Amid promises to "reinvent the Web," the browser Opera debuted a new beta feature earlier this year called Unite that has been deemed stable enough to offer to all users. Opera's own hype aside, the Unite service provides people with the capability to serve files, host and stream music, and send messages to each other from inside the browser itself--a feature that is unique among the big five browsers. Opera 10.10 is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Much like Opera's built-in e-mail client, Unite is basically a cloud-based, customizable server that includes multiple services, but its open API allows you to write and share your own services. The initial offering includes the default Unite Home, which is the Opera Unite Web page that is given to each user, a media player for creating your own publicly available music stream, the "fridge" for a Facebook-style message wall, an instant messenger with a public/private toggle, a photo sharing app, and file serving and Web hosting capabilities.
Besides including Unite, Opera 10.10 also includes an array of bug fixes, mostly aimed at smoothing out the Unite experience, tweaking mail, news, and chat features, and fixing three security problems. Two are relatively minor, one concerning an error message leak and the other a buffer overflow. The third error Opera is refusing to disclose at this time, but stated that it was discovered by the Google Security Team's Chris Evans. The full changelog for Opera 10.10 is available.
As I've tested Unite over the past few months, it's generally been a stable experience, with a few hiccups to be expected by the beta. However, it hasn't exactly set the browsing world on fire, either, and its target audience is still hard to define. Do you have an opinion on Unite? Let me know in the comments.
Opera Unite was going to change the Web, according to the hype from the Norwegian browser maker. Despite only being available for a number of months in a beta separate from the main Opera build--and the Internet looking more or less like the same place in the aftermath--the release of Opera 10.10 beta for Windows, Mac, and Linux indicates that Unite is about to become a standard Opera feature.
File sharing from the first Opera Unite beta in June 2009.
(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)Unite is basically a peer-to-peer system designed through the browser, but its API allows users to create feature-rich apps using only HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. By default, Unite comes with six apps: photo sharing, an instant messenger based around My Opera, file sharing, a Web server, a media player, and "the fridge," a communal place to share short notes with friends. When Unite was released during the pre-Opera 10 beta testing period over the past summer, it was generally stable and didn't significantly impact Opera's performance. A free My Opera account is required to use the Unite features.
Users interested in creating Opera Unite apps can check out Opera's tutorials. If you've used Unite, or built an app for it, tell us about it in the comments below.
Updated: At 2:50 p.m. we added links for Opera 10 beta 3 with Unite, and added a statement from Opera about the crash logging feature.
Opera 10 beta 3 was released Wednesday for Windows, Mac, and Linux users. With a strong European following, the preview version has been able to keep this popular alternative browser competitive by offering page rendering quality comparable to Google Chrome, while offering a robust list of features.
Opera 10 beta 3 offers more tab and toolbar control.
(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)Opera is touting the stability and performance enhancements in the third beta, but in casual testing it appeared to have the slowest JavaScript engine when compared with Chrome and Firefox. Opera notched 3237.4ms in the SunSpider JavaScript test, while Firefox completed the test in 1142.4ms and Chrome was more than twice as fast as that, reaching 508.2ms.
However, JavaScript speed isn't everything, and Opera's built-in feature set offers much to users who like a strong out-of-the-box experience. There are far more options available now for tweaks tabs. Through the menu bar View and then Customize, you can move your visual tab bar to the sides of the browser as well as the top or bottom. You can also toggle showing only favicons or text, or force the tab bar to use multiple row, or just a single one. These options are available for all toolbars in Opera, making toolbar customization more streamlined than in other browser.
Opera 10's crash recovery window.
(Credit: Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)There's now a crash logger that Opera says will make the browser "rock-solid," although what that meant was unclear at press time. Opera spokesman Thomas Ford has since clarified the statement, saying that, "It works like the logger that Windows has when a program stops responding. We can more easily identify and then remediate the root cause of crashes." It is not a sandboxing feature, so crashes that originate in one tab will still affect the entire browser.
Users on slower or dial-up connections should see performance improvements in Opera Turbo, too, although they didn't specify what those changes were or what kind of benchmarks users should expect. If you're seeing dramatically better numbers for Opera Turbo on a slow connection, let me know in the comments.
Notably, Opera Unite remains in alpha development and continues to be a separate entity from the main build of the Opera 10 beta. There's no word on how soon integration will occur, although it is apparently planned for before the public release of Opera 10. Opera 10 beta 3 with Unite can be downloaded for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
On Tuesday, Opera Software introduced a technical preview of Opera Unite, a component of its Opera 10 browser. Earlier this morning, I sat in on a Webcast where Opera's Chief Development Officer, Christen Krogh, ran through a demo and answered questions. Opera Unite, which uses your Opera ID to log in, is a Web server housed within the Opera browser. With it, you'll be able to host a Web site, and share files, music, video, notes, and chats with others.
The sharing process begins when you select the hard drive where your files are stored, and then select the individual files you'd like to share. You'll then set your sharing preferences--either public, private, or password-protected--and Opera Unite will create a direct URL, which you can share with others. Guests can view the content from any browser, not just Opera's.
Opera Unite doesn't yet extend to mobile phones and other Opera-powered browsers, but that will eventually be part of the plan.
Security has been a concern so far. Opera Unite is as secure as Opera Widgets, Krogh said. It features native apps running in a sandbox on top of Opera's Web browser, and using local storage. CNET's sister site ZDNet UK explores the security of Opera Unite in an article.
When you load Opera 10 with Unite, you'll enable Opera Unite it by clicking this icon.
(Credit: CNET)Opera Unite shares similarities with the now-defunct AllPeers, an add-on for Mozilla's Firefox browser. While Mozilla hasn't announced intentions to build a similar sharing or hosting service, it is offering developers a chance to create more robust code packages using Mozilla Jetpack, a recent Labs project.
The technical preview version of Opera 10 is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. You should consider the software experimental; you may encounter bugs or other imperfections while using it. To see more detail about how it works, peer inside via our gallery of screenshots.
Open beta versions of Opera 10 browser that do not have Unite installed are available for Linux, Mac and Windows.
Opera has released an early version of a browser-based sharing and collaboration service called Unite, which has been criticized by some security experts as having a level of protection that is too low.
Opera Unite, an application platform that turns the user's PC into a Web server, was unveiled in an alpha version by the Norwegian company on Tuesday. Components of the browser-based service include file sharing, photo sharing, a shared media player, a chat lounge, and the ability to run Web sites hosted on the user's PC.
While the user hosting the content needs to be running a particular version of Opera 10 for Windows, Mac, and Linux, those viewing the content can do so from within any browser, including Internet Explorer or Firefox.
Opera is trying to encourage developers to create new applications that use Opera Unite. "It all happens through the browser, so no additional software has to be downloaded, and it will work wherever Opera works (Windows, Mac, Linux and later mobile phones and other devices)," Opera product analyst Lawrence Eng wrote in a blog post on Tuesday. "Opera provides the platform and you provide the applications -- what you create is limited only by your imagination."
Eng referred to the initial Opera Unite applications as "just simple demos" and said the platform would allow for "a whole new class of social software on the Web ... [where] people can all connect directly without needing middlemen who control third-party servers." He also said the service will, in time, work on mobile phones and other devices, as well as on desktop computers.
The content is shared via Opera Unite by people sending other people URLs, and the security for protecting access to the content relies entirely on passwords. However, there are two ways to do this, and one method has been criticized by analysts as potentially posing a security risk.
When a person (the host) wants to share content, there are two options: either send a URL that leads to the host's personal landing page on Opera Unite, or send a URL that links to the application within Opera Unite that relates to the content they want to share.
With the first option, the host must send the viewer a password generated by Opera Unite for them to access the application. With the second option, the URL includes the password at the end, so it is in plain view if the URL is inadvertently shared. Also, with the second option, anyone who sees the URL does not need any further details to view the content, as clicking on the link will take them directly there.
"Be a bit cautious"
A spokeswoman for Opera confirmed to ZDNet UK on Tuesday that there is no encryption involved in the Opera Unite.
Asked whether the platform could be used by someone to access data on the host's PC that the host had not chosen to share, the spokeswoman said: "Definitely not -- unless they're a hacker."
"Opera Unite has been tested by a number of people within Opera, so the more people we have using the service, the more we'll know about the service itself," the spokeswoman added. "At this point, [you should] be a bit cautious in the files you're sharing -- only share amongst people you trust."
Greg Day, a McAfee principal security analyst, said Opera Unite was a "smart idea, going back to people self-hosting," and said there was "some value [from a security perspective], insofar as you are in control of your own data." However, he said there are also security risks associated with the approach.
"The [negative] is you have to have enough security integrated into the technology, or have the personal knowledge to put that security in around the technology," Day warned. "The logical evolution of services like Facebook was about simplifying the process, so you rely on a third party who, in theory, has the expertise to host on your behalf and keep it secure."
Andy Buss, a senior analyst at Canalys, said security based on the distribution of passwords was "an avenue to disaster."
"If there is no transport-layer security, it is easy to intercept the information being transported," Buss said. "This will need to be looked at as an option."
Another potential problem is related to intellectual-property violations, where hosts might illegally store copyrighted content on their PC and then distribute this via Opera Unite. Buss predicted that security and copyright issues will be a challenge for the next generation of internet applications, which will move a lot of activity now done on PCs to cloud-based services. "These services are required and useful, but they have to be as secure as possible," Buss said.
Asked about the copyright issue, Opera's spokeswoman said that if a user was found to be distributing copyrighted material, Opera would ask the user to remove the content and, if the person did not comply, would block the account. "This would only happen if the matter was brought to Opera's attention, as Opera does not monitor your data," the spokeswoman added.
Related story: Speedy Opera 10 beta reconfigures as Web suite
David Meyer of ZDNet UK reported from London.
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