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Opera 9.5 Alpha - Kestrel
Opera have released Opera 9.5 alpha, code named Kestrel.
I'm guessing Kestrel signifies agility and speed...
Internal benchmarks show up to 50 percent increase in speed compared to the previous core version in Opera 8.
http://www.opera.com/products/desktop/alfa/alfa.dml
The improved support for CSS3 and Javascript/DOM is comprehensive and detailed in full in the Changelog
Synchronize is added in this version..
Kestrel contains a sneak preview with support for bookmarks, Speed Dial and personal bar synchronization between desktop versions of Opera. To check it out, just click File - Synchronize with My Opera and follow the instructions. Get your stuff anywhere!
If your a browser tragic or seriously looking for an alternative browser, then this alpha release is worth a test flight. Note, alpha means you should not use this release in place of your regular browser. It's still far from final release and could crash.
Opera 9.2 with Speed Dial
Opera deserves a larger slice of the browser market.
This release adds another reason why...
check out Speed Dial Demo and an introduction to Speed Dial.
To save a Web address as a speed dial entry, open a new tab and click on one of the nine squares. A dialogue box presents a multitude of options, including frequently visited pages and open pages: you may select a Web page from the list or type in a new address. It is also possible to drag and drop from bookmarks, panels, or any other location where Web addresses are displayed.
Example Speed Dial bookmark.
The full page Speed Dial presentation is easy on the eye and gives fast visual access to regular destinations.
Louie, at 3 years of age, will be delighted when we upgrade his version of Opera. He can now have all his favourites on one image rich page as an alternative to regular bookmarks or his icon riddled home page we set up for him.
Well done Opera... one question, can I change/delete that Yahoo search box?
Browser page similarities?
Now I'm not about to call anyone a Scab, however the page layouts for these two browser sites are amazingly similar. Notice the horizontal colour split, grey gradients, green download buttons, red and black name/version branding and background circles for computer images.
Open these two sites in separate tabs and just flick between them. The similarities go much further than the above images show.
Paint by numbers for browser download pages?
Eivind Skjellum, designer of the Opera Page:
When I designed this page (yes, it's my work), it was pointed out to me that there were similarities to the Firefox download page.
What surprises me is that an outfit like Opera, who make a very good browser, are satisfied to go with what they recognise as a similar design in what is virtually a three player market.
The release of Firefox 2.0 and the associated great redesign of the Mozilla sites now makes this post redundant. Comments are now closed.
IE 7 Beta3 - a better beta
The developers sound pleased with their tweaks and graphical touch ups. They are still calling for feedback yet their words have that ring of finality.
Some early observations.
- Installation can be a bitch
- I followed the instructions to the letter only to be greeted with an ERROR..can't install.. message and being left with IE6. I resolved this by winding back WindowsXP 24 hours and starting again! I know, it is Beta but I do this nightly with Firefox 2.0a3 and Opera 9 weekly with ease. Good luck with your installation.
It's fast, leaving Firefox test builds eating it's dust. It even feels faster than Opera 9.
The UI remains inflexible with space wasted like there is no tomorrow. Until they match the layout flexibility of other browsers, this remains far from a user focused browser.
While they have Widgets, improved Web Feeds etc etc they don't have extensions.
Bookmarking and RSS management are the real standouts and I did mention how fast it is!
Opera is now free
Great to see this happen at long last. A wider user base will help the development of this fine browser and ensure that others keep raising the quality bar.
Why we're going free
Opera has removed the banners, found within our browser, and the licensing fee. Opera�s growth, due to tremendous worldwide customer support, has made today�s milestone an achievable goal.
Download the latest Opera 8.5 free.
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