Everyday Nerd

OK, I’ll be honest, I’ve never used Opera on the desktop (I have and do use the Windows Mobile Opera version), and was really thinking about not posting anything about it, but, after looking, I noticed that 2% of EverydayNerd viewers are Opera users!  So, not wanting to keep anything from my readers, here is my take on Opera 9.6:

The install process was harmless, I chose custom, as I always do, and short of the desktop icon, it was default’s all the way.  First run, I was impress with the speed of the program opening.  I of course, first went to EverydayNerd.com, and again was impressed with the speed of the site loading!  I’m an RSS junkie, so instinctively clicked the RSS button, and again, was impressed with the format of the RSS preview.

Then, I clicked Subscribe, and was blown away!  It was like an email client, very easy to navigate, and view each post.  I was intrigued, so I setup my mail account for one of my IMAP accounts, just to play around with it.  It was very nice!  Much better than a web interface, but still all in the browser… very slick.

Flash & Java worked out of the box, which was nice - I ran the EverydayNerd.com Speedtest, and it worked without any problems (it’s Flash based)

Opera’s search box has many engines to choose from, as well as being able to customize which engines you want to use.

One thing I was expecting on first run, was a wizard of some sort to prompt me to import my settings from either IE or Firefox (or both), but there was none.  I did like the speed dial interface, better than Google Chrome’s in fact.  I like to be able to set the speed dial, instead of it being just history based.  Also, just typing that number in the address bar takes you straight to that website.

Opera also has Widgets.  I’m not a huge fan of widgets, but to each their own.  I did some out, and can see their worth.

Unwittingly, I performed a Mouse Gesture, and Opera prompted me to start using mouse gestures.  Having never used them, I was curious.  So far, it’s nice, but will take some time to get used to.  I can see how they could save a lot of time for sure!

I know I only touched on a few features, but all in all, Opera seems like a really solid browser.  I LOVE the mail and RSS features, and in my opinion, it is giving Firefox a run for it’s money!  I’m not completely swung over yet, because I’m a power hungry power-user, but after using Opera, I have to say, it’s nice, easy, and really slick!  I give it two thumbs up!

  Download Opera 9.6

What’s new in Opera 9.6