Opera 9.5–My browser of choice
This article may border on fanboyism, but let it be no secret, I am a huge fan of Opera, the great little web browser by Opera Software. I realize it is not perfect, it certainly has it’s own set of bugs. However, contrary to the many postings on the Opera Forums, it is not the “piece of *$%#@” many are saying it is. Again, I realize it is not perfect, but it makes me wonder if they are using the same piece of software I am using.
Going on two years ago, Opera Software released the first builds of Opera 9.5 to those of us who were brave enough to try them. Of course, the usual warnings accompanied the release of those builds, telling us that the software had many bugs and data loss could occur, that sort of thing. However, from the first build that was released, I have been using Opera 9.5 as my browser of choice on two different computers. I have had a few problems with it, some of it my own fault for fiddling with the settings and some of it was the bugs in the program. I do not fault Opera Software for this, simply because I knew going in that there may be problems. I am no programmer, but I am smart enough to realize that with a piece of software as complex as Opera, there are bound to be bugs that need to be worked out. So be it. Let me explain why I have used Opera for many years and will continue to do so.
The main feature that I use, outside of the browser itself, is the email program, which is integrated right into the browser. Is the email program perfect? No, it’s not. Is it a bit different than most other email programs you will use? Yes, it is. However, through all the reorganizing of the mail database and converting it over to the new database used in Opera 9.5, I am finding it to be faster and more reliable than ever before. When Opera first introduced it’s revolutionary email client, the bugs abounded. Instead of folders, Opera uses views. This allows a single copy of an email message to be accessed in multiple views. Some of these views are hard coded into the mail panel, but the user can easily right click on a message and choose to show it in a new or existing view, with or without an accompanying rule. The uses and possibilities of the email portion of Opera are great, but that will have to wait for another article. For now, suffice it to say that I find it very handy to have my email and browser in the same program. Some may not care for it, but it is one of the really great features that draws me to use Opera. Here is what it looks like with the mail panel open and reading newsgroups.
Opera 9.5 also introduced a new rendering engine, code named Kestrel. This is a stepping stone to Opera 10 which is code named Peregrine. If the improvements of Kestrel are any indication, then Peregrine should be fantastic. I can say this about Opera 9.5. I can see a significant improvement in the rendering speed of the browser. I havent’ performed tests like a lot of people have done, I have just used the browser, but there is a difference. For the more technically advanced, you can look at nontroppo’s performance tests. I just know it is faster on my boxes.
Aside from the increase in speed, there are a number of new features. One of my favorites is the Quick Find feature that allows me to search every web page I have visited, right from the address bar. By typing in any word in the address bar, Opera searches not only the title and address, but also the content of every page you have visited and brings up a list of possible matches. You can choose the one you want to look at by clicking on the entry. See the screenshot for what it looks like.
Another new feature is Opera Link, which allows you to synchronize your bookmarks and Speed Dial between different installations of Opera. Personally, I do not use this feature, simply because my home installation is much different than my work installation. I can see where it would be very useful in some situations. As with most of the “extras” built into Opera, it is out of sight and out of mind unless you want to use it.
Let me give you a final example of why I choose to use Opera as my browser of choice. Just this afternoon, I installed Firefox 3 on my work computer. It is working great, as is Opera 9.5. However, I had to install eleven extensions into Firefox, just to get the fuctionality of Opera right out of the box. This is not a slam towards Firefox, just an observation. Opera has every feature I need, built into the program, and it is still a smaller download than Firefox 3. I have came to realize, the two browsers appeal to different people for different reasons. To each his own, I suppose. For me, Opera has been and continues to be my browser of choice.
That’s my take!
Larry
I love Opera because of its rendering and the smoothness when you are browsing.
However I’d still prefer Firefox and you may want to check out on why I love Firefox so much more
Michael,
What you say is true. However, Opera is not Internet Explorer. The same things you use to compare Firefox and Internet Explorer are not applicable when it comes to Opera.
Larry – I tried Opera again today (because I really like the way it looks and should function) on my iMac (desktop) and my ibook (laptop). Once again I had to remove it because it just drags down my system so bad I end up waiting for one page to open for over two minutes. I had the same problem when I use to use safari (the default browser at the time when I got my macs). When I switched to Firefox, I got to see why being on a broadband connection really could be so much faster. I just don’t get why Opera (like safari, which I disliked for many reasons) slogs down by system so much.
In my best California Surfer Dude voice …. “bummer dude”.
Kerry,
I believe I remember asking you before, but do you have antivirus or a firewall? I believe you said you had checked all of that.
I love Opera 9.5. Replaced my Firefox 3.0. The email client is fast and simple. The speed dialing is great. It is so fast on my computer, it feels like I have a brand new computer.
Didn’t notice much difference with Firefox using broadband, but with Opera I did. I’m addicted.
Regarding the multiple view feature for the email client … why not just use gmail?
@anon i am using gmail .. trought the mail client .. the mail client its so useful that i use 6 email accounts in it
also i have 20 Mbit connectioan and under firefox 2 and 3 i dont feel like i have so fast connection ..
also why you need 1 gigabyte of extra plugins that never work as it should …
I have been using Opera since 2001, and I will not go back to IE or bother with Firefox again. I love how you can zoom in and out with the +/- buttons. Opera is very customizable for everybody’s needs. Also, it’s secure. I have yet to get any spyware, etc. installed when using Opera. I tried Firefox 3′s beta and was hijacked within 10 minutes. Going to those same sites in Opera, nothing bad happened. I let everyone know about Opera. Try it.
Glad I found this post, as I’ve been using Opera 9.51 for Linux for a short while, too. It’s mainly used for just a few sites I need occasionally, though. It crashes more than I get to use the program, and that’s quite puzzling to me. I’ve slimmed down to just the basic skin, and that’s helped a lot, but don’t know why.
On my laptop and desktop Simply Mepis Linux boxes, Swiftweasel 3.0 is working flawlessly. Swiftweasel is Firefox optimized for Linux according to which processor you use. Very nice, and all the extensions and themes work.
I have to ask about Opera’s RSS reader. Is there a notification when a feed is updated?
Ron,
You can find the notifications under Tools-Preferences-Advanced-Notifications. There should be one for new messages.
I am using the latest Opera 9.6 beta right now, but I have been using Firefox 3.0.1 a lot, especially at work on Windows XP. I have found Opera doesn’t seem to work properly on WordPress at times, especially when I am writing a post. It is better on Linux than on XP. I haven’t had a problem with it crashing, it just doesn’t seem to work right, little things like quotes in the visual editor, stuff like that.
Ron, you should give sidux a try. That is what Larry and I have been using and it is great.
http://www.sidux.com
I also use Swiftfox and it works great.
Gary, thanks for the Sidux recommendation, but I’m sticking with Simply Mepis – it just works. I tried Sidux about 6 months ago, but never could get it up and running on either desktop or laptop. I can hardly wait for Simply Mepis 8 to go gold, it’ll be sweet. No problems with version 7.0 at all.
Speaking of, if people would give Linux a solid try, they might just find how great it is.
Ron, I sure agree with that. I left windows about 3 years ago and haven’t looked back since.
You guys should try out Opera 10. I’ve tried it and its really 2x fast… Faster than Mozilla and Chrome.
Kayne,
Actually, I am using the latest Opera 10 Beta right now. You are right, it is fast and so far, very stable.