Hari's Corner

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Opera 8.5 review

Filed under: Software and Technology by Hari
Posted on Fri, Nov 18, 2005 at 21:19 IST (last updated: Thu, May 7, 2009 @ 21:20 IST)

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Opera logo

I recently downloaded and installed Opera 8.5 in my Debian box being curious on two counts: firstly, how it compares to Firefox with regard to features and secondly how well it complies with W3C standards including rendering of XHTML and its CSS capabilities. The fact that Opera is now free for use without ad banners was an added incentive to give it a try.

When evaluating any alternative to an existing product or service, I usually consider two things:
  1. Functional benefits of the new product over the old one: namely what is the reason for switching? Are there any added benefits of using product A instead of product B?
  2. Ease of migrating from one to the other. How much do I have to re-learn to effectively use the new product and how much work do I have to put in to make the new product as effective as the old one?

In the case of a web browser, it really boils down to this: does Opera give me something that Firefox doesn't and is it easy to migrate existing settings and bookmarks from Firefox to Opera?

First things first. It is possible to import Firefox bookmarks into Opera. I'm not sure whether it's possible to import passwords, form data and other settings because I never save them anyway even in Firefox. However what I can say is that Opera does have a very enhanced form data and password management system should you choose to use it. Some users might like this. I don't. I turned it off straight away.

That brings me to the features of Opera. It's definitely richer in features than a barebones install of Firefox (that is, without extensions). And it does take quite a bit of getting used to, particularly for somebody tuned to the convenience of Firefox. I turned off most of the features I was not comfortable with, the Wand in particular. However I should mention that one feature I can live with is the handy, integrated RSS reader. The tabbed browsing is quite non-intrusive and smooth. And Opera definitely feels a lot more responsive than Firefox in the way it loads up web pages. It seems to display page elements faster than Firefox and it also displays the loading progress in a nice way.

How well does it render websites? Well, it's hard to judge on a few sites, but it seems to be right up there with regard to standards compliance. In fact, it is the only browser I know of which supports outline numbering for the heading tags <h1>, <h2> and so on when specified in the CSS. Generally it displays most web pages in a standard way. However, I must mention that Firefox seems slightly better than Opera with regard to CSS. There are a few small, but noticeable glitches in the way Opera handles certain CSS elements. On a scale of 1 to 10 for rendering standard, Firefox would rank 9 and Opera would probably be 7 or 8 depending on how you critically you classify its flaws.

To sum up then, I definitely consider Opera to be right up there with Firefox. Maybe in some areas it even surpasses Firefox although it does have some peculiar quirks as well. But this brings me to a very valid question. Is there any reason for existing Firefox users to switch to Opera? With all its features, I am still not totally convinced why a diehard Firefox fan would want to switch. After all, Firefox became the phenomenon it is only because it cut down on all those features which made Mozilla notoriously bloated and allowed users to browse the web without the intrusiveness of a heavy interface. Opera isn't exactly intrusive and it sure isn't "heavy", but somehow it seems to lack the comfort factor which one associates with Firefox. Maybe it's because Firefox has earned such a solid reputation of being a safe and secure browser that it has become quite impossible for the average user to view any other browser in the same light.

All said and done, I think Opera is worth a try. Whether you switch completely to it or not, you will find it handy as a second browser on your system. Personally I won't be giving up Firefox and it'll probably remain my main browser, but I am not going to uninstall Opera either. And that really is the essence of freedom of choice.

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7 comment(s)

  1. I have to agree with your sentiments Hari. I have tried Opera to see if it really was better than Firefox and found that it, apart from the look of course, was pretty much the same as Firefox.I didn't delve 'under the hood', because I don't want to/need to, but superficially speaking it didn't offer me anything that Firefox didn't offer.I have used Firefox for quite a while now and am used to it and don't want to switch.Good review, Hari :)

    Comment by Ray (visitor) on Sat, Nov 19, 2005 @ 18:57 IST #
  2. Yes, Ray. Opera seems to have matured into a fine web browser. When it was at version 3 or 4, I didn't think it was really stable enough to use as a main browser - only as a testbed.However, 8.5 is quite good and it seems to have become quite solid, stable and reliable. However as you observe, it won't interest die-hard Firefox users.However, Opera could be a good switch from IE.

    Comment by hari (blog owner) on Sat, Nov 19, 2005 @ 19:23 IST #
  3. Absolutely, Opera is far far better to use than IE, but as we have both said, wouldn't swap Firefox fr it!I couldn't find anything in Opera that I couldn't get in Firefox, and vice versa, that I actually needed to use. In the same way that I don't use and customise Firefox in a major way - no themes, a few extensions and just media plugins - I'd never use the myriad of hidden options in Opera.The reverse of this is also true - if I was an opera user, I'd have no reason to jump to Firefox. Both are excellent browsers.

    Comment by Ray (visitor) on Sat, Nov 19, 2005 @ 23:59 IST #
  4. As an avid Opera user, I certainly agree with Ray. Firefox is great, but I'm not switching to it anytime soon. I just upgraded to Opera 8.5 last night, and it looks to be the best Opera version yet! Once you get used to it and get it setup the way you like it, you'll find it hard to use any other browser.

    Comment by Aaron (visitor) on Thu, Nov 24, 2005 @ 04:17 IST #
  5. Aaron, yes. Opera 8.5 certainly seems to be better than earlier versions. It looks like a stable, mature version.

    Comment by hari (blog owner) on Thu, Nov 24, 2005 @ 06:37 IST #
  6. I been with OPERA for years now. I only briefly switched to FireFox when it was buggy and dropped it like a Hot potatoe and never looked back despite all the hopp la la.Firefox became a fad ONLY because and especially out of spite and contempt for Microsloowws lousy no attention they offered it's users. OPERA!! is indeed and always has been the quickest and most feature-rich safe browser i have ever experienced!And it's not too shabby either that they include an IRC Client with it as well as RSS Agregator.Woot woot!

    Comment by Joseph (visitor) on Mon, Dec 19, 2005 @ 07:56 IST #
  7. I have both Firefox and Opera Installed on my computer, Opera being my default browser. I agree with most comments above, but I think Opera has a slight advantage, namely lower memory consumption:try to open for instance six tabs in Firefox and same in Opera, open up task manager and you'll see the difference.

    Comment by Marko (visitor) on Fri, Dec 23, 2005 @ 01:32 IST #

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