Category: Opera

Ready to try a different browser

Opera SoftwareI’ve been frustrated lately with Firefox. It has been crashing several times a day on my laptop, eating up memory, and slow to start. Perhaps I have too many extensions, perhaps the browser has gotten too heavy, perhaps I’ve gotten too comfortable with it. So, it’s time to try another browser: Opera.

I’ve tried Opera before and have always had it on my machine. However, there are a few things I’ve become dependent on in Firefox and need to figure out how to do the same thing in Opera before making a permanent move.

Firefox dependencies

  • Linky: I love this extension and the ability to select a bunch of links and open them in separate tabs. I think Opera has native support for this, but I couldn’t figure it out.
  • Firebug and Web Developer Toolbar: How can we live without them?
  • Bookmark toolbar on the top. I’ve already got my bookmarks setup and need to access them quickly. I don’t like the sidebar treatment in Opera
  • Password memory: the Opera system so far seems clunky. How do I get it to remember my password after entering a protected domain, i.e. internal network
  • Switch Proxy: This firefox extension lets me switch my proxy instantly.
  • Pimpzilla: ok, I can live without this theme, but it is pretty darn nifty

Help?

If you are an Opera user, leave a comment on how to solve some of these issues. I’m sure I’m not the only one out there that would like to know.

Web Accessibility Toolbar for Opera

Hot off the presses. Download the Web Accessibility Toolbar for Opera if you are an Opera user or develop for Opera as a supported browser.

The Web Accessibility Toolbar has been developed to aid manual examination of web pages for a variety of aspects of accessibility. It consists of a range of functions that:

  • identify components of a web page
  • facilitate the use of 3rd party online applications
  • provide links to references and additional resources.

The Paciello Group

Browser wars get the star geek treatment

The Web Sig in the Silicon Valley is putting together a very impressive meeting at the end of the month. Browser Wars, it’s a spoof of Star Wars and the dreaded browser wars of the 90’s.

Browser Wars
I’m the first to cringe when someone discusses Star Trek or Star Wars in reverential tones. The theme alone is enough for me to think twice about this event. However, this night at the Yahoo! campus will bring out the big guns of the browsers (Chris Wilson from IE, Mike Shaver from FireFox, and Håkon Wium Lie from Opera are members of W3C).

The three of them will discuss the DOM object, the future of browsers, and more. Here’s a snippet of the announcement.

Attack of the DOMs is very relevant in this Browser Wars Episode II as Web 2.0 increasingly utilizes AJAX in interface design, functionality and web applications. Each browser implements its supported DOM. IE7 is known to suffer in performance from memory leaks that are related to its inherited DOM architectural design. Firefox quickly gains popularity with its DOM strategy among Web 2.0 communities with faster loading time. DOM Level 2 CSS allows programs and scripts to dynamically access and update the content and of style sheets documents. No designers can deny the importance of the interaction between CSS and DOM in rendering site design properly across browsers.
Web Sig

If you are in the Silicon Valley, hurry up and reserve your seating today! This will fill up quickly and you shouldn’t pass up the opportunity to see Håkon Wium Lie, the inventor of CSS and one of the original creators of the “internet”. The event is free to attend and Yahoo! will provide snacks and free sodas.