Get the binoculars out, we're going to surf the web with Opera! (Opera Web Browser)

Member Name: Skybly

Product:	Opera Web Browser
Date:	15/08/01 (1221 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great functionality, fast, saves system resources

Disadvantages: for somewhat experienced users, websites are not always compatible, ad banner

So, which browser are you using to read this opinion?
Taking a guess, I'd say either Internet Explorer or Netscape. Am I right? If yes, read on, because I am going to introduce you to the browser that made surfing the web sooo much more enjoyable for me!

I admit it - I'm a multitasker. I'm never doing just one thing when I'm at my PC, so what you would typically see on my desktop would look like this:

- one to ten browser windows
- ICQ
- my email client
- a music player
- various other programs like a HTML-editor, imaging software, a MUD client, a game, whatever I am currently busy with.

Well, each of those programs of course demands its fair share of my system resources. The browser I used in the past was Good Old Internet Explorer. Now, unfortunately, IE is to my PC as a starving vampire is to a rosy virgin. Leave too many windows open, and next thing you know the vampire (IE) has sucked all of the blood (system resources) out of the lovely virgin (my PC).

And when your system resources hit 5% free or lower, nasty things happen. I got used to my PC crashing and me having to restart every few hours.

But now I found the remedy! When garlic, pointy stakes and crucifixes can't help, Opera is the rescue!

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Opera is the (somewhat strange) name of the best browser my PC has ever seen. It's fast, functional, saves memory and is available in many languages for many platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux/Solaris, OS/2, BeOS, EPOC, and QNX). And now, it's free!

The current (Windows) version is Opera 5.12, and unlike previous versions you can download an ad-supported freeware version from www.opera.com . So, what's so great about this program?
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MULTIPLE DOCUMENT INTERFACE
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Unlike Interne
t Explorer and Netscape, where each new window you open is like another complete browser window, Opera has just one main window and all websites are opened in sub-windows.
Not only does this leave your taskbar nice and uncluttered (the windows are organized on an internal taskbar in the main window), it also saves alot of system resources. Since I installed Opera, I never had a crash due to low resources.

Another neat feature, you can tell Opera to remember the last opened windows, so if you accidentally close the browser or your PC crashes they will just load up again as if nothing happened.

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SPEED
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Opera Software advertise their browser with the tagline "The _fastest_ browser on earth!" (I wonder how extraterrestial browsers compare?). I have no proof of this, and I didn't bother to sit in front of my PC with a stopwatch, but fast it is.

The status bar which shows the downloading of the website in progress is also a lot better than IE's, which makes it a little easier to wait if you have to.
It shows how far the document has been downloaded in percentage, the number of images already loaded (i.e. 7/10), the number of bytes loaded so far, the speed at which you are downloading (kb/s), and the time elapsed since you requested the website.

Maybe this is more information than you need, but personally I think it's nice to see if a website loads slow because the connection is horrible or because the webmaster decided to put a picture of his pet elephant in true-to-life size on it :)

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NAVIGATION
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At first glance, the navigating in Opera isn't much different from other browsers. There is a toolbar with back, forward, refresh, home buttons etc. There's also a menu for your bookmarks. Nothing unusual. The good features
are hidden under the surface :)

One thing the programmers had in mind when designing Opera was
to give the user plenty of choices on how to navigate the web.
So if clicking buttons isn't your thing, you can access almost all functions using keyboard shortcuts.

Or you can use a new feature which is pure genius: mouse gestures. If you have ever played Black & White, this will sound familiar, and it's indeed very similar: you access certain functions by holding down a mouse button and moving the mouse in a specific way. The gestures are all very intuitive and you will use them without thinking about it in no time. Some examples:

Back: Hold right mouse button and click left button
Forward: Hold left mouse button and click right button
New window: Hold right mouse button and move downwards
(if you do this over a link, it will open the link in a new window)

These 3 are probably the ones I use most frequently, but there are quite a few more for closing, minimizing, etc.
The only bad thing about mouse gestures is that I keep trying to use them in other programs :)

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EXTRAS
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Opera has a number of useful features that can save you from having to use external programs. They are:


- email client
- newsreader
- address book

- ICQ client: This lacks most of the features of the original ICQ client (no history, no file transfer, etc.), but if you just want to chat or be obtainable, it's a lean alternative.

- search field: with this you can access a number of search engines directly through the browser. The default engine is Google, but you can also choose from Altavista and GoTo and a number of specific searches (images, MP3s, etc.)

- download manager: an invaluable tool for anyone who wants to download larger files! The inbuilt download manager allows you to resume dow
nloads if they have been discontinued for some reason. Really helpful if your connection tends to break down at 99% finished downloads :)

- disable pop-up windows: this prevents a website from opening another window without you asking it to (usually those annoying pop up banner ads).

- zoom: so that you won't need the binoculars mentioned in the title. This will enlarge both text and images.

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CUSTOMIZATION
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Who said looks don't matter?
Opera allows you to change its appearance (and functionality) to your tastes. You can select which buttons appear in the toolbar, where the toolbars are located, if/which sounds will be played on events (for example, clicking on a link or finishing loading a website). You can also select a background picture for the main window and a "skin" (an image that will be repeated over the toolbars etc.).

On the Opera website there is a section called "Opera Composer" which allows you to select your own button images, splash screen, colours etc. and then will make an install file for "your" browser from that. A nice feature, but more geared towards businesses that want to offer a branded browser for their customers - I wouldn't want to reinstall the whole browser just for a new look.

I would have preferred it if Opera supported "real" skinning like WinAmp or Netscape 6.
(You can change button images etc. without the Opera Composer but it requires a bit of fiddling with INI files).

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Well, now I listed all the nice features of Opera. But nothing is perfect, and so there also are some downsides to using this browser.

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ADS
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Opera wasn't free in the past, and it isn't truly freeware right now either. Y
ou can use it without having to pay anything, but in exchange you have to accept an ad banner (the usual size of 486 x 60 pixels) in the upper right corner of the main window.

You can enter some information about yourself so that at least you are presented banners that you might have some interest in.

Personally I am not bothered by the banner at all, it is as high as the toolbar and is just using up space that would be empty otherwise. Note that my screen resolution is 1024 x 768 pixels though. With a lower resolution I'd imagine that the banner would be far more annoying.

You can of course always decide to pay for Opera (US$ 39) which will get rid of the banner.

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STANDARDS COMPLIANCE
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Sounds like a good thing, doesn't it? Well, it is really, it means that Opera supports all (or most) of common web standards - such as JavaScript, Style Sheets, WML, anything you need really.
I could as well have put this under "advantages".

So what's the problem? Opera strictly sticks to the standards set by the World Wide Web Consortium. Internet Explorer and Netscape don't. Both Microsoft and Netscape have implemented various functions into their browsers that are not recognized as a standard.
This is really their problem, not Opera's, but since these two browsers are the ones that are most commonly used to surf the web, there are quite a few websites that are designed specifically for Internet Explorer or Netscape. So there is a chance that you might not see these pages in the way that the webdesigners intended. Their fault, but annoying for you!

In most cases though, all you are going to miss are some sparkly (and potentially annoying) effects like text flying over the screen and the likes.

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PLUG-INS
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A p
lug-in is a little extra program needed to display certain forms of content. For example, Shockwave is a plugin often needed to run games in your browser.

The good news: Opera supports most common plug-ins that are supported by Netscape.

The bad news: _Most_ plug-ins. Not all. And they may be awkward to install. For example, you might have to copy and rename the Opera file to netscape.exe to trick the plug-in into thinking you are using Netscape. Annoying little buggers, those plug-ins.

Opera does offer excellent support on their website so you should be able to get everything to work - but if you are a computer newbie you might prefer Internet Explorer where almost everything works automatically.

I had no problems visiting websites with Flash. Occasionally Opera seems to crash though after running Java applets, or they look weird.

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CONCLUSION
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I've been using Opera for a while now and I wouldn't want to miss it. It has soo many little features that make surfing the net easier, and it has saved me from many crashes due to low system resources. If you want to use it to its full potential it would be very helpful though if you have some experience with computers. There are some features of Opera that are not accessible through the menus. Have a look around the Opera website to find out how to adapt it to your needs perfectly (http://www.opera.com/support/).

You can get Opera for free at www.opera.com .
The download size is 9.85 MB with Java support and 2.24 MB without.
Should you have any problems, definitely have a look at their website, the support is excellent. Happy surfing :)

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