Opera Software ASA, Norway developed a web browser (Internet suite) called Opera. It is one of the most used browsers on earth, and probably the fastest and best one.

Most Internet users probably remember the days when Internet Explorer and Netscape navigator competed for every single user. Internet Explorer was eventually victorious as it became the most widely used Internet browser. Internet users are well aware of Internet Explorer’s mistakes and standard compliance problems. Unfortunately, these same Internet users were probably unaware of Opera’s existence, although it has been an exceptional browser since the late nineties.

In the last few years, Firefox has gotten dangerously close to Internet Explorer’s success due to its completely different philosophy of being a free and open source. The time for ignoring browser standards has passed. Many Internet users have failed to notice the continual improvement of this small Norwegian browser, which has maintained its small but loyal user base.Opera Browser Review

Opera has positioned itself as a top notch browser for a number of years. Its many inventive solutions for a better browsing experience was the key to this success. Unfortunately, some company decisions (like not having good extensions api) and Firefox’s popularity have prevented Opera from spreading to the masses. Opera currently occupies 3.82% of the browser market share (according to wikimedia statistics). It has an even larger market share in Europe, as it has almost 35%-49% in countries like Russia, Belarus, Czech Republic, Georgia, and Ukraine.

The most recent version of Opera has many good features. After many years of allowing other browsers to copy its features, Opera decided to return the favor. Opera introduced an interface that is quite similar to Google Chrome, developed Opera Dragonfly (similar to Firefox Firebug), and even announced extensions for the next version.

After using the Opera Dragonfly to edit and fix a few websites, many users concluded that it is even better than Firebug.

Opera’s new JavaScript engine called Carakan quickly made new speed records, as it beat the latest incarnations of Webkit engines.

Opera has always had respectable web standards, which is even more evident in its latest version as the number it supports is bigger than ever. CSS 2.1, HTML 4.01, XHTML 1.1, XHTML Basic, XHTML Mobile Profile, XHTML+Voice, WML 2.0, XSLT, XPath, XSL-FO, ECMAScript 3 (JavaScript), DOM 2, XMLHttpRequest, HTTP 1.1, TLS 1.2,[68] Unicode, SVG 1.1 Basic, SVG 1.1 Tiny, GIF89a, JPEG, and full support for PNG including alpha transparency is just a small part of its supported standards and technologies. Opera passed the Acid 2 test and scored 100/100 in the Acid 3 test.

Here are some Opera features and options. The user does not need to download anything that will ruin browser performance:

  • Tabbed browsing (this is the current standard for all browsers, but has been an Opera feature since the nineties)
  • Access keys
  • Password manager
  • Download manager
  • IRC client (the user may connect to IRC with Opera)
  • Email client (Opera has integrated fully featured email client)
  • Spatial navigation
  • Voice commands (package for this must be additionally installed)
  • Mouse gestures
  • Text to speech
  • Page Zooming
  • Popup blocking (though a common feature nowadays, Opera used to be the only browser with automatic popup blocking)
  • Private browsing
  • Opera Turbo (this option significantly increases page loading speed for people with dial up connections)
  • Fully featured bit torrent client
  • Privacy control
  • Fraud protection system
  • Session manager
  • Error console for site developers
  • Themes
  • Speed dial
  • Trash can for recently turned off tabs
  • User java scripts (Greasemonkey)
  • Bookmark manager
  • Widgets
  • Adblock
  • Geolocation service
  • Opera unite (easy picture and file sharing with friends and family)

These are only some of Opera’s features, as a complete listing would take up the entire article. Even when Opera is fully packed, it is still a smaller browser than any of its competitors’. It also uses up less memory than most of the competition.

One of Opera’s best features is that it runs on old computers. Opera runs on Windows 9x, Me, 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, and is fully compliant with Windows 7. Opera also runs on any Linux, Unix and FreeBSD system, and Mac. It will even run on a mobile phone.

Download the latest version of Opera here:

Download Opera, the fastest and most secure browser

Use Opera’s revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/

Also, check the following for related/further reading and references: