Date: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 18:26:15 -0500
Reply-To: TOURBUS-Request@LISTSERV.AOL.COM
From: Bob Rankin
Subject: TOURBUS - 17 march 1998 - Trip to the Opera
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\___/ \___/ T h e I n t e r n e t T o u r B u s \___/
TODAY'S TOURBUS TOPIC: Opera - The Browser
TODAY'S TOURBUS STOP: http://opera.nta.no
This issue of Tourbus is brought to you by INTEL. Please visit
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Opera is a nifty new web browser from Opera Software, a small software
company in Norway run by Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner and Geir
Ivarsøy. The size of the download is very small compared to
Netscape or Explorer (about 1/10th the size!), but it's making
a big splash with users all around the world.
Aside from the fact that it's just a bit over 1MB to download,
Opera is a full-featured browser that's zippy even on older 386
machines. Some people report that's it's TWICE as fast as Netscape
or Explorer at pulling down web pages.
Oh, and before we go further, I should mention that right now Opera
runs only on Windows 3.x, Win95 and WinNT. But reportedly there are
development efforts underway for Mac, OS/2, Linux, Amiga, and BeOS
platforms.
IT SLICES AND DICES
-------------------
Despite its small size, Opera does everything a web browser is supposed
to do. It also has some cool features, such as multiple windows, a powerful
hotlist, easy graphics toggling and other goodies. And unlike it's rivals,
Opera actually adheres to the HTML standard - which means it renders web
pages the way they are supposed to look.
Opera is also an excellent browser for users with physical handicaps, as it
can be navigated with the keyboard only, and can scale the size of web pages
on the fly. So depending on your monitor size, resolution and visual acuity,
you can choose to set the browser window size from 20% to 1000% of acctual size.
You can also configure Opera to work with screen reader software.
Opera includes a good Usenet newsreader, and supports FTP, Gopher, and SSL
security. It does handle JavaScript, but not Java.
At install time, Opera will import your IE Favorites and Navigator Bookmarks,
which is a nice feature. It's always a pain to lose your hotlist when
switching browsers.
STEAK KNIVES NOT INCLUDED
-------------------------
However... Opera is not free. It's free to download and use for 30 days, but
registration is $35. There's a 50 percent educational discount for qualifying
faculty and students, or anyone who can't afford the cost.
So why would you want to bother with a $35 upstart, unknown Web browser from a
couple of guys in Norway? Here are a few reasons you might:
1) You can download it in just a few minutes. No 36MB downloads and acres of
hard disk space consumed.
2) It's not bloated with useless features, so it starts fast, runs fast, and
consumes less system resources. Opera runs nicely on a 386 with 8MB of RAM.
3) It has some nifty features the others lack.
Check it out on the web at this address:
http://opera.nta.no
Enjoy your trip to the Opera. See you next time! --Bob
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