Filed under: First Look
Opera 10 released, for your speedy web browsing pleasure
A funny thing happened on the way to search Twitter this morning: I saw that Opera 10 was a "Trending Topic" and a smile came across my face. While I don't use Opera as my default browser, I always keep it around (in fact I'm working on a report about how to harness Opera's features for tracking live events online).
In the interval between the time that my last OpenStep-capable computer died and the time I bought my first OS X-capable Mac (a period I refer to as "the Dark Ages") I was using that other operating system... which came with Internet Explorer. Like most of you, I found this unacceptable. But what were my options? "Firefox," you say. It didn't even exist yet. "Safari"? Years away, even for Mac users.
Enter Opera. Opera was my salvation during that time. It was fast, it was powerful, and it did all sorts of really advanced "power user" features. Once, many years ago, I even wrote a series called "30 Days to Becoming an Opera Lover" designed to teach folks all the things Opera had to offer.
If you tried Opera 10 in the past but didn't like how it looked on the Mac, it is time to take another look. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the browser itself looked so good, even before any pages were loaded.
When you go to download it, you will be met with the words "Opera 10 with Turbo." Turbo is Opera's server-side compression technology which is designed to speed up web browsing by compressing text and images on Opera's servers before sending it to your browser. If this sounds a little bit like what AOL, etc used to offer for customers on dialup, it is. The difference is that you can easily toggle this on or off (or set it to "Automatic" and let Opera adjust based on your web connection).
This may not mean much to you if you are sitting on a FiOS or other super-fast connection, but Opera recognizes that more and more people are using mobile 3G cards for laptops (or even, dare one say: netbooks) or sharing a Wi-Fi connection at the local coffeehouse with dozens of your closest bandwidth-hogging friends. As for myself, I spend a great deal of time behind something called "Satellite Internet." If you don't know what that is, consider yourself fortunate. I look forward to testing this feature. If nothing else you owe it to yourself to watch this fun YouTube video on compression that Opera created.
Talking about web browsers is a little like talking about religion, politics, or the best text editor. Everyone has their own take on them and you are more likely to get into a fight than actually change anyone's opinion. That said, Opera 10 is worth a look. It has a lot of excellent features built-in (tabs on the left or right being one of my favorite, especially in these days of "widescreen" laptops).
Opera may not have a giant marketshare, but Mac users in particular ought to be used to the fact that biggest marketshare isn't always best!
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
pHaez said 2:06PM on 9-01-2009
I still can't bring myself to use this without 1password support. :(
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Pete said 3:18PM on 9-01-2009
Came on to mention the 1Password dilemma and you beat me to it. 1Password seems to be the standard for Mac PW management these days, so hopefully it's only a matter of time...
tevetorbes said 3:48PM on 9-01-2009
third-ed.
Didn't know this support didn't exist, and have promptly app-zapped it. :(
Victor said 2:23PM on 9-01-2009
i tried to use opera but left unimpressed. the compression tech is slow, and doesn't help at all with a fast connection. I just can't bring myself to use something that is so much slower than safari.
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Janichsan said 7:28AM on 9-02-2009
"the compression tech is slow, and doesn't help at all with a fast connection."
Of course not, smarty-pants. It is only meant to be used when you have a *slow* connection, like a 56k modem (yes, there are still people who use that) or GPRS. When you are on a fast connection, the "Turbo" not only helps at all, it is alos completely superfluous.
Would you try Opera 10 without activated compression, you might notice that it is almost as fast as Safari 4 and definitely faster than Firefox.
lve2xlr8 said 2:32PM on 9-01-2009
Hmm no support for newer trackpad "gestures" no thanks..
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phobic99 said 2:57PM on 9-01-2009
Exactly the reason as to why I won't be using it on my Macbook. I'll try and give it a fair shot on one of my desktops though.
Matthew said 2:33PM on 9-01-2009
Does it make me a Mac Elitist that i won't use Opera simply because it has a crowded and messy UI?
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Brian said 4:21PM on 9-01-2009
No I thought exactly the same thing.
Chad said 6:13PM on 9-01-2009
Grrr, it makes itself your default browser without asking...
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Malfoy Roark said 6:27PM on 9-01-2009
It prompted me the 1st time I opened it(Opera 10 that is) .
Been an Opera user since before they were free and still love it. Left firefox for it.
Caius said 3:51AM on 9-02-2009
You can add trackpad gestures thru a 3rd party free software, and they will work better and with more flexibility than Safari. It won't "default" itself, i'll ask first. About Speed, i didn't sense much difference between this and Safari. Slower than Chrome on Windows, MUCH faster than the sluggish Firefox. 1password was never a problem for me. As an Opera fan, i guess i'm a little bit biased. But then again, is WAY customizable. Its interface can be striped down. Its looks improved a lot on 10, and it was a lot of features by default that Firefox will have to add in plug-ins (but without wasting the amount of memory that Firefox will waste on them), and a lot of features that Safari will never have. If it wasn't for SafariStand, i'd drop Safari altogheter
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EMoShunz said 8:23AM on 9-02-2009
i wonder if the wii internet release also this day is related, as in it may be running some of the new opera features too.
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