The Big O - Review of Opera 10

Opera does it again with version 10

Opera has for long been a name feared by the other browsers, thanks to its cutting edge features. Recently, Opera announced its version 10, which is available online for free and is compatible with Linux, Windows and Mac OSX operating platforms. Like its predecessors, this one too has a whole lot of new features worth your time.

The now-popular speed dial was originally invented by Opera. The new version allows users to organise their bookmarks from a 2x2 to a 5x5 grid on the speed dial. Now, you can also add background image to the page. Using a feature called Opera Link, you can synchronise bookmarks, speed dials, notes and other browser data between all your PCs so that all your machines have the same feel. Safari and Firefox have add-ons that do the same thing, but with the function in-built, there is a lesser chance of the Opera browser crashing.

Opera also makes it easier to manage multiple tabs. Just moving your mouse over a tab produces a live thumbnail of what is on the page. On widescreens, this has the potential to become a great utility with users choosing the location of the thumbnail as per their liking.

The search bar is by default set to Google, but users can customise it to any search engine of their choice. You can also stretch the search bar in case your search phrase is too long.

But all this is not really new. Where Opera 10 becomes cutting-edge is with Unite. This function allows you to set up a Unite network with your machine as a server so that your friends and family gets authenticated access to shared files through URLs.
To do this you have to create a free account with Opera. You are given a URL preceded by your computer name. If you call you machine homepc, the URL will be http://homepc.username.operaunite.com . The application can be used to share anything from simple files to a mediaplayer. Plus it has applications like Fridge which act as a pin board where you can leave messages for friends and Document Courier which lets you upload a file to your PC from anywhere. It can even double as a live messenger.

You also have the option of making your shared files public or password protected, but I would have loved it to have multiple usernames and passwords. Since UPNP is enabled by default on most routers, there is no need to change setting to get this feature to work.

I have always liked Opera’s Notes feature, but would have loved the ability to attach the notes to specific websites. Also users have to configure their email in Opera or use a webmail service such as Yandex, Fastmail, OperaMail or Mail.ru to send the notes to a friend. It would have been better if there was direct integration with either Yahoo or Gmail.

I still believe Safari is the fastest on Mac and Chrome the best for Windows, but what Opera can do is still unmatchable and out of the box.
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The above review appeared in the Indian Express, on Sunday Jan 17, 2010.