Goodbye Opera

Hi all,

Many of you will hate me for this piece, but it had to be done ...

Here comes an article about my recent negative experience with the Opera browser updates, which led me to abandon Opera as my secondary browser. A cautionary tale of trust and betrayal.

http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/goodbye-opera.html


Cheers,
Mrk

 

*yawn*. Use older versions if you don't like the new look. Opera needed to go this way to be competitive. Most people like a minimal toolbar and the chrome way right now is a good way to accomplish it. All browsers right now are leaning towards that way and the interface can be customized to be exactly like the older versions. Hell they still have things in there that used to be the default views in OLD versions. If there is anything to complain about its opera's built in unite which is just ridiculous thing for a browser to do imho. I could see it being some sort of addon, but hey at least its disabled by default.

Also as far as primary browser. It specifically asks you in the install if you would like to make it the primary browser just like every other browser does...

 

Mrkvonic, I totally agree.

Congratulations for this simple but excellent article. Be sure to send the link to the Opera development team.

 

Opera 10.10 and Opera 10.52 alpha rocks here on Ubuntu Karmic x64, very little if any issue in day to day surfing, OTOH, shame on FOSS and Ubuntu for bundling a mediocre browser like FF which not only performs poorly but is slow to load and run as well. They should give the option of installing Chrome or Opera during Ubuntu install. Every browser out there today have issues, Opera has as well, its a matter of preference, some suits one, some suits other. For me and for many Opera users, life without Opera would be tough, we depend on its excellent interface, its speed and security. Opera developers have nevery been shy to try out new uncharted territories so its not surprising that from time to time, certain issues will arise but with their latest Carakan engine, they are untouched in department of speed and they are fixing their issues day and night, no other browser dev team works as hard as team Opera and thats a fact.

End of my rant.

 

Well what do you know, another person on the planet who thinks like I do.. lol.

I agree completely. It is a matter of principle. Opera had its charm for many years for me, and the new versions are fast and all, but it feels different than it used to. Perhaps because it is gaining popularity?

I have been using Kmeleon for many years as my backup browser to Opera, until maybe 2 years ago when I started using it as my primary browser. It used to be my backup for those few pages that would not render correctly in Opera (and this still happens).

Now I try to use Opera more, but I simply cannot shake Kmeleon. I don't know exaclty what it is about it. It is not technically faster, it does not have a download manager, it does not have quite a few things Opera has.

But then, it is more like what Opera used to be, more of a geeks tool than a main stream browser.

I do have Opera installed, and use it occassionally. And I won't update it, and I never use auto update. I like to test them out, as with any software, the latest greatest is not always the best for me.

If I wanted my choises to be made by the vendor, as happened to you Mrkvonic, I would buy an Apple and let Mr. Jobs dictate for me how things are. But I build my own machine, tweak my OS the way I want, and install what I want, how I want.

I guess I am a PC.

Sul.

 

Also just to point out OPERA has had MANY drastic GUI changes as time progressed. It went where the interface needed to go with the changing times. I still think version 5 had the biggest effect on browsers and it was Opera's golden years imho.

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/web_browsers?page=0,4

 

I cannot agree enough with this statement. I stopped being an Opera fanboy after version 6, but 5 really was something far above everything else at that time.

Sul.

 

I think all of this is nothing more than a storm in a cup. It,s just a wrongly implicated auto-update mechanism by opera developers. They might change it in future as auto-update is relatively new in opera.

 

Wonder how many of us will love you for this ?

+1

 

Hey Mrk,
it didn't change my prefrences when i upgraded opera from 10.10 to 10.50
this includes toolbars, firefox being default browser etc. its a bug report it but there is no reason to ditch software for that reason.
I normally enjoy your reviews. bottom line think more next time.

your beloved firefox's profile tool managed to wipe out my documents folder in the past by simply using the delete profile button. it was around 2 years ago.
the original bug was filled around 5 years ago now and mozilla have done nothing about it. their so called solution was to make the profile tool commandline only so less people would use it.

 

lodore, Firefox is not my beloved. My wife is my beloved. If and when another piece of software pulls a dirty trick on me, then it will too go away into the exclusion zone. It's software, nothing personal, although I did dramatize in the article.

This has nothing to do with Firefox, which you mentioned. I've been using Opera since before it has ad-free versions, and it has served me well. But like CCleaner way back then, it will go into the cooling for at least several months.

I will report this to Opera team, does anyone have a suggestion. Forum, mailing list, bugzilla (bugopera) or some kind?

Mrk

 

I hate to tell you this but if you look in preference under security tab you will find update settings & you could set it to auto, notify me or even disable updates period. as for default browser all of them compete to be your default browser, meaning it still the top brower in my opinion.

 

I'm with you there buddy. I know, I know change is hard; however we must all learn how to cope with it. If we don't, time and technology would leave us behind.

Thanks.

 

Please do not take it personal. I think the notion that Firefox is your beloved was just a figure of speech, not to be taken literally.

Thanks.

 

Using Opera now myself (I bit the bullet and gave it more of a chance than I had previously), I agree there are several problems with it. The most obvious to me is Unite. It simply does not belong. Other things like way, way too many preference options, tab behavior, and so on are simple personal issues. I can tell you for an absolute fact that, and I couldn't care less what some lab test says, it is not, I repeat NOT faster than any other major player except IE, and even then it isn't so much faster that I'm impressed. Opera has sputtered, slowed, stalled, just like every other browser. Why? Because it's not the freaking javascript engine, it's the websites. You can keep your articles and your personal tests to yourself, I'm not interested.


Anyway, I've not experienced the troubles you've had Mrkvonic, but if I did, I'd throw the thing out out myself. There's a bit more to this than just an update issue. It shouldn't "add" anything but its own updated system files, imho. It should leave personal tweaks alone, period, end of story.

Ps: Mrk, I wouldn't attempt to discuss anything in their forums, they're likely to attack you and lock your thread.

 

Mrkvonic wrote in his article :

"The sense of betrayal is probably the hardest emotion to cope with, the realization of a difficult truth that the trust you have given has been abused. Your defenses are down. When it comes to people, we react with anger, possibly even violence. Not without a reason is the crime of treason treated with such harsh penalties. When it comes to software, you pull out the digital chopping block and swing your e-axe. When software betrays your trust, it's time for some stringent house cleaning."

Wow !!...BIG words and strong ones too (eg. betrayal, hardest emotion, anger, crime of treason, violence, etc) and his supporting evidences were :

Here's what Opera browser update did and should not have done:

1. Added shortcuts onto my desktop and the Quick Launch toolbar,
2. Changed the browser layout,
3. Set itself as a default browser,

End result: uninstall.

I think I'll leave it open to anyone to decide if this is a correct response.

But I think if anyone wants to abandon a software for these reasons, it is better to let one go. Opera's World would be more peaceful without it.

Goodbye, Mrkvonic (you wouldn't be missed by Opera)

 

Not sure why anyone would hate you for that article. I happen to like Opera as a browser you don't nothing to hate there.

 

Don't worry, Ubuntu and Opera bashing go hand in hand , the fact that a slow browser full of security holes can tout itself to be the safer alternative to IE and peddle itself shamelessly by exploiting the fear factor. Every tests thrown at FF has revealed it to be lacking in security and speed. In my Windows system, I would use IE8 over FF anyday, IE8 is quicker and MS at least is honest about its security holes unlike Firefox. If you go through the other threads relating to Firefox, you would notice his vigorous defense of Firefox. I have seen reviews there bashing a software just because the name is not too appealing.

Meanwhile Opera users continue to grow, with Opera now being defacto speed champ and with an interface that merges far better than others specially on Win7 with Aero, those who are not using Opera are missing out on lot.

As I said, not every OS, distro, browser is for everyone but for those of us who have come to appreciate Opera for all these years and those who are rediscovering it again, its joyous times indeed. Google Chrome and Opera are the browser of choice today and thank heavens for that, maybe now we need a funeral for FF, I would send the hearse for sure.

 

Good Evening ! Good to hear that I'm not the only one who feels that the current version isn't the next greatest thing...Browser. I personally liked the simplicity and layout of the older versions, and agree the Unite and Turbo features are basically bloat and In my set-up ineffective. I also found that on certain web sites that the new version stalled and in some cases was simply slow in loading pages. I find Firefox to be more stable and responsive where in the past Opera had those attributes. Anyhow that's just my observation and I uninstalled Opera and am using Firefox 3.6 as my browser. Sincerely...Securon

 

Unite and Turbo are features that are disabled unless enabled so they don't add to any bloat. There are many who appreciate both, turbo is a boon in slower networks and yes, slower networks still exist worldwide including in sophisticated western world.

 

Funny how these small criticisms always brings out the "Oh no, not my browser. My browser is tops, this is only a case of PEBCAK" crowd, isn't it?

Anyway, the fact also remains that, security issues or not, the "browsers of choice" (By the way, they are? Last i checked they had, um, 5% with Chrome, and 2% with Opera...mmk, browser of choice, alrighty) have problems with many webpages. Chrome is a prime example, many pages load extremely funky. A lot of websites have STILL not accepted Opera, after years and years. Is this the browsers fault? Not really. But, it is what it is. So no, Firefox isn't "dead". That's not a fanboy observation, it's a fact.

 

Not sure where you read that and nobody said xxx browser is tops.

The fact is that Opera has claimed the Speed crown by putting on their website that Opera is The Fastest Browser on Earth and remained unchallenged in any court of law.

Now that does not make Opera the browser of choice and does not make me an Opera fanboy. I like IE, Firefox, etc and whatever you choose to use is your browser of choice.

How many have uninstalled Firefox or Chrome ? I'm sure there are a good number here (I've uninstalled Chrome myself) ...do they start a thread called Goodbye Firefox, Goodbye Chrome ? (malice detected )

 

I didn't say anyone said that specific thing, it's an example. In this, an example of the kind of attitude put forth from the hype believers and fanboys. Some of these I read are like looking at an ad, if I want hype and praise, I'll go to the vendors website. How does court have anything to do with this anyhow? Who would be stupid enough to even try to make a court case out of it? It's simple hype, marketing. Yeah, yeah, browser speed tests...BS. Take the browser out of the lab and throw real websites, real action at it and THEN come back with the evidence.

You make a point about starting threads just to say goodbye though. All it does is bring these kinds of replies (mine included, yes I'm fair).

 

a small personal question, just out of curiosity.

What you usually do with your PC despite maintaining it? Or you just maintain it for the very sake of maintaining it?

 

It's not necessary. As I said, the browser you use is YOUR browser of choice.

Whether that's Firefox, Chrome or Opera, etc., they are all great browsers, speed or no speed, add shortcuts or not, change layout or not, set as default browser or not, etc., just install and if you don't like it, uninstall.

No need to be malicious.