New Opera beta sports e-mail, feed changes

For right now, the future of Opera--the browsing alternative to the browsing alternative--doesn't look a whole lot different from the present. Keeping in mind that this isn't a stable release, Opera 9.60 beta 1 for Windows and Mac looks to add a few feature tweaks and claims to be faster.

The most intriguing improvement looks to be a "low bandwidth mode" for Opera Mail. In a not-so-subtle attempt to attract users who are concerned about bandwidth restrictions, especially those who use Comcast in the United States for their ISP, this mode offers different things to IMAP and POP accounts. IMAP users will see this mode restrict mail downloads only to new messages, and will strip out attachments unless specified otherwise on a case-by-case basis. POP users will see messages truncated to the first 100 lines of a message, with the same caveat.

Another new feature called Follow/Ignore lets you set a contact to ignore, so their e-mails are never downloaded, or Follow, to focus on the messages from people that are most important to you. This doesn't delete Ignored contacts' messages from your server, but rather leaves them there so you can check them at your leisure. There's no word on how this will work with mailbox account size limits, though.

On to the browsing aspect of the browser. The feed preview rolls into Opera's RSS management a standard, stand-alone RSS app feature. The browser's synchronization service, Opera Link, now supports custom search engines and typed history. This means that if you've typed something into the search or location bar, you can now sync it to any computer that you're using.

Finally, there's the usual spate of bug fixes. Users who want to try out the current, stable version first can download Opera 9.52 for Windows and Mac from Download.com. The full changelog can be read here.

[AndrewRich]

I'm a little embarrassed at how quickly I fell off the Opera bandwagon after switching from Windows to Mac. Safari on the Mac is fantastic and fulfills all my browsing needs. I have Opera installed for the rare occasions I need to have two Gmail accounts open at the same time or verify a design in a second browser, but it doesn't get much use. This after six or so years of rabid Opera evangelism.

[tuneslover]

who use opera?

[micky0]

I think many internet users now using Firefox as we know it has world record too. Opera should improve the user interface and speed of it.also It's not user friendly like Mozilla Firefox. firefox browser tricks

[master_mind413]

I used opera for a while and while the stability has increased over the years I still had some issues with it, there are still web pages that are not compatible with the browser and i had a few crashes don't get me wrong it is a lot better then it use to be but still not as stable as Firefox and i think that is what holds them back they need to be more customizable and stability is a issue opera

[dilbaree12]

first i check it after i can give a comment

[Marc1000]

I used Opera since the early days then switched to Firefox when Opera came out with version 7.5. Before that Opera was fast but after version 7 was getting slow and piggy. They were unapologetic about what a pig it had become.

I use both FF and Opera, but I find myself going back to Opera. The latest version is sleek and fast. I like how the interface and commands can be customized. Also, it seems that all the features that IE or FF brag about are features that are years old in Opera. Tabbed browsing, mouse gestures, searching from the command line, etc. In particular it looks like MSFT developers had Opera running on a separate monitor when they designed IE8. I'll just stick with the design leader, not the followers.

I like the Firefox functionality and interface also so this is no knock on it. But I am concerned about FF's trend to actively chase the surveillance / advertising market. IE has always been written from the point of view of the advertiser. [What user would ever have written software to permit popup ads?] Google Chrome exists for surveillance, period. Opera is the one company that always has been squarely on the side of the user. I'm willing to reward that loyalty with my loyalty.