opera-9.5 posts

Filed under: Windows, Freeware, Browser Tips

Opera 9.5 USB: Opera browser goes portable

by Brad Linder Jun 13th 2008

The makers of the Opera web browser don't officially make a portable version of the browser that can be run from a USB stick. But if you want to run the recently released Opera 9.5 browser without installing it or making any changes to your registry, one third party developer has got you covered with Opera 9.5 USB.

All you need to do to run Opera 9.5 USB is unzip the program folder to your hard drive or to a USB stick. You can run the program without affecting your current Opera versions or other web browser settings. And you won't leave any data on the host computer, so if you want to borrow a friend's computer without leaving access to your browser history behind, Opera 9.5 USB cold come in handy.

If you're more of a Firefox person, you can also grab a portable version of Firefox 2 or Firefox 3 RC2. Like Firefox Portable, Opera 9.5 USB is Windows only.

[via CyberNet]

Tags: opera, opera-9.5, opera-9.5-portable, opera-portable

Filed under: Internet, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Freeware

Opera 9.5 Released Candidate hits the streets

by Brad Linder Jun 10th 2008

Opera has launched a release candidate of Opera 9.5, the latest version of the company's web browser. Opera 9.5 has been in beta for several months, but the release candidate is a bit more stable, sports a few new features, and more importantly, a bunch of bug fixes. Here are a few of the highlights:

Features a previously mentioned new skin
Smoother upgrade from Opera 9.2 to 9.5
"Download message bodies" enabled on all POP accounts
Stability fixes
Improvements to the Mac native skin and fixed support for Mac OS X 10.2

Unless major issues with Opera 9.5 RC are found, this version could eventually be marked a stable release. If you haven't tried Opera in a while, it's worth taking for a spin. While there are still a handful of sites and web services that don't render properly in Opera, (Google, we're looking at you), overall the browser is incredibly fast and full featured.

Tags: opera, opera-9.5, opera-9.5-rc, release-candidate, web-browser

Filed under: Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Browser Tips, Unix

Opera 9.5 web browser gets a new look

by Brad Linder Jun 6th 2008

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.

Tags: opera, opera-9.5, skins, themes, web-browser

Filed under: Internet, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Beta

Opera 9.5 beta 2 released

by Brad Linder Apr 24th 2008

The Opera team has released the second public beta of Opera 9.5. The web browser packs all the features we've seen in earlier test builds like an improved tab manager, plus a bunch of new features and fixes. Here are just a few:

Full text history search from the address field
Spatial navigation highlighting similar to that used in Opera Mini 4 and Opera for the Nintendo Wii
Opera can now be set as the default mail application from the Windows Control Panel
Improved IMAP performance in email client
Improved Acid3 test performance (although like all browsers, Opera 9.5 beta 2 still fails the test)
Improved compatibility with Gmail 2
Improved fraud protection
Support for Extended Validation certificates

In other words, most of the changes won't be that noticeable to the average user. But the latest browser is more secure and should do a better job of rendering some web sites. Opera 9.5 beta 2 is available for Mac, Windows, and Linux.

[via Opera Desktop Team Blog]

Tags: opera, opera-9.5, web-browser

Filed under: Browser Tips, Beta

Opera 9.24 available now, 9.5 beta coming next week

by Brad Linder Oct 17th 2007

Development keeps marching along on the Opera web browser. Today the Opera team released Opera 9.24, which is basically a security update to Opera 9.24. And next week the team will launch the public beta of Opera 9.5.

Opera 9.24 fixes several vulnerabilities that could leave your computer open to attack. Updates are available for the Windows, Mac, and Linux/Unix versions of Opera.

Opera is throwing a party in San Francisco next Thursday for the official launch of Opera 9.5. We took a look at an alpha version of the browser, and we were pretty impressed. It's still not quite a Firefox replacement (for example, some Google web services don't render properly), but Opera 9.5 definitely has some attractive features like the ability to search your complete web history from the URL bar.

If you can't wait 8 more days, there's a new snapshot build available for download today. It has plenty of bug fixes and updates, but there's also a huge list of known issues, so download at your own risk.

Tags: opera, opera-9.24, opera-9.5, web-browser

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