Disappointed after using Neoplanet? Find newer versions of Netscape no better than the previous versions? Tired of Internet Explorer errors and invalid page faults?
Well, here is something to cheer you all up. Try out Opera.
Opera … What is Opera?
Opera is a browser like Internet Explorer, Netscape, Neoplanet etc. A browser is a tool used to surf or browse the net. Like the window you are using to view this web page is a window of your browser.
Having used only IE and Netscape only previously, I was a staunch supporter of Internet Explorer and in the beginning reluctant to download Opera. However, now while writing this review I am very happy that I decided to download it.
Majority of the people use Internet Explorer or Netscape to surf the net. I however do not prefer Netscape because it is a very heavy program and the surfing is also very slow. It takes decades to open and the user (at least me) many a time gets fed up reading the comments: Loading preferences…loading plugins … etc.
IE on the other hand is faster than Netscape but it crashes very often. It uses a lot of system resources, performs 404 errors (only), leave aside the invalid page faults. I’m sure everybody using IE must have experienced some of these 404 errors. The most annoying aspect however is that when you visit the Microsoft Online Help Section (regarding IE errors), at every page you will find this sentence written – “Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.”
So it is time you try out Opera. After all what is the harm, you can uninstall it if you do not like it.
Opera is just a 2MB file, 9 MB along with JRE. (Java Runtime Environment).
Following are the features of Opera because of which I feel it is better than any other browser.
1) Speed: The advertisement of Opera claimed that it is a speedy browser. Try visiting the same site first using IE or Netscape and then using Opera and you will be convinced why it is called the speedy browser. CAUTION: A few sites, which probably block non-Internet Explorer and non-Netscape users, are very slow in loading and cause problems. Please don’t go to any Microsoft site such as hotmail, which take ages to load or in the case of hotmail don’t load at all.
2) Stability: I have been using Opera for quite some time and it hasn’t crashed a single time up till now. On the other hand I had problems using IE in the very first week! It is basically because of stability I prefer Opera to IE. IE havocs your system resources. I am repenting very much after installing IE 5.5 as after installing it the overall working of my system has become slow.
3) Default Browser: You can select the protocols and file types for which Opera has to be the default browser i.e. Opera can be the default browser for http, but for the remaining file types and protocols the default browser can remain IE or any other browser. A feature not at all offered by IE or Netscape.
4) Search: An option of Google search is present in all the windows of the browser itself.
5) Enabling sounds: Generally we minimize the window of the browser after typing the URL and then check after a while whether the page has loaded completely or not. We can set sounds in Opera that will tell us that the page has loaded completely or the connection has failed. So we can check that page after hearing the sound (of completion or failure), instead of checking it time and again. Sounds can be set for various other purposes also.
6) Easy Operation: As everyone is used to operating IE or Netscape, it might take just a few days before one gets accustomed to Opera, but it’s (Opera) operation is quite simple.
Now a few drawbacks:
1) I write my reviews offline and then copy-paste them afterwards when I go online and visit MOUTHSHUT.COM. However this copy-paste technique works only in IE and not in Opera. (I don’t know whether to include this as one of the negative points or not.)
2) I use DAP (Download Accelerator Plus) to download stuff from the net as I can resume the download. So whenever I click on the download link on any site the DAP automatically opens and I can proceed with the download. This thing however does not happen with Opera. Another window called ’’transfer window’’ opens in which there is no resume option. I think the same thing will happen with people using Getright or Gozilla (software similar to DAP), as these software don’t support Opera.
3) Built in email client: Opera has a built in mail client just like Outlook Express. I configured one of my mail accounts and tried using it, but it did not work. I rechecked my settings and tried again, but to no use.
I don’t do online shopping, so I am not in a position to write about the security aspect of Opera. Other than the above disadvantages I just cannot think of any other disadvantage. If you don’t wish to purchase Opera ($ 40), you have to bear a big display on the top of the Opera window, which shows advertisements. However as this is the means of earnings for the people who made this program, you just have to accept these advertisements as a necessary part of the browser. Besides these adv. don’t interrupt the surfing and you can also choose the kind of adv. you want to see.
Well folks, I have already uninstalled Netscape and wish I could do the same with IE (which unfortunately I cannot). Anyway happy speedy browsing with Opera.