Opera 9.5

25 June, 2008 by Neuschwanstein

Opera is hoping to steal some of Firefox’s thunder, with a launch timed to fall just before the open-source darling’s version 3 unveiling. Like the new Firefox, Opera 9.5 (code-named Kestrel) has revamped its address bar, simplified its download dialog, improved content blocking, sped up performance, and tightened memory use.

Other Features :

Have you ever forgotten the page where you found that great article or that perfect gift? When using Opera the browser remembers not only the titles and addresses, but the actual content of the Web pages you visit.

We’ve made the fastest browser in the world even faster with superior support for Web standards. Opera 9.5 is quicker to start, faster at loading Web pages and better at running your favorite Web applications.

  • More than 2x faster than Opera 9.2 in rendering JavaScript and HTML
  • Faster handling of third party plug-ins
  • Much faster start up time
  • Superior support for Web standards

Typing addresses for sites you visit frequently is ineffective. Get your favorite Web page with just one click. Speed Dial is a set of visual bookmarks you see when you open a new tab, like a dashboard for your online life. To add a new page, simply click on an empty Speed Dial and Opera will make suggestions based on browsing history and bookmarks.


Download files quicker with Opera. Opera starts downloading as soon as you’ve saved the file, so there’s no wasted time. Pause and resume downloads with the push of a button, and choose multiple files to download simultaneously without any fuss. Opera also features built-in support for the social file distribution protocol, BitTorrent, which makes it easy to download Torrent files without the need for a separate application.

Get Opera here.


11 Comments »

  1. Sharp paw tailwagger says:

    Opera 11.10 for Windows changelog
    Release notes

    Release date: April 12, 2011

    Opera 11.10 is a recommended upgrade offering new and improved features plus stability enhancements.

    For further reference, please see:
    The previous Opera 11.10 beta for Windows changelog on the Opera changelogs website
    The updated Opera version history at opera.com
    New and improved features
    Code name
    Opera 11.10 beta uses “Barracuda” as its code name.
    Opera Presto 2.8 rendering engine
    Opera 11.10 beta uses the new Opera Presto 2.8 rendering engine as identified in its user agent string.
    Opera/9.80 (Windows NT 5.1; U; en) Presto/2.8.131 Version/11.10
    Plugin installation wizard
    Enables easy installation of, for example, the Flash plug-in if it is missing from the system.
    URL Filter API for Opera extensions

    The URL Filter API for Opera extensions defines a DOM interface that allows extensions to add temporary rules to Opera’s native content blocker. Rules added through this API are associated with an extension and apply as long as an extension is enabled. Once an extension is disabled or the browser is shut down, the temporary rules are discarded.
    It defines the API that is applied to an extension browsing context.
    An extension browsing context is a browsing context that implements the Opera extension interface (opera.extension).
    See: URL Filter API for Opera extensions
    WebP

    Opera adds support for the Google WebP image format.
    This enhances Opera Turbo’s compression performance with images.
    WebP is a new image format that provides lossy compression for photographic images.
    A WebP file consists of VP8 image data, and a container based on the Resource Interchange File Format (RIFF).
    See: WebP: A new image format for the Web
    See: RIFF Container
    Feature improvements
    Declarative UI
    Written in YAML:
    A human friendly data serialization standard for all programming languages
    A tool for visual layout development of YAML based CSS layouts
    Improves:
    Adaptation to different string sizes for different languages
    Changes in layout for a specific platform to get closer to platform guidelines
    Dialogs with variable contents
    Feature discoverability
    Subtle animations and messages have been added to improve discoverability of Opera features.
    Opera Dragonfly beta 1

    Opera has improved its Dragonfly debugging tool with the release of Opera Dragonfly beta 1. Opera Dragonfly covers the full debugging workflow, from inspecting network access and downloaded resources, to correcting JavaScript issues and seeing how CSS rules apply to the DOM. It supports all the newest web technologies, including SVG and HTML5 APIs such as Web Storage.
    JavaScript debugger
    Enables stepping through your code line by line, setting break points along the way.
    Monitor the exact expression or specific variable in your JavaScript code.
    Use the Break points panel to see exactly what caused a JavaScript fail.
    Added new types of break points and more granular control.
    CSS inspector
    Check out what CSS rules apply to which element, and what rules are inherited or set by browser defaults.
    Overridden rules are highlighted showing what styles are, or are not applied.
    Use the CSS editing feature to edit existing properties and values.
    Use the auto-complete feature to make editing faster and more convenient.
    DOM inspector
    Allows inspection of the updated DOM and all of its properties.
    The DOM can be edited to experiment with changes directly in the browser.
    Network inspector
    Allows inspection of the HTTP request and response headers.
    A summary of each request is shown, with the method type, response status and the time taken to be retrieved.
    Drill down to see full details of each requests header.
    Find latency, see how resources download and in what order, and even view cached resources.
    Resource inspector
    See all site resources such as images, scripts, fonts, HTML files and videos at a glance.
    Storage inspector
    Cookies and Web Storage can be dynamically updated, tested, inspected, and manipulated.
    Error console
    Allows you to see, filter and log any errors in your scripts, pointing to the exact position where the error occurred.
    Use the Error console in combination with the other tools to hunt down and fix your site’s bugs.
    Debug your phone or TV
    Debug pages whether they are on your computer or a supported device, such as a phone running Opera Mobile 10 for Windows Mobile.
    You can connect to any device running Opera Presto 2.1 or above and debug using your computer’s screen and keyboard. There is no need to struggle inputting test data with your phone’s keypad again.
    Opera Widgets can also be debugged via remote debugging.
    Design utilities
    A color picker and a screen magnifier allow you to pick out colors from a website or widget.
    The average color of an area can be selected to make it easier to pick out colors from bitmap images.
    Chosen colors can be stored in a palette for later access.
    Open source
    Built using the open web standards you know and love, Opera Dragonfly’s source is available to view.
    Not only that, but it is released on a Apache 2.0 license, meaning it is free as in freedom, as well as in beer.
    Join in the project, or just check out the source code at the Opera Dragonfly repository.
    Mail
    Added support for phrase searching.
    Improved CJK searches.
    Improvements made to the panel, including a setting to disable automatic toggling.
    Improved support when using the Opera Mail client with a Gmail IMAP account.
    Opera now recognizes the special IMAP folders “Sent items”, “Spam”, “Trash” and treats them as equivalents of the native Sent, Spam and Trash views in Opera Mail. This also works for other IMAP servers that support the XLIST or SPECIAL-USE extensions for the IMAP specification, including the Fastmail IMAP service.
    Opera now recognizes the special way in which Gmail duplicates messages that appear in the “All Mail” IMAP folder and the various folders created by Gmail’s own “labels” (including Inbox). To make the best use of this, it is recommended that you subscribe to the all the Gmail IMAP folders (this is a change from earlier advice to suggested users to unsubscribe from the [Gmail]\* folders).
    Opera Mail will then make sure that messages do not show up twice in its “Unread” and “Recieved” views. As for other views like “Mailing lists”, “Contacts”, “Labels”, and “Attachments”, duplication can still occur there. You can improve on this for now by unchecking “Show hidden” for such views (use the “View” button in the mail view, then “Show > Show hidden”).
    Search
    Search hijacking protection: Opera now prevents third party applications from hijacking searches and other customizations in Opera.
    Added a Search field to error pages, where the browser will make a search request over the net for suggestions and display them.
    Speed Dial
    Added Speed Dial animation to help when reordering (dragging and dropping) existing Speed Dial cells, using smooth visual cues.
    Added a new “logo finder” which keys in on the main title of a page; diabled when “Reload every” is applied.
    Improvements have been made to the Speed Dial flow layout.
    Added the ability to set the number of Speed Dial columns (automatic by default).
    Added a new dialog when adding/editing Speed Dials
    It is now possible to add a custom title to Speed Dials, through the new add/edit dialog.
    Sites can now reload Speed Dials automatically using one of two methods:
    HTTP header: Preview-refresh: seconds
    HTML code:
    The Speed Dial thumbnail/icon is now determined using these criteria (in order):
    Send a http header to tell the server it is a Speed Dial request
    Detect big icons: and display them instead of a thumbnail
    Find the important part of the page (logo), and zoom in closer
    Apply CSS view-mode: minimized when generating the thumbnail
    Updated graphics for Speed Dial and callout dialogs
    Speed Dial now has automatic zooming
    Speed Dial options are instantly applied
    User JavaScript
    Added support for the BeforeCSS and AfterCSS events.
    See: User JavaScript: Available methods, events, and properties
    Web specifications support

    For your guide, Opera web specification support references are located at:
    Web specifications support in Opera Presto 2.8
    Web specifications support in Opera products: an overview
    CSS
    Gradients
    Added partial support for the gradients section of the W3C CSS3 Image Values/Replaced Content module.
    Using the Opera -o- vendor prefix, Opera supports:
    -o-linear-gradient()
    -o-repeating-linear-gradient()

    is supported.
    is only supported in background and background-image.
    is not supported in list-style-image and border-image.
    See: CSS3 Image Values/Replaced Content support in Opera Presto 2.8
    See: W3C CSS Image Values and Replaced Content Module Level 3
    W3C CSS Multi-column Layout Module
    Added support for the W3C CSS Multi-column Layout Module.
    See: CSS Multi-column Layout Module support in Opera Presto 2.8
    See: W3C CSS Multi-column Layout Module
    W3C CSS Device Adaptation (viewport) specification support
    Added support for W3C CSS Device Adaptation (viewport) specification.
    See: W3C CSS Device Adaptation
    See: CSS Device Adaptation (viewport) support in Opera Presto 2.8
    W3C CSS cursor property values support
    Added support for CSS cursor property values:
    “zoom-in”
    “zoom-out”
    See: CSS Properties support in Opera Presto 2.8
    See: W3C CSS cursor property values.
    Encodings
    Removed support for UTS22: 1.4 charset alias matching.
    See: Charset Alias Matching
    See: Legacy Encodings support in Opera Presto 2.8
    HTML
    W3C HTML5 data-* global attributes
    Added support for HTML5 data-* global attributes.
    See: HTML5 elements, attributes, and APIs support in Opera Presto 2.8
    See: W3C Section 3.2.3.8 Embedding custom non-visible data with the data-* attributes
    W3C HTML5 Session history and navigation
    Added support for the history interface.
    See: HTML5 Session History and Navigation support in Opera Presto 2.8
    See: W3C HTML5 Section 5.4: Session history and navigation
    W3C HTML5 Elements
    Made section, article, nav, etc., elements block elements by default and added the style rules.
    See: HTML5 elements, attributes, and APIs support in Opera Presto 2.8
    See: HTML5 Forms support in Opera Presto 2.8
    See: W3C HTML5: A vocabulary and associated APIs for HTML and XHTML
    W3C HTML5 HTMLElement
    Moved the accesskey attribute to HTMLElement (HTML5).
    See: W3C HTML5 Section 7.4.2: The accesskey attribute
    SOCKS Proxy
    Added support for the SOCKS Protocol Version 5.
    Must be configured via opera:config
    SOCKS server must be entered as an IP address
    Uses local DNS information
    As stated, this can be adjusted in the Opera Preferences Editor located at: opera:config > Proxy.
    See: RFC 1928 – SOCKS Protocol Version 5
    W3C File API
    Added partial support for the W3C File API:
    Blob interface
    Blob.slice()
    File interface
    FileError
    FileException (WebWorkers)
    FileReader
    FileReaderSync (WebWorkers)
    files in HTMLInputElement
    See: W3C File API support in Opera Presto 2.8
    See: W3C File API
    WOFF
    Added support for the W3C Web Open Font Format (WOFF).
    See: W3C WOFF File Format 1.0 support in Opera Presto 2.8
    See: W3C Web Open Font Format (WOFF)

  2. Neuschwanstein says:

    Earlier today, Opera software announced on their community blog MyOpera that the new anticipated version of their desktop browser, Opera 11 would be released in beta after having undergone several alpha releases.

    A Neowin user pointed out that the beta had been uploaded to Opera’s FTP servers, which currently remains the only source to download. Opera have been known in the past for uploading builds to their FTP before official release, which could explain the quick find.

    Opera 11 sports an increase in performance on top of numerous new additions including a feature many have asked for, and has finally been added; extensions. Unlike Firefox, Opera extensions can be installed and uninstalled without the need to restart the browser – a nifty little addition. Additionally the browser is capable of auto-updates of extensions which means there is no need to keep checking for updates of your extensions, you’ll be up to date at all times. Currently the extension gallery sits at 137 available extensions with the most popular being a version of Adblock called NoAds. Extensions in many browsers cannot be used in modes such as private browsing. Opera goes against this idea and support extensions in private browsing and secure connections.

    With previous versions of Opera, the installer was very much a usual web browser installation process with no support of portable installation. A new installer has been implemented which as well as looking much better and being a simpler installation process, it supports portable installation options.

    Google search suggestions have also been implemented making search faster and more convenient for all of its users although unfortunately, Google continue to ignore Opera by not allowing support for their most recent features such as Google Instant and Google Instant Previews.

    As reported by Neowin last week, Opera was named the most secure web browser, with only six vulnerabilities being found over a period of a year. The company seems to want to keep that title by arming Opera 11 with safer address fields. The new feature gives a badge to each web page which replaces HTTP, HTTPS and opera; protocols which are only shown when focusing on the address field. By clicking on the badge it provides an overview of the security of the web page you’re visiting (e.g. If you’re on the Opera official website it will be a verified website. If you’re on a web page you’ve visited for the first time it won’t have the same verification.)

    Furthermore, there is plugin on demand support which is rather like Google Chrome’s “Click to Play” extension although this feature is disabled by default. When enabled, flash content will not be loaded and needs to be clicked before it begins to load.

    Last month, we were asked to guess the next Opera 11 beta feature in which flocks of people said “Hardware acceleration”. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case but the new feature most definitely isn’t a let down.

    In the end, the ability to stack tabs and a new way to pin tabs was the outcome – which are both welcomed additions. Tab stacking works by dragging a tab on top of another tab, which results in putting them into a group. From there, you can control the group by open and closing the stack with a toggle given to the last viewed web page in that group. Opera seem to be the first web browser that has implemented the ability to stack tabs which leads to the possibility that it could be a feature we soon see in Google Chrome and even Safari 6 (if we’re lucky).

  3. Sharp paw tailwagger says:

    Opera Software, known for its popular mobile browser announced today that its desktop web browser will receive extension support in the up and coming version, Opera 11.

    At the Up North Web press conference today, situated in Opera’s hometown of Oslo, Norway, Lars Boilesen, CEO of Opera announced new ideas which he believes will be the “future of the web”.

    In a blog post on MyOpera information about the extension support was posted. The extensions will be based on the W3C widget specifications, considered to be an Open Standard effort, and developers will be able to create them using HTML5, CSS and JavaScript with support for APIs. Opera admitted the extensions coming, will be similar to extensions in browsers such as Google Chrome and Firefox. If you’re a developer and are interested in developing extensions for Opera, it was also announced that once the Opera 11 Alpha is released, the needed information to develop and publish extensions will be posted on Opera’s Developer page.

    Opera’s desktop browser currently has 2% market share, and many people are bound to question whether they are “too late” but in reality the browser wars are far from over.

    Opera 11 updates will be posted on their website. The company is currently developing v10.70 which will later merged to create the Opera 11 alpha. According to German News Site heise.de, the first alpha release will be as early as next week.

  4. Neuschwanstein says:

    Opera 10.62 for Windows changelog
    Release notes

    Release date: September 9, 2010

    Opera 10.62 is a recommended upgrade offering security and stability enhancements.
    Changes since Opera 10.61
    User interface
    Fixed

    * Selection jumps while backspacing in a rich text editor
    * Opera closing when searching on hotels.com
    * Not being able to click or select links or text
    * Opera freezing when leaving a canvas, audio, or JavaScript game
    * A missing plug-in dialog might cause Opera to close
    * Bodyless documents causing Opera to close in accessibility mode
    * Opera closing when downloading files in the link panel
    * Loading of streaming plug-ins in Opera Turbo

    Display and scripting
    Added

    * More MIME file types and suffixes for compressed tar files

    Fixed

    * Fallback not displaying for Java types when plug-ins are disabled
    * Items disappearing from the cache

    Mail, news, chat
    Added

    * FastMail domains and hotmail.co.uk to the email auto-configuration

    Fixed

    * Missing images in feed preview (media rss)

    Security
    Fixed

    * Fixed an issue where malicious DLL files could be unintentionally loaded and allowed to run arbitrary code; see our advisory.

  5. Sharp paw tailwagger says:

    What is new in Opera 10.60?

    Our further-optimized JavaScript engine is over 50% faster than in Opera 10.50.

    Enhanced support for advanced web standards such as HTML5 and WebM video is now included.

    Opera can prompt you to share your location, making geolocation-supporting websites more useful.

    Search suggestions for selected providers help you enter find results more easily.

  6. Sharp paw tailwagger says:

    New in Opera 10.54

    * Enjoy unprecedented speed with our new Carakan JavaScript engine, Vega graphics library, and Opera Presto 2.5 browser engine.
    * Opera includes industry leading support for Web standards such as HTML 5, SVG and JavaScript.
    * Enhanced platform integration on Windows and Mac means that Opera looks and works better than ever on your operating system.
    * A beautiful, new design looks great on Windows, maximizing your view of the Web and fully utilizing Aero transparency on Windows 7 and Windows Vista.
    * Our improved dialogs will not get in your way or interrupt you. You can now switch between different pages without having to clear prompts first.
    * Searching is easier than ever, with Web search integrated right in the address field. You can also find pages from your history and bookmarks, as you type.
    * Displaying pages in the size you want is smoother than ever, with a new zoom slider in the status bar.
    * Rest assured that browsing stays personal with private browsing. Once you close a private tab or window, the data from that session is removed from the browser without a trace.

  7. Jim says:

    Over the last year, IE6 marketshare has fallen by 6% in the US, from 11.47% to 4.74%. Back in March, Neowin reported that a funeral was held for IE6 where Microsoft even sent flowers when official support for the browser was dropped.

    Unlike Firefox, Internet Explorer shows a steady decline in older browsers and a steady adoption rate with new versions. Firefox on the other hand, shows a vast leap when a new version is release, with Firefox 3.6 gaining 19.85% marketshare in as little as five months.

    Microsoft is attempting to push businesses and users to upgrade from IE6 and IE7 to IE8, which contains all the latest security patches. IE7 still holds 16.64% market share, just below Firefox 3.6 with 19.85%, while IE8 takes the top spot with 30.49%.

    Microsoft plans to release the next version of the browser, Internet Explorer 9, and it will only be available for Windows Vista SP2 and Windows 7, cutting support for Windows XP. Windows XP still holds strong on the top spot with 42.32% market share in the US, Windows Vista and 7 both come in second and third place with 26.44% and 16.87%.

  8. Jim says:

    Opera Software said its Internet browser for Apple’s iPhone was downloaded more than 2.6 million times in April after the Norwegian company got access to iPhone as the first rival browser.

    The new platform created 70 per cent of user growth in the month for its Opera Mini product, the world’s most widely used cellphone browser.

    On 13 April, Apple accepted distribution of Opera’s browser for its iPhone after a long review, opening a new and potentially lucrative market it has so far closely guarded.

    “A very significant part of iPhone users has at least tried it,” Opera co-founder Jon von Tetzchner told Reuters in an interview. “We are also seeing very nice usage.”

    Opera’s browser promises up to six times faster download speeds than Apple’s own browser, and to cut data traffic by up to 90 per cent. Massive data traffic from iPhones has caused problems for many operators’ networks.

    Opera said in its monthly mobile Internet report that mobile browser users totaled 58.9 million at end-April, up 6.6 per cent in a month.

    Opera has increased its lead over the iPhone browser in the last few months, and controls 26.7 per cent of the market in May so far, according to Web analytics firm StatCounter.

    The iPhone browser and Nokia browser followed with 20.1 per cent and 14.6 per cent of the market respectively.

  9. Jim says:

    Opera 10.53 for Windows changelog
    Release notes

    Release date: April 30, 2010

    Opera 10.53 is a recommended security and stability upgrade. Opera highly recommends all users to upgrade to this version to take advantage of these improvements.

    Changes since Opera 10.52

    Fixed an issue where multiple asynchronous document modifications could be used to execute arbitrary code; see our advisory (http://www.opera.com/support/search/view/953/).

  10. Jim says:

    Opera 10.52 just released :

    New in Opera 10.52

    Enjoy unprecedented speed with our new Carakan JavaScript engine, Vega graphics library, and Opera Presto 2.5 browser engine.

    Opera includes industry leading support for Web standards such as HTML 5, SVG and JavaScript.

    Enhanced platform integration on Windows and Mac means that Opera looks and works better than ever on your operating system.

    A beautiful, new design looks great on Windows, maximizing your view of the Web and fully utilizing Aero transparency on Windows 7 and Windows Vista.

    Our improved dialogs will not get in your way or interrupt you. You can now switch between different pages without having to clear prompts first.

    Searching is easier than ever, with Web search integrated right in the address field. You can also find pages from your history and bookmarks, as you type.

    Displaying pages in the size you want is smoother than ever, with a new zoom slider in the status bar.

    Rest assured that browsing stays personal with private browsing. Once you close a private tab or window, the data from that session is removed from the browser without a trace.

  11. Jim says:

    Opera browsers exceed 100 million users
    50 million desktop users and 50 million mobile users
    Oslo, Norway — April 12, 2010

    The Opera browsers are now used by more than 100 million people worldwide. After reaching this milestone in March 2010, there are 50 million Opera lovers on Windows, Mac and Linux computers, as well as 50 million people using Opera Mini on a wide variety of handsets each month.

    Year-on-year growth for Opera browser on desktop now stands at over 30 percent, measured from March 2009 to March 2010. The number of desktop users was measured during March 2010, resulting in an unprecedented 50 million unique active users.

    In addition, many more Opera users can be found browsing the Web on their game consoles, connected TVs and set-top boxes.

    “Our focus on speed, security, innovation and usability continues to yield results. We always listen to the needs and wants of our users, and they reward us by choosing Opera,” said Jon von Tetzchner, Co-founder, Opera Software.

    “Opera’s record growth shows that we are on the right track, and that as user needs grow, we are growing right along with them,” said Lars Boilesen, CEO, Opera Software. “Opera for Desktop delivers the fastest browsing experience on the planet, with a visionary approach to features and a user-friendly design.”
    No speed limits

    Opera’s record growth on desktop was achieved following the launch of the Opera 10.5x generation. Now Opera has firmly secured its position as the world’s fastest browser — its JavaScript engine boasting speeds greater than seven times its predecessor Opera 10.10.
    What Opera browser for desktop offers

    * The fastest browser on the market.
    * Innovative and cost-efficient features like Opera Turbo for quicker surfing on a congested networks or cheaper data roaming.
    * Opera Unite for easy sharing of photos and new ways of using your browser to share and access data.
    * Opera Link to synchronize your bookmarks to several devices, such as your Opera Mini browser.
    * Unified, easy-to-use interface with seamless transition between desktop and mobile.

    Watch the Opera Web browser in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_mU7lkE-sA

    Screenshots: http://www.opera.com/media/presskit/Presskit-Opera1050.zip

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