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The forgotten browser in the browser war!

opera.com — Opera 9 is often forgotten but its one of the most powerful web browsers out there. Some say its better than firefox 2 and IE 7 combined! Determine that for youself.

Who dugg this? Made popular Nov 5, 2006

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  • portis, on 10/12/2007, -72/+193Opera is not popular for a very good reason. Extensions. Give it up Opera fanboys. Users of FF will never give up extensibility.
  • pevail, on 10/12/2007, -11/+71Opera is very fast on my old PIII computer-much faster than Firefox.
  • Sanchez, on 10/12/2007, -22/+81What? Nobody's forgotten Opera, a lot of people just prefer firefox. Myself, I just find Firefox a lot more user friendly. Also, I have like over 20 extensions, many of which i couldn't live without.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -17/+70@acoot
    Because of the loyality to Open Source? Oh my god... 90% of the Firefox people don't even know what Open Source is. And that's the strength of Firefox - it appeals to people that don't know about browsers but STILL prefer it over Internet Explorer.

    Opera appeals just to a fraction of the techies, and a even smaller fraction of the non-techies.
    Opera is good, though.

    I use Opera Mini on my Palm and am happy with it. But for the desktop, I prefer Firefox.

    And to the people saying that Firefox extensions include features that Opera has pre-installed.
    Yes, you're right. For probably 50% of the extensions. The other 50% are things like Firebug, which makes Firefox THE browser for webdevelopers, or Toolbars (Google, Yahoo, etc.) which are used by millions of people, or things like "Fingerfox", which enables Microsoft Fingerprint Reader for Firefox.

    But let's simply look at the most popular extensions:
    FlashGot
    NoScript
    Download Statusbar
    Adblock Plus
    FireFTP

    How many of this features are included per default in Opera?

    Then, let's look at the recommended add-ons:
    Forecastfox
    Sage
    Jeteye
    ChatZilla
    del.icio.us Bookmarks
    FoxyTunes
    Performancing
    Pronto Shopping Messenger
    Greasemonkey
    Map+
    Adblock Plus
    Download Statusbar
    FireFTP
    Firebug
    blueorganizer
    LinkedIn Companion for Firefox
    Clipmarks
    Cooliris Previews
    StumbleUpon
    Foxmarks Bookmarks Synchronizer
    Answers
    FlashGot
    Yoono
    JAJAH - Web-Activated Telephony
    Web Developer

    Some of them are features available by default, but many are NOT.

    Argue with Opera's real strengths - Web Standards and a working mobile version. It's not much more that Opera has. The Desktop client is available just for marketing and branding reasons, anyway. There's not much money being made with it...
  • AprilEthereal, on 10/12/2007, -75/+121I've given up on firefox - it's unfortunately been too buggy at some really inopportune times, but Opera has always performed. I like the layout better, too.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -24/+64I agree with you portis. I am a hardcore Opera fan, but yet forced to use Firefox quite regularly due to lack of extensions.
  • MasterChi, on 10/12/2007, -14/+48@Sorrow - have you even used Opera ? Sage from what I read is an RSS Reader, this is standard in Opera. NoScript blocks javascript and such, again its standard in Opera without downloading extra things(extensions). FoxyTune is a music player......Opera doesn't have that to my knowledge but I change songs on my multimedia keyboard with just a push of a button so no big worries for me atleast. I couldn't find anything on the "etc" extension but let me know if there is anything else you think Opera is missing.
  • IMustBeEmo, on 10/12/2007, -10/+42Opera has ad blocking, too.
  • omaryak, on 10/12/2007, -13/+44I haven't had the stability problems with Firefox 2 that I had with 1.5, at least so far (I'm on a Mac). When I had problems with the stability of 1.5, I still used it because it loads pages faster and has a cleaner interface. That being said, Opera is a pretty lean browser, and I do try it each time they release an update.
  • Devz0r, on 10/12/2007, -2/+33@Murdats

    fasterfox - default config settings

    forcastfox - touchtheSky Widget ( http://widgets.opera.com/widget/3903 ) or Weather Widget ( http://widgets.opera.com/widget/3789 )

    flashgot - Links Panel and/or customized menu in combination with an external accellerator (such as Flashget or Stardownloader)

    image zoom - Most features out-of-box; try also AutoSizer UserScript/Zoom Image UserScript

    nuke anything - http://mrclay.org/index.php/2006/04/23/mypage-bookmarklet/

    google suggest (the plugin not the google service it uses) - Google Suggest Userscript ( http://userjs.org/scripts/site/enhancements/google-suggest )

    colorful tabs - Not available (necessary?)

    adblock plus - Right click, block content

    site advisor - Is this anti-phish? This is being implemented into Opera 9.1, I'm using it in beta right now.

    gmail skins - not available (possible for userscript?)

    firefox google bookmarks - bookmark synchronizer? Third party tool oSync ( http://my.opera.com/community/forums/topic.dml?id=104071 ), storage at my.opera.com

    ressurect pages - this has long been a default opera feature by going to the trash can, or continuing from last browser session.

    google browser sync - Third party tool oSync, storage at my.opera.com

    adblock filterset.g updater - not available

    downthemall - Links Panel and/or customized menu in combination with an external accellerator (such as Flashget or Stardownloader)

    googlepedia - Operapedia http://www.gt500.org/blog/static.php?page=operapedia

    flashblock - Site Preferences, Block Content and Flash Block UserScript ( http://userjs.org/scripts/general/enhancements/hide-objects )

    bugmenot - BugMeNot Widget ( http://widgets.opera.com/widget/4172 ) BugMeNot userscript ( http://userjs.org/scripts/general/enhancements/bug-me-not )

    firefusk - certainly seems possible, but isn't that apparent.

    stylish - User Stylesheet in Site Preferences (Default)


    any more questions? consult http://files.myopera.com/Rijk/blog/extensions.html
  • Onechrisn, on 10/12/2007, -7/+37You know what I never see? I never see Opera users popping into Fire Fox posts and trying to prove that Opera is better.

    You know what I ALWAYS see? I see Fire Fox users popping into EVERY Opera post and arguing every point under the sun that Fire Fox is Sooooo much better than Opera.

    Why is that?

    Is the browser you're using "The Best" or even "Best for you"?
    Or do you use it because "all the cool kids are doing it"?
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -9/+39And IRC and Email and RSS. Along with it being more complaint and faster at rendering. Works better on slow computers, fewest exploits. The list goes on..
  • aurath, on 10/12/2007, -5/+34http://www.howtocreate.co.uk/browserSpeed.html
  • jamesthejust, on 10/12/2007, -4/+32True. It's also the fastest browser at rendering pages on old G3 Macs.
  • aurath, on 10/12/2007, -4/+30Its been free for ages.
  • aurath, on 10/12/2007, -11/+36Opera is the fastest browser and has the most features. Most of the new features in Firefox 2 have been in Opera for ages.
  • DigginTuesday, on 10/12/2007, -3/+27Opera is well worth a go. I've used it for years, it's just so quick :)
    Mouse gestures are great, tabbed browsing, the notes panel is very handy, the list goes on.
    I've no idea why people want to have a holy war about it though. Use IE, FF, Opera, or all three. Free choice for all :)
  • IMustBeEmo, on 10/12/2007, -9/+31Opera has a lot of standard features that Firefox doesn't. It also doesn't have that stupid memory leak, and it is the best browser for older systems.

    I am currently running a laptop with 2 GHZ mobile Pentium 4 and 512 MB of RAM. If I use Firefox, the computer slows down to an almost unbearable speed. With Opera it's all smooth sailing!
  • SilverGinger5, on 10/12/2007, -12/+34I absolutely love Opera. Once you get used to navigating with mouse gestures it becomes so instinctive. I'm constantly bringing up the menu box at work where they make me use IE by right clicking to try to navigate.
  • devindotcom, on 10/12/2007, -13/+34Yeah, my extensions are part of my whole browser experience now. It's hard for me to go back even temporarily to IE or Safari for a page that's being weird. Opera is great and I used it for a while, but Firefox has superseded it in customization and usability - for me anyway.

    I'd be happier, though, if it were a big war between Firefox and Opera rather than Firefox and IE.
  • gookie, on 10/12/2007, -4/+24Dugg - to show my support to Opera. :)
  • ColonelKilkenny, on 10/12/2007, -0/+19Opera has spell checker. It checks if user has Aspell installed and uses it. That's called desktop integration.
    And this feature was added a long time before Firefox added their own spell checker.

    Priceless.
  • m4v1s, on 10/12/2007, -2/+22headswine:
    You mean, many pages are incompatible with Opera. One of the main goals of Opera's developers is to make it compatible with all web standards. So if a page doesn't work in Opera, the page is usually at fault. And sometimes you can even alter the html/css/javascript with Opera's live source editor and fix the page yourself.

    I have been using Opera since I can remember. It includes so many features in such a small, unbloated package that are so intuitive to use. I love the ability to download one installer and have all of those features and not having to download a browser, then add the 10+ extensions to get the default functionality that Opera has, all without the memory consumption. I do also use Firefox, but when I do I really feel like I'm using a toy.
  • r0Ot3d, on 10/12/2007, -0/+20For Opera users there is no "browser war" we use the browser because we like what it has to offer. We don't care for a "FTP extension" because we would rather use FlashFXP or such, the same for the many other replacement apps firefox extesions offer that cause the browser to slow even further.

    I ask my fellow Opera users to not get into a flame war here with Firefox users, don't get involved in the imaginery browser war. Leave those with the mentality of a 12 year old to argue over who has the biggest cyber penis.
    Pseudo superiority is not proof of being right!
  • Alisic, on 10/12/2007, -4/+22According to benchmarks, Opera 9 is the fastest and the most standards compilant. Also if you use it, you'll see that's basically really fast, everything happens instantly, in Firefox for instance when you open a new tab with a gesture you have to wait about 500 miliseconds for the tab to show up.
    Another thing is that it has a lot of useful features, basically everything i need Opera has out of the box, whereas if I want extra features in Firefox I have to install extensions and each extenstion takes up memory.
    I'm not bashing Firefox, just stating my preference, everyone should give Opera at least a try.
  • kfm187, on 10/12/2007, -2/+20Yeah, I switch between O and FF -- but I admit I haven't fired up FF in a while.

    I like a minimal UI that gets out of the way when I don't want it, but is there when I do. That's why I like Opera's popup progress bar and the ability to search google by typing 'g ' in the address bar. Seriously, why in the world do you need one address bar for urls and another for google search terms? Does FF still require that?
  • aurath, on 10/12/2007, -2/+19@srq13
    web developers do.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -8/+25History suggests that Opera is more secure (compared to fx).
  • aurath, on 10/12/2007, -4/+21Has anyone brought up the acid3 test?
    http://www.webstandards.org/files/acid2/test.html
    Opera passes with flying colors, how does firefox fair?
  • Hindu_Wardrobe, on 10/12/2007, -2/+18I'm a rabid Mozilla fan (trust me--I wanted to be "Mozilla Girl" for Halloween), and I do agree that Firefox is a slow piece of ***** on older computers.
    [Insert 6-paragraph persuasive essay here]
    It all comes down to this: I use Firefox, you use Opera, hooray! Differences! Neither is better, it's a matter of opinion. Apples and oranges.

    But both do kick the ***** out of Internet Explorer. :D
  • s1oan, on 10/12/2007, -4/+21Opera 9 shows it correctly.
    Firefox 2 and Internet Explorer 7 do NOT show it correctly.
  • worbd, on 10/12/2007, -1/+17There's more to gestures than back and forward, JimV... Never got Firefox extensions to work as smoothly as the gestures in Opera, though.
  • QuorumCall, on 10/12/2007, -11/+27Integrated bittorrent? I'll give it a shot.
  • dr00, on 10/12/2007, -4/+19dugg using opera!
  • acoot, on 10/12/2007, -1/+17Features:-

    BitTorrent
    Add your favorite search engines
    Site preferences
    Improved rich text editing
    Content blocker
    Thumbnail preview
    Widgets
    Opera mail
    IRC chat
    Skins
    Drag and drop

    and more

    I just love opera
  • tornpage, on 10/12/2007, -4/+20I've used Opera for years...since version 3.62 and it is simply the best web browser I've ever tried. It's small, it's fast, it's reliable, it started the whole "tabbed browsing" and was the first browser to be built around web standards - something IE has never come close to touching. Plus, I can customize Opera completely - IE and Firefox have limits to what you can change.

    The Mozilla engine is slow; Firefox in particular is a memory hog and you need many add-ons just to regain the original functionality of Opera. The only reason Firefox is so popular is a result of insane amounts of media coverage. Hell, it was even on the local news - anything with that kind of publicity will be eaten alive by the public.

    I only use Firefox for the rare AJAX-ridden page that Opera has a hard time rendering (like Google Docs). If you don't have a choice though, Firefox is still better than IE by leaps and bounds.
  • Awesomedude, on 10/12/2007, -10/+24Opera is the choice for speed, safety, and convenience.
    I don't know if I would call firefox convenient as you need to install a bunch of extensions to get the same features that are built into opera.

  • aurath, on 10/12/2007, -1/+16Go through that list and pick something useful. (useful, as in not the extension to test whether a blog is under the creative common license). There won't be many you can find that Opera can't already do. The only ones I can see that Opera wouldn't be able to handle on its own is anything that interfaces with a blog/social bookmarking page. Personally, a faster, better browser is well worth the inconvenience of having to go to a website, in my web browser, to blog something.
  • ray86, on 10/12/2007, -2/+16I was a firefox user for a full year with about a dozen extensions, I was weary about Opera at first since Firefox has a large userbase. But I tried out Opera for a week and have been on it for 18 months now.

    Opera had tabs back in 1995 and firefox and IE7 still don't do tab browsing properly. In Opera having a site open, managin my bookmarks, and having the download window open takes 1 window with 3 tabs open, not 3 windows like firefox.

    Opera is the most innovative web browser out there:
    http://operawiki.info/OperaInnovations?show_comments=1

    People should really try out Opera, nothing against firefox here it's a great browser, but Opera sure gives firefox some great competition.
  • Kithkin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14Opera's bittorrent wasn't designed for downloading albums or TV shows.

    If you want that stuff, set up Opera to associate torrents with utorrent.
  • michaelbeckham, on 10/12/2007, -5/+18It has been free for ages, get with the program...
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+17Opera rocks right out of the box. There are some cool features I would like from FireFox in Opera, but for something to work so well from the start you gotta stick with Opera!
  • monticello, on 10/12/2007, -5/+19FireFox turned into a fanboy operation long ago. At least fanboying a console holds some tangible explanation...
  • worbd, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14I'm sorry, but tests would disagree:

    http://www.howtocreate.co.uk/browserSpeed.html

    As would many reviews. Just about all reviews of Opera 9 talk about how much faster it is.

    There was even a speed test made by a Firefox fan who found that Opera simply kills everything else when it comes to speed!
  • AxiomShell, on 10/12/2007, -2/+15I really don't understand this nonsense that something open source is good per se...
    Open Source software is *potentially* superior because of all the reasons we know (all bugs are shallow, blah blah). You can't take a piece of crap software (which isn't Opera's case by the way, I use it and love it) and make it "compete" just because it is OSS.
    At the end, it's about quality software. I always use (what IMHO) is the best choice for the task, regardless of being proprietary, OSS or hybrid-mixed-monster.
    Again, OSS ins't a magical elf solution, it's just something that a lot of folks (that know a thing or two about software) swear by to make quality programs.
    So if Opera can compete with the others without being open source, so be it.
    The day opera can't cut it, I'll switch.
  • worbd, on 10/12/2007, -2/+15Heh, Opera has an ad blocker, and you can probably do the rest you mention in Opera too.
  • kitkatsavvy, on 10/12/2007, -4/+16I switched over to Opera after being sick of damn Firefox using at LEAST half of my damn memory (and thats no joke either!). Opera is great to use!

    Oh yeah, if anyone is using Opera and needs autocomplete software (ie filling in the google search box autocomplete) just go here > http://vvs.post.lg.ua/?fl=0&i=16#engl

  • worbd, on 10/12/2007, -3/+16@ tektalk

    "Firefox is good for safety and convenience"

    Last time I checked, Opera had fewer security bugs than Firefox, and no need to download dozens of extensions to get useful functionalyt...

    "K-meleon is based on the opera source code"

    No it isn't. It uses Gecko.

    [quote]No one has really heard of Tablane but i suggest you play with it, it has two lanes where you can view 2 tabs simultaneously and there is a zoom option. don't recommend for daily use (pain in the ass)[/quote]
    You mean like you can tile tabs in Opera to view several at once, and zoom them (including images, not just the text)? Wow... :P
  • Modulo, on 10/12/2007, -18/+29@.masterchi "not to mention that Opera is still a smaller package size the Firefox." Wow! You're Right! Opera is only 5.51 mb and Firefox is a massive bloated 5.62 mb! I should switch right away so that I can put that 110 KB to use saving HALF A JPEG FILE!!!!!!!!
  • GhostCow, on 10/12/2007, -7/+19Why are these guys being dugg down? They tell the truth.
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