Mac fans get Opera 5, but not for OS X

As Macintosh fans debate the merits of the new iMac, their choice of Web browsers expanded with the release of Opera 5.0. But those using Apple Computer's Mac OS X will have to wait a little longer.

The Opera 5.0 release, for Mac OSes 7.5.3 to 9.2, comes six weeks after the release of Opera 6.0 for Microsoft's Windows operating system. The company also has browsers for the Linux/Solaris, Symbian and QNXOS operating systems.

"Opera has clearly gained a significant foothold in the Windows market as the best pure Web browser," Dean Kakridas, vice president for desktop products at Opera Software, said in a statement. "And with the help of a growing loyal user base, we hope to achieve the same success on the Mac platform."

The 5.0 browser boasts a number of features already familiar to users of Opera for Windows. These include a quick way to turn Web images on and off, a way to organize multiple Web site windows, a feature for zooming in on Web pages up to 1,000 percent, and a way to store passwords securely.

Opera, an Oslo, Norway, company that has gotten high marks for its compliance with W3C recommendations, supports the following protocols in Opera 5.0 for the Mac: 128-bit encryption, TLS 1.0, SSL 2 and 3, CSS1 and partial CSS2, XML, HTML 4.01, HTTP 1.1, ECMAScript, JavaScript 1.3, WAP/WML and, in part, the DOM.

The new browser, available for download from the company's Mac page, is available in a free, ad-sponsored version. Those who download it can get rid of the ads for $39.

Opera's browser for Mac OS X is undergoing its final testing, or beta, phase. The Opera 5 Beta 3 for OS X is also available for download from the Opera site.