser that it doesn't have. Aside from slow acceptance of web standards, which isn't really the browsers' fault, everything works fine and it's very customizable. They've been doing it the longest of anybody still making browsers, so it's to be expected.

You maybe not, but I'm sure advocating it! heheh

 

[John1]

I'm like Gidge; IE works for me too
It never crashed on me, it renders every site without an error, simply, it does exactly what it's supposed to do.
I've tried so many other browsers, but I always went back to IE.
There was always something with those other browsers I didn't like. Main reason why I didn't like them; they didn't always show what the designer had intended to show.

I'm not a professional designer, I'm just a user who wants to get the correct information and as fast as possible.
I don't care whose fault it is (designer, browser or some important internet dudes) that a page doesn't render correctly. I, like so millions other people, just want to see the original page that the designer had in mind, period.
Skins, all these extra options? Nah, most people are just happy enough with favorites, history and a links and address bar.
Only thing I don't like about IE; it doesn't do a good printing web pages, so I use Acrobat, which means that I always have a backup of that particular page too.

But I use Opera like Linda to test my personal web designs. Like Linda said: "Opera will not render bad code".

Thanks for the info Rick

Btw, I never noticed any real speed difference between IE and Opera (even checked it with a stopwatch a while back). Maybe because I've ordered IE to empty his cache after closing the browser. \:]

 

[theKeeper]

haha... Ya i have FF too... same dif as Mozilla really. And they're both just NS under a dif skin.

Ok then since we're mincing words... if i had to recommend a browser to anyone, it woul be Mozzila first. FF is just a dif flavour, so it would count also. [honesty]

 

[Erik]

Just installed Mozilla.
Looks good, seems to browse very fast.

Opera's aversion for "bad" code means in fact that it prefers the offically accepted code and does not acceptcode that uses tags that are only working in either IE or NN. You know as well as I do that each of these has its own set of self-invented pecularities. And imo it's a good idea to get rid of these.

BTW: mozilla does not colour the navbar here at psg...???
some preference setting that I can't find?

 

[lindaw]

Ahh yes Mozilla is a wonderful browser/email client. I use that as a primary on one of my other machines. It is somewhat picky about code as well. Not as picky as NS4.75 thank goodness. I have been running Mozilla since 1.2 and i've had very few problems. It is a great little proggie! :}

 

[gidge]

ok, I tried out Mozilla, and.... if it had the autohide feature for the side bar and top bars as is found with IE when in full page mode then yah baby, cool browser... am I missing something, or what? Also doesn't seem to support mmb scrolling... hmmm

In Ie, not only are these features present and accounted for, but as well I can have full screen view always on, and simply move my mouse to the left or top and whoila, everything I usually require pops out for quick access... I mean what more do ya need than this...

... and the best part about this whole setup is... full page is full page, and thus one doesn't even have to view any gui for the most part

now if only I could bind the back command to the Esc key...

anyways, just my 2 cents on the subject of browsers...

Whatever your flavour is, is alright with me... lol

 

[MindBender]

haha... Ya i have FF too... same dif as Mozilla really. And they're both just NS under a dif skin.

Well... if you want to get technical about it... First there was Mosaic, then there was an offshoot of mosaic called mozilla, which became NetScape. But for all intents and purposes, yes, they are basically the same. The big difference between FireFox and Mozilla core is efficiency of design. FF is the mozilla core code but refined. They've taken out all the extras like the mail client and such to leave just a sleek web browser. You can download other componets, but FF is just the web browser. They've also taken out a lot of the UI components that slow down core Mozilla, which means that it takes better advantage of the UI APIs... basically it means that it renders the browser quicker.

From an end user point of view though, there are basically IE, NS/Mozilla, Opera, and Safari for macs... with a few taggers on in the fringes.

As for features. Basically Mozilla is fully customizable. So if there are any features missing, check out the "extensions" site listed in the preferences. You can download an extension for just about ANYTHING.

I hear about how IE renders pages no matter what a lot. Half the time you aren't seening pages correctly in IE and don't realize it because they go to lengths to hide it from you. With mozilla and other browsers gaining popularity, we're going to see more and more pages that are coded to standards, which is going to leave IE out in the cold unless Microsoft buys another browser from someone.

Two fun things:

1. In mozilla's location bar, type about:mozilla

2. In IE, goto help > about Internet Explorer. See who ACTUALLY made it. (hint, they've been out of business for a while)

Personally... I don't have any vested interest in mozilla per se, I just like using what works. My experience is that FireFox is the best browser around. Take it for what it's worth, YMMV.

 

[theKeeper]

hahaha "about:mozilla" that's funny.

We're on the same page MB.


Erik?... what do you mean "doesn't colour the navbar"? I'm in Mozzila right now and i'm not seeing anything that isn't supposed to be like it is.

Gidge... the BACK SPACE key is "back".

 

[John1]

With mozilla and other browsers gaining popularity, we're going to see more and more pages that are coded to standards, which is going to leave IE out in the cold unless Microsoft buys another browser from someone.

I hardly doubt that Mindbender
Microsoft delivers IE with their operating system and unless Windows is losing marketshare, I don't think that Mozilla will just take over or any other browser, that's just whishful thinking.

I'll bet that the majority of the users not even know Mozilla.

If I look at my family, friends, people in the neighborhood, I don't see many people that are interested in a different browser than IE.

A lot of people work, come home, have a family to take care of and many of them don't even have all that much interest in computers, let alone the time. Do you really think they consider Mozilla if they only spend on average 2/3 hrs every week online? Nah.
Some people are hooked to the internet, some people only use it for little things and that's reality.

So even if Mozilla is a better browser, doesn't mean it will be the browser of the future. There are many examples of products that were considered the best in their market, but never really made it to the top.