Opera browser is now free with the release of version 8.5 (not much change from 8.02 actually). Anybody can now download the free-of-ads program.
Give it a try! If you’ve always thought ads were the stupidest thing — now Opera is the right browser for you! I converted two people over to Opera today, and I’m willing to do more of that!
If you are a Firefox/IE user and think Opera is dumb, please feel free to comment why, and I’ll glady rebut it with a logical and very reasonable statement. I’ll also update this post as the features of each browser and the advantages of Opera are brought out. And yes this would be for Windows only.
Reasons to use Opera over any other browser
- It does not hog memory at all, unlike Firefox and IE.
- No lag when 20 tabs are open.
- Many settings and configurations. While it may take a bit of time figuring out the browser’s look, Opera can be customized to any way you want it to be. Eg: dragging links to toolbars and panels, creating your own buttons and panels, etc.
- Renders CSS quickly.
I saw the article on Slashdot and figured I’d take a look at it after I got home from school. That was yesterday. It is now today, and I haven’t launched Firefox yet. I hate to say it, but I think I’m converting o_O
It’s really nice. It did, however, take a LONG time to set up how I wanted it. But it was nice in that I could change so many things.
It’s already months since I switched to firefox. And, I’ve already get used to it and comfortable with it. Should I switch, again?
Satoshi: it indeed does take quite some time getting used to all the settings and configurations — simply because there are so many! That’s a really sweet advantage though. Glad you converted!
EngLee, you should definitely switch! The switch from Firefox to Opera isn’t a big jump — they have similar interfaces/settings. It’s just the config of the interface that might be a bit tricky - but it will certainly be displayed in any way you want it to.
I wonder when will they provide those get-firefox buttons… :)
I have used Opera before to test out some designs I was working on. I have to say I really hated it and would never use it out of choice, however that was on a Linux desktop. I also find the plugins and skins availible for Firefox better than Opera.
Maybe I will try to use it a bit more now their are no ads, but I’m not really sure I will switch!
As you requested Englee — http://www.opera.com/products/desktop/buttons/ :)
Does it work well with CSS and Java ’cause sometimes even Firefox has problems. I lurve my firefox though. *cries* But I think I’ll check it out since my computer has a tendency to slow sometimes.
Yes it works very well with CSS and Java. Opera renders CSS the fastest among all windows rendering engines.
Thanks for the buttons, Oliver. :)
Actually Oliver, I would disagree with the statement that it renders CSS faster than the other browsers. From the recent tries I’ve given it, it actually starts displaying the non-formatted texts, and displays the correct formatting only after it downloads the CSS, which is about 3-4 seconds later. Maybe because I’m on dialup.. not sure.
Opera’s
border-style: dotted;sucks. The browser doesn’t always handle font sizes well. Sometimes posting information through the use of a form doesn’t work, as in “when I click the submit button, nothing happens”. Opera’s fast indeed, but it surely could be better.Aarohi, Opera downloads CSS and renders it after it downloads the page so the page won’t look like a messed up bunch of words at a certain point.
Mathias, I think that form thing has to do with Javascript — some JS functions aren’t quite compatible with Opera and therefore could cause some problems in a form. The font size only has something to do with the em — blame that on the CSS coders. :P
I did it, and i’m proud.
Good for you!
I dunno man, I have opera firefox mozilla (need to switch to seamonkey) and ie installed and test a lot of sites in all of them. I find that opera occasionally just decides to display stuff however the heck it feels like it. It’s not really a question over correct stylesheet coding as I validate every page I write and have a pretty good idea of what I’m doing. Opera just mangles it sometimes. Sometimes it’s fixed with a refresh, which proves that Opera is just being stupid, but other times it just stays. That alone makes me not really want to use the browser for my main browser. Maybe I’ll give it another go though.
That has been a bug in previous version of Opera. It should work quite perfectly now — I haven’t had a single problem with it since the new install of 8.50. Give it a try!
I still use Internet Explorer, and I haven’t seen why I should switch to either Firefox or Opera. Internet Explorer works fine, and security problems are solved by third party softwares, like Norton.
Norton doesn’t do a lot of what Firefox or Opera does. They prevent ads and popups; they are faster at loading pages. Many beautiful web sites will look much better in Firefox and Opera because they support the web standards.
A heads-up: you’ve hit Language Log.
Anyway, while I’m here, I suppose I’m obligated to try you out on your offer. So. My reason for not using Opera is quite simple: Opera is not free.
Thanks for the tip. I always thought rebuttal was spelled that way.
As for Opera, by free I mean free to use. But really, according to GNU, nothing is really “free” because all programs have owners and copyright.
If you read the Language Log post again, you’ll see they’re saying you not only spelt rebuttal incorrectly, but you also used the wrong word ;)
By the way, I won’t be changing Firefox for Opera. I don’t want a million options to change how my browser looks. I just want my browser to show me the web pages I want to look at, which it does.
Now I feel dumb :(
Heh. If it’s any consolation, my bloke’s switched to Opera :)