I’ve been a user of the Opera Web Browser now for the past 5 years. Excluding the times I needed to use MS Internet Explorer for a site that just wouldn’t work without it, Opera is my preferred browser for a number of reasons. As of July 2nd, Opera completes its move towards better web compatibility with Opera 15 powered by Chromium.
First a foremost, saying Opera 15 is powered by Chromium is technically incorrect. The new core engine is Blink which is a fork of WebCore (the layout engine for Webkit) under the Chromium project banner. The Blink project was a joint venture between Google and Opera Software ASA. I could spend hours talking about this and how it affects you, but I think I will save that until after I have had time to check out the new browser for myself.
While Opera 15 was basically built from the ground up using all new code, it is still Opera at its heart. The features I have come to love such as the built-in speed dailer, Opera Turbo (now Off-Road Mode), and built-in feed reader are still there. With the new layout engine, Opera should fit better with web standards to minimize page errors, display glitches, and site incompatibility.
Presto (Opera’s in-house layout engine) will be retired as of the Opera 12.15 release and it will be missed. The update is not mandatory for current Opera users, but it will be in the future. The question now is will Opera use this to breath new life into a great web browser, or simply become a Chrome clone.
Full press release and details from Opera about this new browser is at the link below.
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Broaden your web horizons
New Opera for Windows and Mac debuts in a final version
July 2, 2013 – With the travel season just around the corner, the Scandinavian browser-maker Opera Software today released the final version of its all-new Opera for Windows and Mac, debuting with a fresh look and completely new features.
If you were to visit every website in the web for just one second each, you would need over 20 years of non-stop browsing to see them all. It’s pretty much the same amount of time you would need to spend a week in every city with more than half a million habitants worldwide. You may never get to visit all of these cool places, but, with the new Opera browser, surfing through an ocean of inspiring web content is now easier than ever.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to traveling around the brave new world of content faster and more easily:
1. Download – Download the completely new Opera for Windows and Mac for free. Go to www.opera.com, click the download button, close your eyes and think about spectacular blue fjords. When Opera finishes installing, you will be ready to explore.
2. Do your research – Plan ahead for travel. Opera’s refreshed Speed Dial gives you a smarter way to organize your favorite websites. Drag one Speed Dial entry on top of another to group them by topics, like hotel options, sightseeing ideas or whatever you wish. With a new search option, Speed Dial gets you to your top sites in a flash.
3. Compare – If you’re not the Grand Master of Memory, keeping track of all your discoveries can be tricky when doing a lot of web research. Now, comparing articles, hotels, sights or flights is way easier with the new Stash feature. Stash allows you to collect snapshots of saved webpages in one place, which can be resized to give you a preview of each page. This gives you and your travel mates a more intuitive way of cherry-picking.
4. Fire up the new engine – The new Opera for Windows and Mac runs on a Chromium engine, so you can access all your websites in a blink of an eye and have a smoother experience when you get there, thanks to improved site compatibility.
5. Discover – Discover the world around you, from the comfort of your beach lounger. Lean back and get fed with new, inspiring content brought to you by Opera. The new Discover feature brings you top articles from the location and categories you choose, all in one place. Get inspired by local food recipes or destinations while traveling abroad, or scan the top headlines from your country.
6. Go off-roading – The Opera browser easily transforms into an off-road vehicle for all those who love to escape from the mainstream tourist routes. Off-Road mode, Opera’s unique compression feature, enables loading webpages faster, even while on the most sluggish connection.
“The world of fascinating web content is expanding faster than space, and we’ve delivered a browser that helps you to truly discover it,” says Lars Boilesen, Opera Software, CEO. “Get inspired by new ways of exploring web horizons, and stay tuned for some of our most beloved features, as we continue to develop the next generation of Opera.”
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