iopq

Why Opera switching to Blink (WebKit) was the blunder of a century

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Despite the fact that the switch to the Blink rendering engine was supposed to be an “under the hood” change, it’s clear that this switch is in fact a total rewrite. None of the Opera exclusive features have made it into Opera Next. It doesn’t matter how good you remake the browser, the current users want their old work flow. It will probably take several years to partially re-implement the features that the old version had. In the end, those features will not be delivered hundred percent even years down the line. Current 12.x users will keep using 12.x for as long as they can, which means that eventually it’s going to become a legacy browser that will no longer be supported by major JS frameworks. The newest Opera versions will still be largely a UI for Chromium.

I believe this fits under what Joel Spolsky wrote in Things You Should Never Do, Part I. Opera is throwing away the entire Presto engine. That means they won’t be able to differentiate themselves from Chrome for several years, which means that Opera users will have the option between a soon-to-be-legacy browser and basically Chromium with a different UI.

What is the benefit of using Opera 15 over just plain Chromium? Because they removed some features like bookmarks people are supposed to change how they work to accommodate the opinion of some guy who thought this was a good idea? I don’t even care if the new feature is a hundred times better than bookmarks, people know how to use bookmarks so they want their bookmarks. The reason why people tend not to switch to a new browser is because they are so used to the UI and features their browser has that it makes it difficult. Opera Link keeps your bookmarks synced, but there is no way to transfer them to Opera 15. This means that there is no continuity to the new browser, so Opera effectively killed Opera 12.x and started from scratch. They will have to fight with EVERY other browser maker for their desktop market share because it’s just as hard to switch to Opera 15 as it is to switch to Firefox. You have none of your search engines, bookmarks, customized UI/menus, shortcuts, custom mouse gestures, etc.

The correct thing for Opera Software to do was to open source Presto so that the development could keep up with Blink and Gecko. What Opera Software has done instead is to become irrelevant.

51 responses to “Why Opera switching to Blink (WebKit) was the blunder of a century”

  1. T.W. Avatar
    T.W.

    You seem clueless, and are linking to a text by Joel Spolsky which isn’t even relevant. You mention Opera throwing away Presto, but it’s not because they are making a new engine from scratch (which is why the Spolsky article warns against). Opera is moving to a different engine which will improve site compatibility massively, and site compatibility is Opera’s biggest problem by far.

    Claiming that Opera can’t differentiate itself from Chrome because they are using the same engine is just moronic. Opera already differentiates itself with several features that are not available in Chrome, and that’s only going to continue to an even greater degree in the future. The engine is just a means to an end, and Opera’s differentiation is and will be in the UI.

    You conclude that Opera became irrelevant by moving to Blink, while you suggest that Opera should have open-source Presto and kept using it instead, which would have done nothing to improve things for Opera. There are two major open-source engines on the market today, and Opera doesn’t have the mindshare or market share to steal developers from the other ones.

    Opera is not making a difference on desktop. They have nothing to lose by streamlining the browser and using an engine with far better site compatibility. The end.

    Reply
    1. iopq Avatar
      iopq

      It is a rewrite, because they have to add all of their old features back in by rewriting them. Out of the thousands of things people were used to in Presto Opera, they only put in gestures and Turbo (not really relevant as much for desktop). You can get mouse gestures by installing an add-on, it’s not exactly a hard feature to implement. There is no real difference between using Chrome or Opera 15, there is no point to installing Opera 15. They have killed their core constituency in hopes of getting some random people to stop complaining about facebook not working.

      Reply
      1. T.W. Avatar
        T.W.

        They only rewrote the user interface. Unlike what your ramblings would lead people to believe, they did not rewrite the engine (the biggest and hardest part to rewrite).

        The fact is, the article you linked to is not relevant to Opera because Opera is not doing what’s being described there. They are not ditching code because of the reasons listed at all.

        That you are too clueless to understand that the first version obviously won’t have all the planned features is your problem.

        There are real differences between Chrome and Opera 15, such as the features you mentioned, and of course features like Stash and SpeedDial. And those differences are only going to increase in the future.

        Because unlike you, I am not too clueless to understand that this is just the first version and a start. I understand that if you don’t like it, no one is forcing you to move away from Opera 12.

        Site compatibility was the main problem for Opera. They’ve fixed that. Now all they need to do is to keep working on the foundation they made with Opera 15.

  2. iopq Avatar
    iopq

    They started over completely and just wrote a UI for Chromium. This means that it will be years before they can really show anything that differentiates themselves in a non-trivial way. If someone has Chrome/Firefox installed there is no reason to install a 20MB browser for a couple of features that come as extensions.

    Reply
    1. T.W. Avatar
      T.W.

      They did not start over completely. The engine, the biggest part of any browser, is not being rewritten by Opera. That’s why your argument fails. It gets worse for you because you actually mentioned Presto in the blog post, as if Opera was rewriting the actual engine.

      Opera 15 was made in just a few months. It already has several features that sets it apart. So once again your claims are demonstrably false.

      Reply
      1. iopq Avatar
        iopq

        Everyone wants their OLD features back because those are the features they’re using in Presto Opera. You don’t just break the familiar features/UI on your old users.

    2. T.W. Avatar
      T.W.

      Whether people want their old features back isn’t what we’re discussing. We’re discussing your silly, illogical and factually incorrect blog post which I have now demolished.

      Reply
      1. iopq Avatar
        iopq

        They are rebuilding the old features, and it’s going to take them a really long time. They have to rewrite the implementation of all of their old features from scratch which is why my blog post is correct. Just because you say you demolished it doesn’t make your self-congratulatory comment correct.

    3. T.W. Avatar
      T.W.

      “They are rebuilding the old features”

      See, this is why your arguments are bogus and irrelevant. You think they are simply remaking the old Opera all over again.

      That’s not what they are doing, and they’ve even said so. They said they are not going to add back all the old features. They are making a new browser.

      So your blog post is still wrong. Your blog post links to an article that talks about rebuilding the existing application, while Opera is making a new one.

      Also, the article talks about being without a product while rewriting it, while Opera actually has 2: Opera 15 for new users that just want a basic browser that works, and Opera 12 for existing users (and there will be no mass-exodus because most Opera users are not paying attention to betas).

      It’s a win-win situation for Opera. They get to keep new users because sites work, and they get to keep old users (at least for the time being) because Opera 12 is not going away.

      Conclusion: You couldn’t be more wrong.

      Reply
      1. Knowbody Avatar
        Knowbody

        “See, this is why your arguments are bogus and irrelevant. You think they are simply remaking the old Opera all over again.”

        Actually, the whole point is that they’re not doing that, AND THAT’S THE PROBLEM.

    4. T.W. Avatar
      T.W.

      The small minority that actually cares will know how to disable auto-update. Most people just want a simple browser that works.

      But that’s besides the point. They point is that your arguments are dishonest. The point is that unlike your claim that Opera is without a product, Opera actually has two, where one is for existing users and the other for new users. It’s a win-win situation for Opera and old and new users right now.

      Reply
  3. Me Avatar
    Me

    I agree with the OP. IF Opera looks and feels anything like the alpha/beta/Next (whatever it is) that i’ve just tried, then i will have no use for it and will do exactly what IOPQ says: i will keep using 12.x for as long as i can and then almost certainly switch to Firefox. I use bookmarks, notes, sync, m2 (email) and many of the customise features (eg, my tabs are on the left), multi-account Wand, custom search bars and more. The fact the developers are not saying “don’t worry, it will be Opera 12 with the awesome Blink engine” says that it won’t be. If i want to use a Chrome clone, i’ll just use Chrome – why would i bother with the number 5 browser Opera over the no.1 browser Chrome? It looks like a very sad time for decade-long Opera fans. If it goes the way it appears, there will simply be no REASON to USE Opera. :(

    Reply
    1. T.W. Avatar
      T.W.

      Opera 15 is obviously not going to have tons of unique features. It was made in just a few months, and is just the beginning. They’ll add more features in future versions.

      So there’s nothing wrong with using Opera 12 in the meantime.

      Now, your comment is OT. The blog post is about how terrible it is that they are rewriting Presto from scratch (which seems to be what the guy thinks). But they are really only just making a new UI.

      You can complain about how Opera 15+ won’t be just like Opera 12, but it doesn’t matter. Just because Opera 15+ won’t be like Opera 12 doesn’t mean it will be like Chrome. It already has several features that don’t exist in Chrome.

      No reason to use Opera? What are you talking about? Even in this first version of the new Opera there are several new and unique features.

      Reply
      1. Me Avatar
        Me

        Several unique features that I don’t personally want vs several that are absent that I’ve been using for some time. He’s not saying they’re re-writing blink. Put it this way, if you put the same engine from a Merc into a totally newly designed Merc, would you say that the Ford is a different beast? Of course you would. And my post is not “OT” as he doesn’t exclusively talk about re-writes but also features that are presently absent with no indication from Opera (that I’ve seen) that they will return.

        What have the developers said they will be retaining? Citation please. The only thing I’ve heard is what they’re NOT retaining (m2 and bookmarks).

    2. T.W. Avatar
      T.W.

      He is basically saying that they are rewriting the engine:

      “I believe this fits under what Joel Spolsky wrote in Things You Should Never Do, Part I. Opera is throwing away the entire Presto engine.”

      Remember, he links to the article talking about reimplementing the entire application as it is now.

      He talks about “no unique features” which is a blatant lie.

      Reply
  4. Me Avatar
    Me

    TW, i didn’t get the impression that IOPQ was saying anything more than the UI is missing almost all the features of Opera 12 and that IF they return, it will take a while because they’ll have to re-write it to fit Blink.

    Do you have anything from Opera that says they will be bringing back the feature-list of Opera 12, either in it’s entirety or in part (and which parts)? I can’t find anything to give me any confidence that what makes Opera relevant will be retained (part of IOPQs point).

    Reply
    1. T.W. Avatar
      T.W.

      He is saying that Opera is making “the blunder of a century” because some article he links to which talks about rewriting the whole application and being without a product for years.

      As a matter of fact, Opera is not without a product. There are TWO products now: Opera 15 works fine as a basic browser for new users/most people, while Opera 12 still works for existing users.

      Opera is not just remaking Opera 12. They are making a new browser. That’s why this blog post is crap, and the article he links to is irrelevant.

      Also, he’s using dishonest arguments to support his claims.

      Reply
      1. iopq Avatar
        iopq

        Yes, they are making a new browser and will eventually auto-update your Opera 12 when they feel it’s ready, not when your favorite features are implemented.

    2. T.W. Avatar
      T.W.

      The tiny minority that actually cares will know how to disable auto-update. Most people just want a simple browser that works.

      But that’s besides the point. They point is that your arguments are dishonest. The point is that unlike your claim that Opera is without a product, Opera actually has two, where one is for existing users and the other for new users. It’s a win-win situation for Opera and old and new users right now.

      Reply
      1. iopq Avatar
        iopq

        I’m not being dishonest, I might be exaggerating a little bit. Of course there is already a product, but that product is not good enough. It’s a betrayal of everything people liked about Opera.

        Because they’re not going to bring back the parts that people liked about the browser in a timely manner, it’s no different from just using Chrome to the current users. New features like Stash that no one asked for do not replace features like bookmarks that people use right now. I can’t import my bookmarks into my Stash.

        That’s a deal breaker. That’s breaking people’s work flow when they’re in the middle of a painful transition… and probably only so they can say “look, new features, we’re not Chrome”

      2. T.W. Avatar
        T.W.

        The new product is good enough for 99.999% of the population. The people with very particular and specific needs are a tiny minority.

        You are lying and being extremely dishonest. Current nerd users can still use Opera 12, and the new version is very different from using Chrome already due to a very different set of features.

        Stash is not supposed to replace bookmarks. You really should pay attention.

  5. WebKit Opera: First Impressions | domestic empire Avatar
    WebKit Opera: First Impressions | domestic empire

    […] Further Reading: Why Opera switching to Blink (WebKit) was the blunder of a century […]

    Reply
  6. domestic empire Avatar
    domestic empire

    Essentially Opera died the moment this move was announced. I’m interested to see the final feature set on a stable build, but this is a kick in the teeth to all their loyal users, of whom they have repeatedly shown scant interest.

    Indeed the wise thing to do is release Presto as Open source, but again I can’t see Opera ASA become benevolent overnight.

    A very sad time ahead for browsing :/

    Reply
    1. T.W. Avatar
      T.W.

      Opera died? It seems very much alive to me. Just because a small minority is raging because the first version of a rewritten UI doesn’t have all the features they want doesn’t mean Opera is dead.

      It’s pretty crazy to see nerds like yourself in a rage because Opera didn’t add hundreds of features in just a few months.

      Reply
      1. Me Avatar
        Me

        It’s a bit gamble. IMO people will choose Chrome over it unless it retains the vast bulk of features that make Opera special. I personally think people are pretty much split between Chrome (simple users) and Firefox (more advanced users – people who use features on a desktop not a craplet (tablet) or stupidphone (smartphone)). If people don’t like Chrome, they will choose Firefox. For the same reason not even Microsoft can’t break the iOS/Android mobile OS duopoly, Opera might not be able to crack the Chrome/Firefox duopoly. It needs Chromes engine, with Opera’s features or it will won’t compete. I think it would be a mistake to launch ChOpera until the features that distinguish it (12 features) are ready. And please don’t tell me again it has “several features that Chrome doesn’t have” and tell me when it has RSS reader, IRC client, Notes, Bookmarks, Customisable UI, stackable tabs, sidebar etc etc. I’m a 2% user that puts up with some site compatibility issues /because/ of the features. It LOOKS LIKE they’re going to make it work with Facebook but I won’t have the features that made me choose Opera in the first place.

        IF ChOpera succeeds it will probably be at the expense of it’s 2% of internet browser user base it currently has – unless it retains the features of Opera 12. It could well bring on board a tonne of new people and crack 10-20-30% of browsers, but the 2% that kept it for a decade or more will largely leave IMO.

        This blog post would be utterly irrelevant, and I would largely agree with TW IF Opera said exactly which features would be kept and it included the vast bulk of existing features. THAT would satisfy most existing users. But they haven’t. I personally think it’s because you’re not going to get most features back. It’s called conditioning. There will be 3-6 months of work on Opera 15 with none on 12, by then people would be largely resigned to putting up with a drab, featureless, un-customisable browser (if that’s what it is) or they would have jumped ship or just stuck with 12 for as long as they can (which won’t be forever).

        Heh, it’s funny how people are saying how ‘clean’ OperaNext is. Without a mail client and it’s over twice the size. Perception is everything, eh?

      2. T.W. Avatar
        T.W.

        @Me

        “people will choose Chrome over it unless it retains the vast bulk of features that make Opera special”

        Nonsense. Most of Opera’s features are hardly used by anyone.

        “This blog post would be utterly irrelevant, and I would largely agree with TW IF Opera said exactly which features would be kept and it included the vast bulk of existing features.”

        No, the blog post would still be irrelevant because his arguments are false either way.

    2. Me Avatar
      Me

      Opera 12 as Open Source would be brilliant. Then the OS community can ditch presto and use blink and retain the features of 12.x :) But yeah it’s sad. I was excited by the prospect but they’ve managed to worry me.

      Opera will never be a top browser for as long as they keep the name too. It’s just not a cool or snappy name. :)

      Reply
      1. iopq Avatar
        iopq

        That’s the thing, though, if that was possible then Opera Software would have done this. But there’s probably too much close binding to Presto to do this.

      2. T.W. Avatar
        T.W.

        “Opera will never be a top browser for as long as they keep the name too. It’s just not a cool or snappy name”

        Yes, just like the Nintendo Wii’s name held it back. Remember how all the knowitalls like you were talking about how the name would lead to no one buying it?

      3. T.W. Avatar
        T.W.

        People said the same about Nintendo Wii. Everyone agreed that it would flop because of the name. Except it destroyed the competition.

        Reality: Names don’t really matter. It’s all about the branding. Lots of product and company names are really stupid… Micro-SOFT? Goooooogle? Heh.

    3. Simon Avatar
      Simon

      I agree with you, it is a sad to see how a bad pro Yankees CEO is able to sink a company like Opera. The movement made with Presto is the same than Nokia with their own OS supported by the same stupid reasons that T.W. sticks up as a fan from hell. The result was that Nokia lost clients and was unable to bring new ones. Its stocks went down and it was a bargain for Microsoft to finish the take over. Surprisingly its CEO instead of being fired to leave the company into bankruptcy, he is candidate for CEO in Microsoft.
      The same has happen with Opera, it has lost users because there is no future and showed no loyalty with them (It is impossible that Chromium gets the same features that Presto simply because Google and Apple control it), by other hand it has not the marketing knowledge/resources to get new users. As a result, the browser business will be dropped, they will fired a lot of employees (May be it is happening now) and the company will be put on sale.
      Then do not make complains about the lack of privacy and the NSI controls.
      The Americans screw the Scandinavians, again…

      Reply
      1. T.W. Avatar
        T.W.

        What does “pro Yankees CEO” mean?

        How do you figure that Opera is sinking when the company is turning record revenues and profits every quarter? Not to mention that the Opera share is more than 100% above the highest level it was before Blink.

        How do you know how many users Opera is losing or gaining? How do you know that even a temporary dip in user numbers won’t be made up for in the long term as stuff is added to the new browser?

        What do you know about what it’s possible to do with Chromium? Opera has the source code. They can do whatever they want to.

        Opera put on sale? Except Opera is the one acquiring other companies, not the other way around.

        Americans screw Scandinavians? Opera is a Scandinavian company, and the CEO is from Scandinavia as well.

        Your entire post is basically nonsense.

      2. Anton Kucinski Avatar
        Anton Kucinski

        I know this is now very old news, but at least I have an explanation as to why Opera is now so slow, balky, and just weird. I’ve been using Opera since it was $US38.00. That was a long time ago. I’ll go back to the latest Presto version for all my equipment.

        Thank you for noticing the Nokia parallel. I’m not a computer or tech geek, but I immediately noticed that the ‘reasons’ for dumping Presto sounded very similar to the ‘reasons’ for dumping Symbian. I distinctly remember reading several articles saying that the numbers simply didn’t support the whole ‘burning platform’ argument for abandoning Symbian. I wonder if there are or will be articles saying the same about Opera’s decision to dump Presto.

      3. TW Avatar
        TW

        If you have a modestly recent computer the new Opera won’t be slow. And that’s the problem. Presto might be better on extremely old hardware, but that’s quickly becoming an irrelevant advantage.

        Also, comparing this to Nokia’s burning platform is silly. Symbian was the #1 mobile OS, but Opera never was the #1 browser. Symbian was going down, while Opera was growing. Nokia chose a platform no one wanted to use while Opera chose Webkit, arguably the most popular engine in the world.

        How can you compare Opera betting on the winning team to Nokia betting on the losing team? Geez.

  7. ClaudeA Avatar
    ClaudeA

    After years of Opera use, I quit. Such drivel as Chrome is worse than Mosaic 20 years ago!

    Reply
  8. James Edwards Avatar
    James Edwards

    And here we are at Opera 18, and it still isn’t Opera. Personally I think that the switch to Webkit was a good idea, and will improve site compatibility, but what makes Opera Opera is its UI, not its engine. It doesn’t have any of the features that made it what it is: detailed site preferences, fully configurable toolbars and chrome right down to individual button placement, tab groups, configurable address-bar searches, panels, history snapshots, the list goes on and on; it doesn’t even have bookmarks ffs.

    Maybe Opera Next does have more users, but if you look around the My Opera forums it becomes very obvious that these are new users, not existing ones. Is the overall size of their user-base more important than loyalty to existing users? We’re going to find ourselves increasingly marginalised by site capabilities, exactly as the author says. It’s always been hard to get developers to test in Opera, and that’s only going to get worse — look at caniuse.com, and the way it lists Opera Next as the “current” version. That’s a common perception even now, and as such, Opera 12 is treated as a legacy browser like IE9. What’s it going to be like in another 12 months? Or 2 years?

    If Opera Software’s intention was to throw away their existing user-base along with their rendering engine, they could not have done a better job. The move to Webkit was necessary, but the focus should be on the UI, not the engine. A browser with Opera 12’s UI but Chrome’s exact rendering engine would be more successful than the current Opera Next, because the existing Opera user-base would have already switched to it.

    Frankly, I feel betrayed by a browser I’ve evangelised, supported, developed extensions and reported bugs for, for more than a decade.

    Reply
    1. iopq Avatar
      iopq

      Unfortunately, they have to re-implement every Opera feature from scratch because they’re using the Blink codebase. This is why I called this a “rewrite” even though they made a functional browser in a few months. It’s a rewrite for the old users that will wait years for their favorite features to be put back in.

      Reply
      1. James Edwards Avatar
        James Edwards

        Yeah that’s makes sense, and so I guess it’s understandable that it would take a while to get the feature-set back. And it’s also understandable why Opera would want to promote the new browser during that period, and offer it as the main download, even though that seems paradoxical (or just downright daft) to those of use who still consider it a beta browser.

        As long as it becomes a decent browser before developers stop supporting Opera 12, we won’t have a problem. Only time will tell I suppose. In the meantime, I’ll just have to continue doing what I’m doing already — continually reminding developers that Opera 12 is the latest version of Opera, and Opera Next is a different browser.

  9. family_man Avatar
    family_man

    Re:” Frankly, I feel betrayed by a browser I’ve evangelised, supported, developed extensions and reported bugs for, for more than a decade.”

    Exactly. I’ve used Opera for over 17 years. Tried Opera 18 today. Shocked. Uninstall. Terrible browser…

    Reply
  10. Ben Avatar
    Ben

    This Opera UI mess is comparable to Windows 8 UI mess.
    Did they had the same consultants?

    Reply
  11. Alan Jones Avatar
    Alan Jones

    Opera 12.x it’s bookmark side and speed dial along with all it’s other features where part of the Presto engine. These features can’t be added to Opera next because they aren’t part of the Blink (Webkit) rendering engine.

    Reply
  12. www.agrenius.pl Avatar
    www.agrenius.pl

    Cuadro la primera oportunidad que poco así se hacía en España.

    Reply
  13. Chris Avatar
    Chris

    I’ve been a fan of Opera since before it was free. I actually paid for it back in the day. Their latest moves has caused me to just let it go and move on. I still have 12.15 on my comp, but I can’t imagine bothering to go any further with Opera at this point. Instead, I envision a time when even version 12 will be completely removed from my computer. I’m just not willing to waste any more time on it.

    Reply
  14. ClaudeA Avatar
    ClaudeA

    All this ranting and name-calling! TW, if you can, name a convincing reason anyone should continue using Opera. Just one. My first browser was Netscape 1.x, and for the period worked fine.

    When Opera went free I tried it, and compared to Netscape and others of the time, it was OK. It never replaced any other browser I use, and I maintain up to six for different reasons.

    I have 12.16 installed and see no reason to move into murky waters of trying to find work-a-rounds for missing features in the blunderware of Opera 13.x+

    That said, my use of Opera is “my” use, and the reasons I used it as a sideline browser with specific features remains.

    The issues with Mozilla security is not Opera’s and likely will never be, so this is all the more reason to continue with 12.x, as what intrusionware developer cares about such a relic?

    The IE boondoggle is like all other miserysoft trialware, and the only reason it’s on my windoz box is billy goat gates demands his garbage heap be complete with his own version of intrusionware. I’d be perfectly satisfied with Apple’s Mac, like when I started with the MacII in late 1997, but Jobs trashed a viable platform with one his personal backers had oddles invested in.

    It’s so bad at Apple now that you can’t get a product that does not give away your most sensitive details to the entire world – at Apple’s gain.

    Torvold had a good idea, but it got stuck in big iron-think and the GUI is tough to learn, since the underlying system is still in the dark ages.

    However, I do like that Linux is a disaster to write malicious code to run on. Why misersoft will never follow suit is easy to see, since Redmond is more focused on legacy for mega-corp accounts than for the rest of the world, but to suit mega-corp the miserysoft evangelista touts it as a viable platform, and compatibility, ridiculing all concerns over safety.

    Behind all Internet stands banksterdom. Governments are owned by banksterdom, and all who would be players online either jump through bankster hurdles, or play wannabe. Soon Internet will join the tycoon-run Walmart, and be swallowed in the miry mediocrity pit of “authorized” code, or no play4U.

    Arguing over feature sets on browsers that block free access to free material offered by free people on free backbone digital trunk lines will only be a faint memory in time to come.

    My first order of business in the first months of 1996 was to enroll in the first online course of business operations online. In that course of just over a dozen the instructor, in Conneticut, emphasized over and over that what is called “spam” today was implicitly wrong, and that no online presence should ever push unasked commercial content to any site visitor.

    HA! I suppose he cringes whenever he goes online today! The commercial end of online exploitation forces gigantic data flow on all users which ISPs exploit with wrong-headed data-caps to increase already bloated profit margins.

    Opera is and always was profit focused. Like miserysoft and Jobsware, it takes $$ to stay profitable, and Gobbly-google is the lead to chase after. Nevermind that gobblyGooggle is anything except user-focused, it’s the Dolla that investors want.

    The gmail fiasco is very clear on this sad fact. At least Opera 12.x did not leach user details and expose unwary users’ data to mega-banksters like gobblyGooggle does. “Did” is the opera-tive. Exploitation is the new buzzword for browserware, because for-profit private browser developers like to please greed-based investors.

    Mozilla is targeted by greed-based investors to eliminate it. It’s mantra of free access Internet is against the grain of private bankster-run enterprise.

    Opera either joins this $hark infested murky realm, or face financial ruin to its tiny microcosm of private, for-profit developers by mega-corporate $harks.

    Go on FaceBook and try load just one page without unsolicited bankster commercials. Go on any social online medium and your sense of well-being vanishes. You’re in slime pits of distracting commerce, worse than all other forms of public right of pass through. It reminds me of what travelling on u.S. highways used to be in the 50s – a jumbled disaster of commercial distraction. The view beyond the pavement was obscured with trashy commercial billboard slime.

    Opera is headed into this same pit. Like Chrome’s blocking any free access to Internet content that gobblyGooggle investors deem off-limits to you, Opera will now march lock-step with their greed-mongers.

    I’d go on, but why?

    Bankster-run, for-profit Washington, D.C. slams down on all dissenters of chokeware, and its prisons can expand to accommodate any who disrespect their hidden agenda.

    Bye . . .

    Reply
    1. TW Avatar
      TW

      “TW, if you can, name a convincing reason anyone should continue using Opera. Just one.”

      What? I don’t care if you or anyone else uses Opera or not. It’s your life, so make your own choices.

      But the new Opera apparently has more users than Opera 12 by now, and they are using it more and are sticking with it for longer.

      Reply
      1. Az Avatar
        Az

        Do you? You are trying to convince everyone the new opera is the best.

  15. Chris Avatar
    Chris

    appreciate your comments, Claude…especially… “The issues with Mozilla security is not Opera’s and likely will never be, so this is all the more reason to continue with 12.x, as what intrusionware developer cares about such a relic?” Maybe I won’t delete Opera just yet.

    Reply
  16. Crapera Avatar
    Crapera

    I was really disappointed and pissed when I tried Opera 15+. I’m a little more forgiving and because I used Chrome as a backup, it’s not SO bad for me, but it still doesn’t feel like Opera. I believe this is Opera 22 right now. I still have Opera 12.16 or 12.17 and I use it most of the time.

    They just sold out, and it’s really aggravating that they just abandoned the thing that made Opera Opera. I won’t care if the company goes down the tubes. They certainly deserve it.

    As a side note, I wonder why they shut MyOpera down. Could it be negative feedback for Opera 15+?

    Reply
  17. Az Avatar
    Az

    I am still using Opera 12.16. Using Opera from 15 years after I tried a lot of browsers. The new opera doesnt have anything similar with the old one. So there is no way to “keep” using Opera with the new versions. They are just different browser. All other browsers were stealing features from years.
    What I see now is that opera says: “yes, we created a smaaaal and not good browser so we changed it as it should be. Now it is fixed and all old crap removed and it looks as the modern browsers should be – like chrome.”
    I would prefer to pay for a real browser that will save my time not new modern crap.
    And yes, opera is dead. It is a pity. I hope someone will make another good browser for non-crowd-fashion-people someday.

    Reply
  18. John IL Avatar
    John IL

    If everyone like Opera caves to Blink all we will have is just a bunch of Chrome clones and a web much like Internet Explorer days where sites only cared about working with IE. Opera has just done what we don’t want in the browser world. More Chrome clones that emphasize that web sites only need to work with Blink to be successful.

    Reply
  19. Django Bravo Avatar
    Django Bravo

    Nice blog, loser. Everyone knows it bad that there’s no major alternative other than Firefox; we don’t need some retard blogger playing broken records remind us of this. Kindly fuck off and take your shitty vent page account with you.

    Reply

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