 |
Search |
|
|
|
|
Classic 2 Guys |
|
10 Random Stories:
|
|
|
|
Opera 7.1.0 Beta - The Fat Lady Has Sung! |
|
 I have used the Opera brower in Windows, but after reading that the newest Beta had been released, I thought I would give it another try. Now, before I get too deep into this, the newest Beta has been released for Windows and Linux. Not Mac - yet. So, using my handy switchbox, I popped over to Red Hat and attempted to download my new web browser.
Immediately upon entering the download page on the Opera Homepage, I began to notice "Buy Opera Now," and I am thinking to myself "Why would I do something silly like that?" But instead of researching it then, I just downloaded it and ran the RPM (RedHat Packet Manager - installer file).
Two things literally jumped out at me when I launched the App. - The "Hotlist" and the built in BANNER! So, of course, I tried to kill them... the "Hotlist," which is a contact list and bookmark area and history and everything else that you don't need open all the time, was no problem at all - just a few clicks and it was gone. The BANNER, however, will not go away, but if you go into Opera's properties you can customize it to the type of ads you want to see... Don't laugh, it's true!
That is when I started looking for the reasons to buy Opera, here is what I found:
Buy Opera - Price 39 USD
• Remove the banner ad
• Access Support via e-mail
• Get OperaMail Premium
Now I am really interested, so I dig deeper:
• Remove the banner ad: You can't buy this version it's a Beta, so you have to put up with the banners until you buy the final release, when it's available, WOW, what a deal!
• Access Support via e-mail: For my web browser? It's a freakin web browser, what's the point?
• Get OperaMail Premium: Free for 6 months, someone, quick, sign me up! Of course they offer discounts for students and volume purchases, and like any open source software provider, they accept donations. More details here...
But don't get me wrong, there are other bad things about it also! For instance the built in e-mail client is so difficult to configure and use, they have a pop-up that tells you that it is very different and may be difficult at first, and click this link to open a tutorial page to learn more about it. Why would they do that? Just make it user friendly from the start!
Ok, enough ranting, for now. There are a few good qualities to Opera, Tabbed browsing, my favorite of all the options, is wonderful. The e-mail client even opens in a tab... There is a feature that I am still undecided about, you can minimize, maximize, and shrink one, or all of your tabbed pages within the program. You can also zoom into or out of a page that you have opened (kinda cool, but doesn't make up for the banner).
So there you have it, my review, as crossed-eyed and one-sided as it may seem, it is yours to keep... forever.
|
|
April 15 2003, 10:09 AM EDT, by
 |
Comments:
|
| buttmunch |
4/15/03, 10:51 AM EDT |
Oprah is a fat cow anyways.. I don't know anyone who watches that bitch anymore.
|
| Jonahan |
4/15/03, 3:09 PM EDT |
Geesh, Opera 7 seems lame...good luck getting Mac users to buy it once it comes out for OS X. We have tons of options as it is, who wants a browser that has a banner permanently at the top. (Even one you can customize :( blechh.... )
|
| iKen |
4/15/03, 3:12 PM EDT |
why would any mac user want opera over safari. (or any thing else over safari for that matter, at least after safari comes out of beta.)
|
| HTML Samurai |
4/15/03, 3:16 PM EDT |
Users are crazy, you know that, and I know that you know that... So I guess I was trying to prevent more craziness before it actually took place. I think...
|
| iKen |
4/15/03, 9:42 PM EDT |
lol.. thank you for preventing the craziness ;)
|
| Wally |
4/20/03, 1:38 AM EDT |
Are you guys for real? It seems the main gripe you have is that there someone out there trying to make a browser and actually live off their work? What's wrong with having to pay for it? The banner is there to give you a chance to test it out and see if its work spending money on.
Obviously, judging by the shallow and petty "review", you did not exactly try to find out why against all odds Opera is still around and innovating all the time.
Furthermore, there is a lot to be said for a browser which is consistent across multiple platforms.
just my $.02 worth. And they are yours forever. (or until this comment gets moderated out)
BTW, this is written using Opera 7.1 for Linux on a FreeBSD box, and I can't wait for it to be available for my Mac...
|
| Jonahan |
4/20/03, 2:43 PM EDT |
Thanks for the excellent opinion, Wally, and we would never moderate opinions out - that's not how this site works. We would have to censor certain words for those who are more easily offended than us, but that's about it.
That said, the more software available for OS X, the better. I just don't believe that with all the great (and free!) options that Mac users have now as far as browsers go, I don't see Opera selling a whole lot of licenses. It's not that Opera is bad, and I could even put up with a banner, but why should I if I can get something else that's free and DOESN'T have a banner?
This is a beta however, and it's not even a beta for the Mac, so maybe they'll throw some features in there for the OS X version that we're not seeing in the Windows/Linux versions. After all, Cocoa makes it much faster and easier to write software! :)
|
This article is archived, so you may not comment on it.
(The good news is there's always the shoutbox, the forums or the contact form if you're socially-inclined at the moment!)
|
|
|
|
Site Links |
|
|
|
|
Deep Thoughts |
|
|
If you're an ant, and you're walking across the top of a cup of pudding, you probably have no idea that the only thing between you and disaster is the strength of the pudding skin.
|
|
Around Da Web |
|
| iProng: |
iPhone steals show at CTIA Wireless 2007
|
DLO offers dual cover fashion case for iPod
|
AT&T received 1M inquiries on iPhone
|
| MacDailyNews: |
Ars Technica in-depth review: Apple TV ?impressed all those who touched it?
|
Inside Apple?s Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Server OS
|
The chips inside Apple TV
|
| Think Secret: |
Adobe Creative Suite 3 pricing revealed
|
|
|
We Like: |
|
|
|
|
Side Projects |
|
Jonahan
- JediPoker.net
- Jonahan.com
- iProng
- MacProng
iKen
Jedbeck
J.P.
|
|
