The Internet has truly become a large part of everyone’s life the last few years. I remember way back in the early 90’s that “surfing” the world wide web was actually limited to under 100 web pages. And “browsing” was limited to text browsers.

Over the years, the browser wars took place. You had Internet Explorer battling it out with Netscape; but in the end IE was easily the victor. For many anti-microsofters, Mozilla was their primary choice of browser; if they couldn’t stomach Netscape. Opera has always played the dark horse in the running; but it wasn’t until 6.05 that I truly took notice of it.

Simply the best internet experience
That is the slogan of Opera software, and it’s true. Since the internet plays such a critical role in everyone everyday life; why not make it as good as possible? For those sick and tired of Internet Explorer and fed up with it, I challenge you to try something new…

The first thing you will notice about Opera is the overall size of it. It’s a tiny thing, weighing in under eight megabytes. If you don’t have the java applet program, you will have to download that separately, or just download the full version of Opera. Once you install the software it may not be as dramatic as one expected. The initial install of Opera is nothing short of ugly. The big bulky graphics are gaudy and the formatting is pitiful. Here is where Opera has it’s first huge benefit. customization

Opera built my hotrod
For those fanatics who like to customize their operating systems and desktops you are truly going to be in heaven. The customization of Opera is like nothing else you’ve tried before. Literally everything can be customized. This ranges from scores of skins to color schemes to button and menu location.

Currently I have my Opera set up that optimizes my internet experience fully, and IE could never even come close to matching. Not only the look and feel, but also the functionality.

If you ever have been frustrated with multiple IE windows on your tool bar, Opera has revolutionized the way multiple windows can be opened. They incorporate a “tab style” that is conviently located on the top (or wherever) you want within Opera. So all of my windows are open and can be viewed and accessed with one click. The software also features a nice system called “hotlist”. The hotlist has multiple functions. It can “float” as a tab like your windows, or can be docked to the top, right, bottom or middle of your session. I have mine locked on the right and takes up maybe 15% of my viewing screen. Within the hotlist, it can contain anything from your email, bookmarks and history; to your transfers and shortcuts.

Also included in the hotlist (if you choose) is a “links” button. The links button is all text, but it shows every link within the active page. This leads to quick navigation without actually having to dig through countless images.

But wait, there’s more!
I’m going to briefly list a few of the great options Opera includes, but more can be defined at their website (www.opera.com). Probably my favorite feature of Opera has to be the intuitive process called “mouse gestures”. Mouse gestures is a unique way to navigate the web. Instead of constantly having to hit the back button or the forward button, this all can be done via mouse gestures. Say you wanted to go back one page, simply hold right-click, flip your mouse left and let go of the button. To go forward, hold the right-click in and flip your mouse right and let go. There are about a half-dozen other gestures that I use consistently. This ranges from creating a new window, to reloading an active page…

Opera has also simplified other normal web routines. Instead of clicking on “file-new-window” within IE, simply double-click on the blank bar (or wherever you main bar is) and it creates a new window. If you are like me, you hate pop-ups and find third party software to be ineffective. Opera has all but eliminated the need of pop-up removers. In the “quick preferences” menu, you can change the way the browser handles pop-ups. You can choose to accept all pop-ups or take a more aggressive approach. You can either “accept only requested pop-ups” or “refuse all pop-ups”. I choose to accept only requested pop-ups (the ones you click on). This has saved me from being bombarded with dozens of unwanted banners, ads and pop-ups (no X10 camera!).

In fact the quick preference menu has many features that make your experience much better. This can include limiting privacy and security as well as how Opera handles plugins. Where would a browser be without a right click menu? Right clicking produces a variety of options. Single click on a word on a page, and you have the option to search the internet with whatever you chose. You can also add something to your bookmarks as well as manually choose to reload the page at whatever time you want. This is especially good for forums and newsgroups. Have the page reload every 5-minutes or whatever, really keeps you working at optimum speed.

My second most loved feature with the software, has to be the “wand” feature. For those of you who have multiple usernames and passwords; keeping them together is always a chore. And for the few sickos that use Gator or other password managers, beware of spyware! Anyway, once you enter a username and password; Opera asks if you want the wand to remember your information. If you choose yes, the next time you visit that site you can simply click on the wand and it automatically enters the data. If you want to take it a step further, you can enter your personal information in the preferences and enter data with a right click. Instead of always filling out forms with nicknames, real names and address, you can simply click on the box and right click to insert information.

For you internet purists, many people despise graphics during browsing. It bogs down your viewing, especially if you just want the text. With Opera, simply toggle a button to show or hide graphics. The image is then replaced with a small box and the “Alt-text” of whatever the graphic is. Click again on the button, and the graphics reappear.

Performance?
As just mentioned, Opera is built for speed. Options like the hiding of graphics, drastically improves speed, but inside the Opera engine is a whole new beast. One thing the software does is called “fast forward”. When you load up a page, Opera verifies all of the links on the page and automatically starts to load all of the links in memory. Even on a dial up connection, many pages load up at an amazing rate. Opera also uses personal CSS to make pages load up even quicker. You can also toggle between an author mode or design view.

For everyone who has used IE, one thing you will notice is that it hogs up resources and is the epitome of “bloatware”. Since Opera is so small, everything is done basically through text files and is quite speedy. I’ve tested it head-to-head with IE and Opera wins hands down every time. I’ve loaded up big pages with IE and then with Opera, and the big “O” beat it by at least 20%.

Regarding the security issue; I'm not an expert in the area but from what I've read within the forums, it is much more stable and secure than IE will ever be. No gaping security holes and no patches every two weeks. Opera does, however, incorporate the latest 128-bit SSL and TSL. Here is a link if you are interested in regards to the security:

http://www.opera.com/support/service/security/

Perfect it’s not
Currently I’m using the latest release which is version 7. As much as I love it and wouldn’t use anything else, it does have it’s fair share of problems. Little things like copying and pasting text is not done well. Copying text and placing it in notepad or Word, removes carriage returns and removes any formatting.

Probably the most hindering feature for most will be the obscure email program. I love it now, but it took me a good two weeks to fully get the handle on it. The “revolutionary” email is called “M2”, but I found most Opera users still tend to stick with Outlook. However, once you get the hang of it you will be fine.

There are other slight problems when using Opera; such as compatibility. Some websites only allow Internet Explorer, and blocks everything else. Luckily the software has a quick-preference to identify the browser as Internet Explorer; but you still may have problems. For example: I can’t login to my online banking account. Most issues have been fixed with the release of Opera, but you still may come across a few sites that Opera just can’t handle. This is mainly because the authors wrote the code to specifically run IE…

Support is good for the browser, and the forums there are more than helpful. So if you ever have a question, everyone there is more than happy to lend a hand.

Bottom line?
The largest factor that makes Opera not the world wide standard is basically because it is NOT free. The software costs a measly $30, but you get the software as well as a groovy mouse pad. You can use the browser for free, but will be subjugated to a small banner at the top right hand side of your browser. Still, it’s a good way to try it and if you DO like it; support the team and make a purchase. To me, it is MORE than worth it; simply to eliminate Internet Explorer and the resources it sucks.

I highly recommend Opera 7 to just about every internet enthusiast out there. However, if you do try it please give it a chance. Try it out for a full week and see what you think. It does take a few hours to fully get the hang of it; especially the customization features. I truly think after a week and after you customize it with nice skins, you will be totally hooked.

Give IE the boot for a week, and see how good browsing the internet should be.




Recommended: Yes