Opera In Depth

[n/a]

I've been using Opera for about a week now and it's now my default browser. I expected a cut-rate critter lacking in features, and boy, was I surprised. More than 4% of web surfers are now using Opera (that's a lot when you consider it wasn't free until recently), and there's a reason. So here's a quick review.



Yes, Opera is noticeably faster, especially with my slow dial-up connection. It's 128-bit encrypted, and cookie-handling options are varied enough to please everyone, so security isn't a problem. The latest version handles Java very well since it uses the Java Runtime Environment directly instead of as a plugin. Other than the color scheme on this forum (now fixed ), I haven't run into any pages that don't display properly since I learned that Opera can be set to identify itself to web servers as either IE or Netscape, which is a good idea considering many designer don't adhere to strict HTML standards and design primarily for one browser or the other. With that option, Opera 5.11 is actually more versatile at rendering pages than its competitors.



The interface is simple but intuitive, with customization options easy to understand and implement. True full-screen mode is available from either a drop-down View list or a right-click menu. Another drop-down gives you a quick option to zoom in or out of a page--both text and graphics--from 20% to 1000% of its default size. You can toggle between User mode, wherein you set your own preferences for how pages are displayed, and Document mode, wherein the page you're browsing is displayed as it was designed.



The Window Bar with each window you haven't closed available on its own button like a tabbed document is a great feature, and you also have an option to cascade or tile to open all windows at once. Now get this: when you close Opera, you can save the open windows to automatically re-open all of them where you left off browsing. And if you close Opera with Windows open, when you restart you're given the option to resume where you left off.



You can also create a 'linked window' that opens the links from a main window--very handy since you don't have to 'back-button' or open new windows all the time and you have a history of opened links in the linked window. The Status line shows lots more than you're used to seeing--not only the percent of the document loaded as the page is received, but more detailed contact information with the web server (including whether your request to access the page has been queued, whether the server has a timeout after so many seconds, etc.)  It also shows the number of images on the page and how many are loading, as well as how fast the page is loading in bytes per second, and loading time in seconds. It also has a Print Preview feature and a Load Images toggle.



All this is easily configurable, and the menu bars can be set to the top, bottom or sides or turned off. Right clicking about anywhere gives a multitude of options, including History and a list of what's in your cache, and for the keyboard diehard, shortcuts are plentiful and even logical. So there, Microsoft.  



Downloads are a breeze. Interrupted transfers, whether they be application downloads or video clips, can be resumed later with the click of a button.



The Search feature is impressive. Google is the default search engine, but it's easy to pick another default. Not only that, you can enter a keyword such as 'CD-RW', select 'price' from another drop-down menu and do a price search for that item. You can also search for stock quotes, software, MP3s, etc. using the same menu.



Bookmarks are pretty easy to deal with, plus it automatically imports from IE, and a Hotlist button brings up a resizable locked frame with bookmarks, contacts, and email. The Bookmark tab in the toolbar opens folders to the side with a mouseover.



The Usenet news reader is faster and in my opinion both simpler and superior to either Netscape or Microsoft versions.



The email package is pretty basic, though. This is the first version of Opera to include a built-in email client at all. I haven't found a way to send anything but plain text messages, and setting up multiple accounts is a bit confusing. There was some jousting with Outlook Express, but the refreshingly friendly Help section proved useful, as did the Opera Newsgroups -- those are included with hundreds of other pre-installed and entertaining bookmarks, by the way. I'm going to install Eudora email and see how that works, since the integration with it is supposed to be better than with OE and I've always been frustrated with OE anyway. A version of ICQ is integreted into the browser as well, but I haven't tried to set that up yet.



Well, I hope I've tempted you into trying this quick and powerful new browser and wave bye-bye to the fat-cat arrogance of Microsoft and Netscape. While it's not perfect, neither am I, so we get along well together.



Opera Download



http://www.poasters.com/images/bear.jpg" border=0>

     --Bear