If you are longing for a faster, more efficient and simply better Internet experience, without having to pay, Opera 5+ is the answer through the new ad-sponsored version. Sail across the web with this super-speedy, flexible, and efficient browser. It is a fast, small, secure, configurable, and standards compliant Internet/intranet browser . It gives you the freedom to run multiple windows without opening up other instances and many more features that make it the best choice for the serious web enthusiast.
Speed
Measuring speed on the web is harder than it sounds, but users know and feel the difference!!!!. I earlier had netscape 4.0 and I.E 5.5 and they panic so often that you have to kill the process or sometimes may have to boot the Computer. Opera people claim that ’’It’s the fastest Browser on Earth’’. I dont know how true it is but I think it’s the fastest among the one i’ve used.
Size
Opera is much smaller than other major browsers. In its standard configureation, it almost fits on a floppy disk yet it is all you need to surf the web. They also offer a version of Opera with integrated support for Java.
Support
Opera support all common Web standards needed to surf the web, including markup languages (HTML and XML), network and security protocols (HTTP, SSL and TLS), style sheets (CSS1 & CSS2) and programming languages (ECMAScript, Javascript and DOM).
Some More Features of Opera....
Instant Messeging
Opera includes an Instant Messaging client, which is integrated with the Opera contact manager and e-mail client. It supports a subset of the ICQ protocol. Opera’s Instant messaging allows to conveniently use your ICQ account when browsing with Opera. You can quickly send instant messages to those in your Opera contact list. And you can opt to go online automatically with your instant messaging account when starting Opera.
Search (This is really cool!)
Opera has an integrated web search function, where one can enter search strings in any URL field and save searches as bookmarks.One can specify which search engine one prefer with every search, and one can set the default engine in one’s preferences.One can perform web searches in the address field by entering ’’g anything’’ and it will search for ’’anything’’ using the Google search engine.
Wap-Surfing
It has experimental support for WML, the markup language used on WAP sites. Written primarily for wireless devices, WML pages are simple and contain no tables, ads and only small images. Most WAP sites are accessible through the Web, and Opera 5 is the first Web browser as they claim to give you access to WAP sites like ananova.
Opera Options
Opera offers two options for keeping the browser. You can choose to download the free, ad-supported version with all features and functionality enabled, or purchase the browser at a charge of $39 removing the ads, with various discounts applying. But I will suggest You to get the free version, You can look at the ads if it slows a bit ;).