Opera 9.5 web browser gets a new look
It's been a few years since the Opera web browser's interface got a major overhaul. But now the Opera Desktop Team has posted an updated version of Opera 9.5 beta which features a shiny new theme.
The new theme is a bit closer to what you'll find on Opera's non-desktop browsers, including Opera 9.5 for Windows Mobile and Opera for the Nintendo Wii. Aside from a darker look, there are a few nice features, like an animated stop/refresh button that turns red when a page is loading, and green when it's finished.
There's also a new settings icon in the main toolbar that lets you open the side panel to launch the Opera Widget engine, bookmark sidebar and other tools.
The updated version of Opera 9.5 beta is a development snapshot, so there are some known issues. But there's an option to install this version side by side with an existing version of Opera so you don't lose your settings.
The new theme is a bit closer to what you'll find on Opera's non-desktop browsers, including Opera 9.5 for Windows Mobile and Opera for the Nintendo Wii. Aside from a darker look, there are a few nice features, like an animated stop/refresh button that turns red when a page is loading, and green when it's finished.
There's also a new settings icon in the main toolbar that lets you open the side panel to launch the Opera Widget engine, bookmark sidebar and other tools.
The updated version of Opera 9.5 beta is a development snapshot, so there are some known issues. But there's an option to install this version side by side with an existing version of Opera so you don't lose your settings.















Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-06-2008 @ 11:17AM
jim said...
This looks awesome.
Reply
6-06-2008 @ 11:57AM
James said...
Can I get a beta of Opera Mobile 9.5 anywhere? I have 8.65 (what happened to e.g. 9.0?), and I hear some of the new 9.5 features are really awesome.
Reply
6-06-2008 @ 12:06PM
Mark said...
Let me know when you can easily move toolbars around without jumping through a million hoops and sacrificing a dozen goats.
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6-06-2008 @ 1:58PM
Hylic said...
To move around toolbars you just go to Tools>Apearance>toolbars and click on which toolbar you want to move and select the placement.
Unless you're trying to move the tab bar right below the address bar in which case it is indeed more complicated then it should be.
6-06-2008 @ 12:52PM
MDH1727 said...
This looks amazing, finally Opera may catch up to Firefox in the style dept...
Reply
6-09-2008 @ 10:55AM
jim said...
I think the looks equal those of Firefox already.
6-06-2008 @ 5:26PM
Josh said...
Yet another browser that doesn't seem to get the whole "UI Standards" that OSs have.
Firefox... starting to get it. But their default for OS X is hideous and Windows isn't much better. Linux, not so sure.
Safari... Apple got it right in OS X. It follows the UI perfectly. But what the hell were they thinking with the Windows version? It works with iTunes, somehow. It DOES NOT work for Safari. Not even close.
IE... they had it good with IE 6. IE 7 was a joke on XP and didn't even seem to fit into Vista all that well. Back when it was on the OS X (not sure if it still is), it was an absolute joke.
Opera... bleh. Their UI isn't good to begin with. The tab bar is placed horribly. Nothing flows together. It isn't exactly an easy task to edit things. And they aren't UI compliant for any OS which is more than just a little ridiculous. This new version doesn't improve on this at all. Doesn't look like a Vista app (which is what it APPEARS they were going for), sorta looks like an old custom XP theme I had before my switch to OS X. Obviously does not fit OS X. Maybe Linux? I dunno. It's just...ick.
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6-06-2008 @ 6:47PM
paul said...
Blah. Why is it so huge? Toolbars should take up less space, not more.
Reply
6-06-2008 @ 10:39PM
James said...
I tried it today: You can't use it with the new Yahoo webmail, you can't use it with anything but the "basic" version of AOL mail, and you can't use it with Windows Live Hotmail (only the classic version). So if you use any of these services, Opera 9.5 would prove a problem.
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6-07-2008 @ 8:51AM
Quikboy said...
Much better. Still prefer IE7 in terms of better layout, but Opera is looking real good. I use Opera, and can't stand the look, and the skins didn't help much to cover this.
Reply
6-07-2008 @ 8:51AM
Kenofthedead said...
I don't even use the Tab bar anymore, I just use the Right Click and middle mouse scroll to go between them.
Reply
6-07-2008 @ 3:04PM
sarfaraz said...
can i get opera 9.5 free of cost from this site.....How??????
Reply
6-07-2008 @ 11:58PM
Hylic said...
The Opera Desktop version is free, while Opera Mobile is not
you can download the latest snapshot release from
http://my.opera.com/desktopteam/blog/
6-10-2008 @ 10:50AM
Sarah said...
Is Opera the browser that will let me download torrents without a third party application like Limewire?
Reply
6-11-2008 @ 8:04AM
Hylic said...
I'm not sure if its the only one that does that, but yes you can download torrents with opera directly without a seperate program.
6-10-2008 @ 11:17AM
Jean Pierre Matulampaka said...
Si possible de m'informer des vos logiciels
Reply