Opera 7 - The Panto version (Opera Web Browser)

Member Name: DJBorley

Product:	Opera Web Browser
Date:	05/01/03 (632 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It's not made by Microsoft. , It's easy to use.

Disadvantages: Not all webpages seem to load up correctly

Opera 7 - The Panto version

Hello boys and girls, my name is Buttons, and I'm here to find my Cinderella, called Opera. Do you think you can help me?

One of my recent reviews was based around advertising on opinion sites (sorry for the self-plug, guys and girls), especially the annoying pop-ups that seem to rear their ugly head every couple of minutes. This review resulted in a number of comments, but one that stuck out mentioned using Opera as a browser as opposed to Internet Explorer. "WHY SHOULD THIS MATTER?" I hear you all say half-heartedly (I know, I know, we're all bored of panto by now). Well, apparently, Opera allows you to disable pop-ups. How cool is that?!! Armed with this nugget of information, I headed off to Opera.com, where I'd heard the streets were paved with gold.

I'm going to have to take the time now to apologise for this review, as I've only just downloaded and started using the software, so if you're looking for a more in-depth review, all I can say is that you need to check out the other reviews first. If you're looking for an immediate "first impression" view, than I'm your man!

Opera describes itself as such: "Opera is user-friendly, secure, and exceptionally fast. The browser is small, yet full-featured and functions well on systems with limited resources. Opera supports all common Web standards and implements them according to the official recommendations."

Upon booting up Opera.com (take in the last few glances at the Ugly Sister that is your old Internet software everyone, as you won't be using that too much in the future!) you'll see that there are versions available for Windows and Mac. Closer inspection shows that you can also get versions for Linux, OS/2, Solaris, FreeBSD, QNX and Symbian. I'm a Windows person at the moment, at least until there is a viable alternative that I don't have to concentrate on
in order to use, so I went for the Opera v7 Beta 2 download. If you're at all
worried about Beta versions (which are the versions available before the software is put out for general use, and therefore may contain bugs), then you're best going for v6.05, which shows on the download page as the latest stable release (Christmas is over, so although there is a stable, alas there is no manger) for Windows. However, this review is about Opera v7, so on we go, choosing a Download location of Norway (which was the closest to the UK, and therefore should be the "With Java" version at a mere 12.6mb. My theory is that more is best when it comes down to installing programs, so I didn't even give the 3.2mb "Without Java" option a look, and proceeded to install a standard installation as opposed to a compacted one. Make sure you choose to save the file to disk, and once it's started downloading, go and make the tea. By the time you've come back, the download will have finished. "OH NO IT HASN'T!" Oh, yes it has! "OH NO IT HASN'T!" Oh yes it... oh, no, hold on. If you're using a 56K modem, then it may not have finished downloading yet, but stick with it, it's well worth it!

Once you've completed the download, it's just a case of the normal "Yes, yes, agree" etc. I find that the necessary answers are normally highlighted, so pressing Enter a few times gets you through the screens without too much of a worry (though you need to agree to certain terms etc before installation, so you may want a read at that) You should see the self-installation kick into action and, following a couple more prompts, you will now have Opera installed on your PC (or Mac, or whatever)

A quick double click on the Opera icon, and a couple of choices, such as whether you want Opera to load with a homepage, or whether you want it to load with your last three viewed pages (Ideal if y
our PC crashes a lot. Not ideal if you've been looking at something that you don't want others who share your PC to know about!), and you can get underway.

If you've used Internet Explorer, then this is pretty much the same layout, as I would imagine just about any browser software is. A quick flick through the buttons at the top shows that almost all the short-cut keys are the same as most Microsoft products (Choosing Help, then Keyboard gives you a list) In fact, the Opera website lists the Keyboard Shortcuts as a main feature of the software: "Only Opera makes it possible to navigate entirely with the keyboard, enabling even more speed. Press F8 to give focus to the address field or Z and X to move backward and forward in history. Press Alt+P to edit your preferences, or G to turn graphics off." The software also boasts of a "Mouse gesture" option, which isn't when the user twitches their nose or gets a sudden craving for cheese!: "Opera puts more power at your fingertips with smart and fast mouse gesture recognition. Press (and hold) the right button and then press the left button to go backward. Do it the other way around to go forward."

It's got an option to check your email, which I can't comment on, as I've yet to look at it (though my first impression is that it's set up for Opera email, and not Hotmail, unsurprisingly)

A right-click on the Navigation toolbar (that's the one with the buttons you use to scroll back and forth on the internet) allows you to de-activate the "Large images", and thus makes the Navigation toolbar that little bit smaller and more user-friendly.

As a new user, the best buttons are all under "File" Clicking on File and scrolling down to "Import" allows you to import either Netscape or Internet Explorer favourites, which means that you now have very little excuse to go back to either! Note that these a
re stored under "Bookmarks" as opposed to "Favourites", but they work in the same way!

A further look down the File list will see an option called "Quick Preferences", and here you have my favourite option - You can choose to have Pop-ups off altogether, on as normal, or have them open in the background (Altogether now "IT'S BEHIND YOU!"), which means that although you will see the pop-up open up, via a tab at the top of the page (similar to the tabs used at the bottom of a Excel spreadsheet), it won't open up in front of your existing window. You can also choose to open up "Requested Pop-Up Windows only" In other words, you won't get pop-ups loading at all, unless you've specifically clicked on a link that opens in a pop-up, such as an info screen! Personally, I like to know what my PC has been asked to load, so I always have them on in the background. That way I can choose to see them as and when I like, I can right-click and delete the ones that I know are of no interest (Damn German Amazon advert that keeps rearing its ugly head! In fact, we can refer to that as the Evil Baron of the Panto!) I can also choose to click the pop-ups and support sites as and when I see fit.

All in all, my first impressions are good. The past versions of the software always seem to have been recommended, and it's fairly easy to use. I've barely touched on the surface of all the bits and pieces that it looks as though you can play about with on Opera, but to be honest I doubt you'll ever get to use a lot of them.

The best thing about this piece of software? The hands-down answer is that it can move you one step further away from Bill Gates! The other plus points that immediately stand out are the control you have over pop-ups (handy for Ciao and Dooyoo users, or for those users who tend to peruse porn and warez sites. Apparently.)

The worst thing that I have s
een is the occasional page that doesn't like to work in Opera. Someone said that the websites of the world are built around Microsoft, and occasionally some websites don't respond too well in non-Microsoft programs. However, having said that, I have only seen that happen on one web page, and that was astalavista, which I hardly use anyway!

You can download Opera for free at Opera.com, though after a short trial period, although you can still use it for free, you will be subject to adverts appearing on your software. These adverts will disappear once you register though, at a cost of $39 US Dollars (approx £24.21 according to XE.com as of 4th Jan 2003) or you can upgrade a previous version of Opera for $20 US Dollars (approx £12.42). These prices apply for all systems. If I continue using this as my main browser, then I will definitely register it, as I think it is a decent enough piece of software to warrant it.

One last thing though. I'm not too sure if you can use this software if you're an overweight female singer. If you are then this can apparently cause problems, as people keep telling me that the Opera isn't over till the fat lady sings?...

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