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Project: Linux  Reviews
Opera 4 beta 4 for Linux
By Satya <satyap@satya.virtualave.net>
Posted: ( 2001-01-08 10:10:36 EST by )
Opera for Windows is a very lean and fast browser. A Linux version has also been released. This is still in beta and is about a version down on the Windows release, but you can tell that this is a very competent browser in the making.
Opera is a lesser-known web-browser, available for various platforms
(beta4 for LinuxPPC was unavailable at the time of this writing). I took the statically linked RPM for simplicity, but it's 2.27 megs. The
dynamically linked version is of course, smaller -- around 1.2 megs. The
difference? Dynamic linking requires you to already have the Qt 2.2
library. It's simple enough to install the RPM -- there's nothing to do but ``rpm
-i opera*''. Run it from the command line with `opera'. The license
agreement, which pops up right after the rpm installation, gives a 30 day
evaluation period, after which the software must be bought and registered. Running Opera results in a standard browser window, with three panes:
bookmarks (useful ones) on the left, and a browse window on the right.
Tooltips don't seem to be in evidence, making the default behavior of
buttons without text difficult. A lot of desk space is taken up by various
toolbars and status bars, which can be turned off if required. The Preferences option is, for some reason, under File instead of Edit.
There is some indication of customizable buttons -- buttons.ini was found
lurking in an appropriate directory. The Preferences pop up a new window
with a twisted maze of sections, all different. Positives Very good browser. The Windows version is very good and very fast too. The
same can also be said about the Linux version. Pages were rendered
correctly and though I didn't put it through the entire battery of tests,
my favorite pages did come up as they should. There are stability issues
here, but that can be expected as this is still very early beta. Stability
has improved over previous versions and I'm sure that pretty soon you
will definitely be giving this browser more than a second look.One noticed an ability to save a page, as well as page plus images on the
page. Useful, that.The zoom can be adjusted anywhere between 30% and 1000%, though one does
not recommend zooming beyond 300% for performance reasons.Multiple child windows are available with quick-change buttons. Supports
frames, which can be turned off. This'll help developers view their site
in a non-frames capable browser. Also good for those who hate frames.It is Javascript and PNG capable.Can have a user interface based on Windows, CDE, Motif, SGI, and
others. Makes it quite simple to use. It doesn't stay put, though.Good download capability, shows enough information to be useful but not
too much, so doesn't overwhelm the novice user.Fonts and font sizes are completely customizable.Appears to have a quick startup and a small memory footprint -- always
good.Negatives For some reason, the http://localhost/ address was unavailable, though
lynx and Netscape could see it easily enough. Opera seems to have trouble
with localhost -- ftp was unavailable, as well. Maybe it's in the DNS
code, as the IP had no problem.The help system is not yet implemented. It's not really necessary, but one
would like to have some help at certain points. For example, how does one
add plugins? Say, for Java and Flash? The Enable Java option is itself
disabled.The registration fee is another put-off for Linux users used to freebies. The download manager could use some work -- support for resumes and
aborting downloads in progress.Why is the "Set as home page" option a menu item instead of being in
preferences? The menu system needs some work.There doesn't appear to be a way to change key bindings -- this is
important to Linux power lusers. For that matter, where is the list of key
bindings?Overall Don't be put off by the negatives, remember this is a beta release. Very good browser. Slightly quirky, but they all are. I'd give it a 4
out of 5. I'll definitely use a stable version regularly -- maybe
even make it my default browser.
Other articles by Satya
Current Rating: [ 5.67 / 10 ]
Number of Times Rated: [ 3 ]
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