Opera Web Browser--Try It to Speed Things Up
Written: May 10 '01 (Updated May 28 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Speedy--especially speeds up a dial-up service
Cons: Still has a few quirks
The Bottom Line: If you want to increase your browser speed, try Opera. Keep your other browser in case of emergency.
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| GlendaG's Full Review: Opera |
At first I used Opera only to speed up things up when surfing was especially slow.
Why didn't I use it all the time? Because of those all too frequent occasions when it made me want to throw my mouse through my monitor.
Why am I using Opera almost exclusively now? Recently I've been exploring the ins and outs of Opera and I've discovered the causes of many of the quirks that had annoyed (enraged?) me. Some are correctable and others not, but at least I understand them better.
Further down, I've listed things I like about Opera, but first I want to talk about some of the frustrating Opera problems I encountered and what I discovered about them. Maybe it will be of help to some of you who are just starting to use Opera.
1) This first problem would mostly be a problem for only the computer-challenged, such as myself. However, before I figured it out, I did ask one supposedly computer knowledgeable person who didn't know the answer.
When revisiting a webpage, Opera would show the original page without current changes. Then I would have to click Reload to get a current updated page. I discovered that the problem was that there was a 5-minute time interval set for checking whether an item in the cache has been modified on the Internet and if so, updating it. The solution is to change the settings so that an updated webpage will load every time there has been a modification. (Go to File/Document/History & Cache, click "Always" under Documents, Images, and Other.)
2) Opera won't save passwords. At first I thought it was a matter of changing a Preference setting. Don't waste your time looking for it because it doesn't exist. Whether you like it or not, the Opera creators want to protect you from other users of your computer and hackers.
3) Sometimes flickering will occur. I've found that this is because double buffering has been disabled (usually mysteriously). To correct this, click "Avoid Flicker" under File/Preferences/Windows.
4) You can't get on certain websites with Opera because of cookies supposedly being disabled (to enable, see "Privacy" under File Preferences). Recently, I've read that some websites just don't recognize any browsers except Microsoft Explorer and Netscape Navigator. The "solution" is to use another browser for those websites.
5) Opera sometimes suddenly becomes extremely slow or balky or just won't load at all. This is usually because "Synchronize DNS" has become enabled. Disable by going to File/Preferences/Connections, and this should take care of the problem. (For an explanation of "Synchronize DNS", look under Help/Troubleshooting Opera.)
6) On websites that I visit regularly and have bookmarked, I have to log on again every time I return when using Opera (unlike Explorer and Navigator). There may be a solution, but I haven't found it. If anyone knows the answer, please leave a Comment.
Here are some things I especially like about Opera:
1) Not only do webpages seem to load faster, but Back and Forward work instantly, a noticeable fraction of a second faster than other browsers. Opera's webpage loading speed as compared to other browsers seems to vary, depending on what the the webpage contains and how fast the other browsers are loading at that particular time. Admittedly, this is subjective and I don't have any objective evidence.
2) For those who have a physical problem using a mouse, the keyboard Z can be pressed for Back and X for Forward.
3) On the toolbar, there is a magnifying, or reducing, option, with which you can zoom in or out. The range is from 20% to 1000%.
4) There are several bars showing speed and completion of download of a webpage.
5) You can open more than one window within Opera without having to open another copy of Opera.
Despite the problems, Opera is still my very favorite browser, mainly because of its speed. When you live in the hinterlands and have to use a local dial-up internet service, you need to use any advantage you can to speed things up. I've found that Opera has helped significantly.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
GlendaG
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Reviews written: 25
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