Filed under: Software
Opera Still Offering Free Registration Codes
Yesterday we reported Opera was throwing a 10th anniversary party and offering free registrations for one day only. Well, it seems like the offer is still running today. I saw the story show up in MacNN's feed this morning and thought "What? That was yesterday..." and just figured they were late to the party. But sure enough: I went over to Opera's party page where the offer appeared and it's still available. I have no idea if this is a fluke or possibly a strategy to gain some marketshare, (I wonder if it's even working) but as of this writing you can still get a copy of the $39 Opera browser for free.[Update: Looks like the free offer has finally ended. The page has now reverted to mentioning their affiliat program through which you can still obtain a free copy - as long as you place an Opera button somewhere on your site and grab 250 unique clicks. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Will Hudgins said 12:08PM on 8-31-2005
Who cares?
Firefox is always free, and better.
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John Hood said 12:11PM on 8-31-2005
Ode to Opera.
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Jacen said 12:26PM on 8-31-2005
Firefox doesn't stand a chance compared to Opera. It's good to see them doing this ^_^
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Brian said 12:30PM on 8-31-2005
It's always good to get as many browsers as possible so that you can test your site in each of them.
Thanks Opera.
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kerry W. Lannert said 12:33PM on 8-31-2005
RE post #1:
Opera is more compatible with sites designed exclusively for IE than Firefox, which is exceedingly useful if you use a Mac and need access to obnoxious corporate websites that don't allow anything but IE. It also has much better keyboard navigation than either Safari or Firefox, which was the only thing keeping me tied to IE for using certain web-based databases. Now that I can run Opera ad-free for no money, I no longer have any need for IE on my computer. Huzzah!
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Wheels said 12:52PM on 8-31-2005
My bet is, if the Opera website was set up yesterday as it is today, nobody that visits the site has a clue that the free registration even exists. I went to download the latest version just now and the download page made no mention of the free registration, but predominantly displayed that you could buy Opera for $39 (such a deal!). The only place where I find any mention of the free registration is on the party page.
You'd think that if this was a legitimate ploy to boost market share, there's be "FREE REGISTRATION" banners all over the website. Maybe this is a cheesy ploy to boost actual sales by hiding the free registration (when you choose to "buy" Opera, there are no red flags saying "Wait...IT"S FREE!"), and when the makers of Opera get hit with bait and switch accusations they can say, "Hey, the link was right there on the party page. You just didn't look hard enough." They don't even mention the free registration in their "Latest News." Very suspect, IMHO.
I'm with Will, why buy something when you have better, free, alternatives?
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heipei said 12:59PM on 8-31-2005
hehe, guess the party over there was really good and the guys who were supposed to turn off the free-license-generator this morning are just hungover ;)
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iFelix said 4:11PM on 8-31-2005
Thanks for the link.
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matt said 7:12PM on 9-01-2005
I got my free copy of opera yesterday and am loving, partly because I didn't have to pay for it.
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yPod said 9:14PM on 8-31-2005
It's Over!
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Wheels said 6:39PM on 9-01-2005
Cheesy!
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