Tag: opera
Apple makes available Safari 4 beta
Safari, the default browser on Apple computers, has just been upgraded. The company claims the new beta is “the fastest and most inovating web browser for Mac and Windows PCs”.
Apple’s lifted some of the best features of other browsers – Chrome’s speed, Opera’s top sites, and tabs from Firefox (and everyone else, these days). They haven’t stolen anything from IE, but is there anything worth stealing there? They’ve also added a cover-flow style interface for browsing through your bookmarks too. Pretty, but a little pointless?
Interesting, Safari 4’s default UI on Windows looks like Windows, unlike previous versions where it looked like OSX. That’s a pretty significant change for a company that usually prides itself on its design.
If you want to try it out, it’s available from Apple’s website right now.
Safari 4 (via Tech Radar)
EU starts waving around the ban-hammer at Microsoft again
Way back in 1993, Novell made a complaint to the EU that Microsoft was indulging in anti-competitive practices. After much to-ing and fro-ing, the EU eventually decided (ten years later, in 2003) that Microsoft had to make a version of Windows without Windows Media Player available, and in 2006 hit the company with massive fines, totaling £1.07 billion.
Fast-forward to 2008, and the makers of the web browser Opera filed a similar complaint, claiming that bundling IE with Windows makes it tough for others to compete. I’m not convinced that’s true – Firefox has 20% market share – but clearly someone in the EU still has it in for Microsoft, because they’ve now filed a new complaint against Microsoft saying that IE must be unbundled.
Interestingly, a similar complaint was filed against Microsoft in the USA ten years ago, but it didn’t stick, and Microsoft still bundles IE with its operating systems. It’ll be fun to see whether the EU agrees, and could result in another massive payout. Poor Microsoft. In the meantime, I’m sticking with Chrome.
(via Mashable)
Related posts: Psystar antitrust claim dismissed by judge | Microsoft extends availability of Windows 7 beta
Apple BANS Opera from the iPhone
Opera, the little browser that could, has developed a version of its software that would run on the iPhone, but Apple won’t let them release it, claims co-founder and CEO Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner. Opera has a mini-browser built for many mobile platforms, but because it competes with Apple’s own Safari browser, the iPhone makers won’t let it onto their platform.
It’s a damn shame, because although the iPhone browsing experience is acceptable (unlike a lot of phones), it’s not perfect, and Opera has a track record of significantly improving the mobile experience on almost every platform it’s available on. The iPhone might be a great device, but its closed nature and uber-controlled user experience has its downsides, and this is one of them.
Opera (via NYT)
Related posts: Opera releases 9.6 beta | Opera Mobile 9.5 beta launched for Windows Mobile devices
Opera release 9.6 beta
Gosh, everyone’s going browser-mad lately. First IE8, then Chrome, now Opera are releasing a new version. Opera, of course, is the fourth largest browser out there, after IE, Firefox, Safari, and Safari. It has a small, but passionate, fanbase, which includes 2.6% of Tech Digest readers…
QUIZ: Which browser are you?
In the grand old tradition of the internet, and given that Google’s new Chrome browser appears to be pretty much all the news that’s out there today, I thought we could have a good old fashioned quiz. It’s simple – answer each question and then at the end it’ll tell you which browser matches your personality…
Firefox 3 launching tomorrow, but does it beat Internet Explorer, Safari and Opera?
With the official release of Firefox 3 tomorrow, everyone’s attentions have been turned onto what you’re looking at right now – browsers. Lifehacker has reviewed the four major browsers – Firefox 3 release candidate 3, Internet Explorer 7, Opera 9.5,and Safari for Windows 3.1.1, and discovered that Firefox, Safari and Opera all fared better than, um, Internet Explorer. We could’ve told them that…
Opera 9.5 out today: free browser with some unique twists
Opera has released their new browser today, Opera 9.5, which is free to download immediately. So, the question that most of you will want answered is, “Why on Earth should I care?”…
WiiPlayer – a hacked and streamlined unofficial iPlayer app for Wii
Some extremely clever man has been working away on improving the Wii’s iPlayer, creating his own solution to the rather clunky and slow official Wii implementation of the Beeb’s streaming telly service.
Moaning that the Wii’s slightly duff Opera browser simply hasn’t got the right screen resolution to handle the BBC’s default text and layout, the creator has simplified the design, bumped up the font size and generally “Apple-ised” the look and feel of iPlayer so it’s quicker to operate and easier to find your way around…
PayPal advises Safari users to ditch their browser
Ever popular eBay has sent a warning to anyone using the Safari browser to access its PayPal service.
Apparently, because Safari currently lacks any form of “anti-phishing” and Extended Validation measures, it makes it a terrible security threat. Extended Validation is a system which turns the browser’s address bar green if the user is visiting a safe site.
Michael Barrett, PayPal’s chief information security officer, said that, “Apple, unfortunately, is lagging behind what they need to do, to protect their customers. Our recommendation at this point, to our customers, is use Internet Explorer 7 or 8 when it comes out, or Firefox 2 or Firefox 3, or indeed Opera.”
Opera signs Google for mobile search; kicks Yahoo to the kerb
Opera has announced that it’s making Google the default search engine for its Opera Mini and Opera Mobile browsers, incorporating its search box onto the start page for both browsers from next week.
