Why is Opera 2.12 better than Netscape Navigator and MS Internet Explorer?

  • Opera uses the MDI, Multiple Document Interface. You can open multiple Web pages without having to start whole new instances of your browser. It's faster and lets you easily tile or cascade your pages.
  • Better control over link appearances. Hyperlinks in Opera can be any color, but can also be underlined, or struck out. Opera can even surround each link with a 3D frame. Or not.
  • Starts a download while you pick a destination, instead of waiting until you're done to start the download. So you can take your time choosing where to save a file.
  • Written from the ground up in assembly. So it's fast! Contains no old, bloated, slow Mosaic code.
  • Runs on minimal hardware, down to a 386sx with only 4 megs RAM. (8 megs is recommended.)
  • Installation files are less than 800k, they'll fit on a floppy.
  • Installed program only takes up 1.6 megs.
  • Handles most HTML formatting.
  • Can turn off graphics after they've been loaded and displayed. Opera lets you easily toggle between full graphics, no graphics, and only those graphics that have already loaded. This is especially handy if you're browsing for porn while at work.
  • Smart enough to print white text as black on paper. So you can always read your print-outs, regardless of which colors the page author used. (No blank printouts like with Netscape. Of course, you can set up Netscape to print out all text in black, but shouldn't it be able to figure that out itself?)
  • Ignores the <blink> tag.
  • Inexpensive, only $30. (Internet Explorer may not cost any money, but there are different costs associated with supporting a company like Microsoft.)
  • Better status indicators. Status line shows how much of the text of a page has loaded, the total size of the page, the number of graphic images that have been loaded, and the total number of images on the page.
  • Quick response time. I've had support questions answered via e-mail from Norway within an hour. (I'm in the US.)
  • Page scaling. Opera lets you easily scale the whole page to any size you want, from 20% to 1000%. Scale it down to get more info on the screen. Scale it up to make it easier to read. Opera scales the graphics right along with the text.
  • Doesn't require a winsock to run, so it's great for viewing local files or CD-ROMs. (Doesn't complain about missing winsocks like older versions of Netscape.)
  • Pop-up hyperlink balloons. Know where you're going before you get there.
  • Available in English, Norwegian (both kinds), Swedish, German, and Spanish.
  • Opera Software isn't out to rule the world.
  • Built-in AVI and sound support. No stupid plug-ins needed for basic sights and sounds.
  • Each bookmark/favorite entry can load up to six different pages.
  • If Opera crashes, the next time you run it, it'll give you a dialog box letting you disable any features that might be causing you problems.
  • No stupid directory buttons that lead you to the Netscape's own pages.
  • Doesn't claim to be "The Internet" upon installation.
  • Developed in Norway, not in the USA, so no worries about your browser secretly informing the government when you're looking at questionable materials.
  • It's just a damn browser! It doesn't try to replace your whole desktop.

Why would you ever use a different browser?

  • For secure connections.
  • For Javascript support.

What new features will be in Opera 3.0?

  • Secure connections.
  • Javascript support.

[Opera! The browser that
was made for you!]


Begone! Back to the Museum!