Abhishek Reddy — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 15:24:25 +0000

I've been waiting for this to enter Gentoo's Portage, so I can neatly install it, but no dice as yet. Might have to fetch it manually.

I've been pretty happy with Opera 8.5, though it isn't my main browser. Hoping the new version is faster, particularly on start-up, as that is quite bad in 8.5.

Megan — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 14:48:01 +0000

Just a quick update - there are some new features that I really like in here but others not so much. I'm actually not convinced of the value of widgets. They're sort of fun toys, but none have been really essential enough for me to use regularly (yet - if there was something that could show me PR that woudl be nice). They also sit outside the browser in a separate window which I really don't like. One of the things I love about Opera is that everything is self contained - all browser windows, mail, and RSS in one window. No taskbar clutter.

I also really don't like the tab preview pop-ups and there is no way to turn them off. They include not only a small window but a full URL. This version has a weird thing about showing you URL's. The password reminder dialog box has been changed to copy Firefox's (annoying), and include a URL as well. I liked the old one better.

I do like block content, especially on ad heavy news sites. I also like being able to customize display preferences on a site-by-site basis. There is also a new option to only accept cookies from the site I'm on - no more third party ad cookies Oh, and the ability to add custom search engines is a really welcome addition. You can right-click on any search box and add it as a search engine

So, in summary, there are somethings I like about this upgrade but some that I really dislike. Those downsides are definitely not enough to stop me from using the browser as the other advantages of Opera more than make up for it.

Hmmm... I wonder if improved Rich Text Editing means that I'll be able to use the HTML editor in the crap CMS we use at work...

Megan — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 15:34:18 +0000

Here's a list of the new features: http://www.opera.com/products/desktop/

I'm happy that I can finally my own search engines (Wikipedia and TWF!) to my search drop-down and give them address bar shortcuts!! FF can do this sort of but not in the same way.