Opera has been around for quite some time now. It was light, had independent browser code and was fast. But the lack of integration of industry standard technology such as Java, shockwave and quicktime plugins(to name a few) as default made sure that it remained behind the curtains.
This is my third year with Opera.The important thing was that it was there (bland and all) when I needed it. Release 6.0 is certainly a welcome upgrade.
People call it the alternate browser, I call it THE browser. Version 6.0 improves on its previous shortcomings for the fastest internet experince yet.
Benchmark
Beleive me its IS fast. It is not hype. It loads pages visibly faster that IE 6.0. Being and independent browser meant that it didnot have to put up with the inherent instability of Explorer (Unlike browsers like Neoplanet which shares Explorer’s core files). It also means that even if it crashes it doesnt have to bring down the entire OS with it. It does crash at times though.
Download and setup
The download file is a mere 3.18 MB which expands to a little under 5 MB. This means that the browser can actually be downloaded. (I have always wondered why they have the download button for IE6 at Microsoft.com!!)
Setup? Click next to continue.
The Interface
We can see lots of integration here. Opera provides 3 search fields for websearch(google and alltheweb.com), shopping(amazon.com) and opera help , very convenient. IE is limited to its MSN search engine.
he Features
The browser is highly customisable with every small option being covered in the preferences. A cool new option is that of deciding how to handle popups - open it normally, open in background or prevent it from opening at all. I guess the ad guys will have something to say!
Operas collection of builtin bookmarks is very impressive (and useful). Explorer’s bookmark are bent on pleasing Ol’Bill.
News and Mail support has been greatly improved. The interface is far more mature than the previous versions’.Filters have been implemented.
The fact is that these guys have thought of everything. As they are not hellbent on including cutting edge technology they have been able to give more attention to finer details. Take the toggle image button for example. In its normal state it loads all images, toggled once it doesnot load any of the images on a page(faster downloads), toggled again it loads those images that are present in cache (Excellent for static sites such as webbased email services). And more importantly, it is not hidden in some obscure corner of the program- it is right there on the address bar for just anyone with a basic level of curiosity to find.
Help is excellent too.
Shockwave support is present as default.
The letdowns
Sad to say but it is not perfect(not yet).
Instant messaging still doesnt work (I’ve taken up the issue with Opera support). The problem existed with the previous versions too (REF: My review on Opera 5.0). Java support is still a separately downloadable plugin (About 5 mb).That is ok if you just do moderate browsing.
Though address autocomplete is present the same is not true for forms. But you can fill in your personal details by right clicking on the text field and choosing an element to insert (such as your name, email address e.t.c). Javascript anomalies have been found. MouseOver events implemented at certain sites donot work.
The bottom line? If I were to develop an OS , I would sure as hell integrate Opera into it.
And by the way did I tell you that it was ad supported and hence FREE!