Opera Browser Latest Free Download
The second-oldest browser
currently in use,
Opera
debuted way back in 1994
and continues to attract attention. Its feature-phone version claims more than
160 million users worldwide. While desktop Opera isn't quite as heavily used, it
has developed a reputation as a leader on feature development, and can hold its
own against the big four.
Opera
covers the basics with
tabbed browsing, mouse-over previews, a customizable search bar, advanced
bookmarking tools, and simple integration with e-mail and chat clients.
Mouse-gesture support,
keyboard shortcuts, and drag-and-drop
functionality round out the essentials.
Installing Opera is a fast
and short process, taking less than 2 minutes. Many of Opera's built-in features
require creating a MyOpera account, but the browser will only prompt you to do
so when you use them for the first time -- it's not required to browse.
Tap the Options button on
the first install screen to reveal configuration tweaks. Besides changing the
browser's default language and install path, you can also install for just the
currently signed-on user, or choose to install Opera directly to an external
device. It's a great, simple way to create a
portable version of Opera for a USB
key.
Interface
Opera's interface keeps the same look that debuted in
Opera 11,
with a condensed menu button in the upper left corner, tabs on top, and a
translucent status bar on the bottom that hosts buttons to reveal Opera's
Panels, and to activate Link and Turbo. The bottom right corner of the status
bar sports a dedicated zoom slider.
Features and support
The five major browsers have been liberally borrowing features and innovations
from each other for years, yet Opera has developed a reputation for showcasing
some of the more interesting browser developments first. That's fallen off a bit
in version 12, which showcases more catching up than trailblazing leadership.
Quirky features such as
Widgets, Unite, and Voice have been killed off, which means that there's less
bloat in the browser. But no doubt that those executions were performed also
because of a lack of user interest.
Opera 12's hardware
acceleration, which is when the browser uses the graphics processor to render
animations faster and more smoothly, is still a work in progress. It's in the
browser, but you
must manually activate it for now.
Many changes in Opera 12
that pull it closer to parity with the competition. These include separate
processes for plug-ins like Flash and QuickTime, so that when the plug-in
crashes, the browser doesn't burn up with it; a lightweight add-on structure
powered by HTML5,
JavaScript, and CSS emphasized for
extensions and now themes; and redesigned location bar security badges that are
easier to read.
This isn't to say that
Opera can't compare, because it holds up well. It's just not quite as innovative
in this version as in the past. You still get tab stacks, a way to group tabs
and cut down on tab clutter; tab pinning; and Opera Link for syncing Bookmarks,
Speed Dial, Notes, and passwords to other instances of Opera, including Opera
Mobile and Opera Mini. Sadly, there's still no tab sync in Opera.
There's Growl and
multitouch trackpad support on Macs, support for some HTML5 including
next-generation video and audio codec WebM, geolocation compatibility, Web
Workers, App Cache, and Web fonts. The Web Open Font Format (WOFF), which Opera
co-sponsored, hasn't yet been added, although Opera expects it will be soon. And
Opera 12 has added HTML5 support for controlling local media hardware, such as
Webcams, from Web sites.
One of Opera's lesser-known
features is its integrated mail client. It's a reasonable alternative to
Outlook, offering many similar features. It can handle importing mailbox files
from Outlook Express, Thunderbird, Netscape, and Eudora, supports POP3 and IMAP,
and quickly synced with Gmail when we added our account.
There are other features in
Opera, including tab previews, newsgroups support, a built-in session manager,
and a fantastic array of customizations that rival Firefox. Of all the browsers
out there, Opera ships with a massive feature set and is an excellent choice for
users who want something fast and robust but just a bit old-school right out of
the box. However, aside from the integrated mail support, much of what Opera
offers can now be found elsewhere.
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