Freeloader Friday Download of the Week

Opera Spotlight

Opera has been around for ages. Thanks to a recent change of heart (or business model) by the Norwegian software company you can now download and use the Opera browser free of charge. While previous free versions were saddled with ads, not Opera sings a different tune.

So, to get in on the fun, run over to Opera.com and download your copy. Not convinced? Check out the browser's unique features:

Speed

I'm used to browsing with a tn of extensions loaded in Firefox, so when I took off with Opera, I was suprised at the speed. I found it even quicker than Firefox without extensions. That's saying something, considering that Opera is loading a mail and newsfeed client as well.

Polished Interface

Opera's interface sports a great balance of function, simplicity and polish. Address options emerge only when you click on the web address. Other options are so well tucked away you forget about them (the mail and chat client - for example). Everywhere you go in the browser, you find things taking up the minimal space, and put in just the right place.

The Mail Client

The mail client, complete with IMAP and POP support and spam filtering, is - you guessed it - fast. The import wizard actually supports Mac Mail clients including Thunderbird and Mail.app. Contacts are intuitively managed. Both mail and contacts fit into the main window on tabs.

Customizing Opera

You can tweak everything from your themes and sidebars to menus and mouse gestures. Opera's portal also offers a photo album, blog and web-based email. There's even a tutorial for making your own theme.

Odds and Ends

Another thing I liked was the fact that the RSS reader is actually a reader, not some kind of feed-bookmark thing. I also thought the notes were nice. Together with "copy to note" and spellcheck Opera could be your next text editor too.

Gripes

Opera is a lot of fun, but you have to meet a lot of criteria to become my default browser. For most of my browsing, I'll have to stick with Firefox, thanks to extensions and standards support not found in Opera. While Opera imports all kinds of settings including bookmarks, contacts and mail accounts, it does not export to any formats besides its own.

The Fat Lady Sings

For many, the new free status of Opera is huge. I have to admit, it is a superb browsing experience - fast and feature packed. For those not heavily invested in Firefox add-ons or Safari's ease, Opera makes a great browsing choice. Who knows, maybe someday it might make default.

Brian   


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