[Opera-users] turning off email, etc.

[James Card]

6/12/01 8:33:52 AM, "Tass" <anim at operamail.com> wrote:

>   ----SUBJECT ---->    Re: [Opera-users] turning off email, etc. 
>On 06/11/01 at 9:00 PM James Card wrote:
>
>>)How I wish it were possible to search the Opera-users archive (at 
>>)http://web.opera.com/pipermail/opera-users/)! Here is one of several 
>>)messages on this topic from my local e-mail files:
>>)
>>)To: opera-users at opera.no
>>)From: <iixii at newmail.net>
>>)Subject: [Opera-users] Opera 5 Light
>>)Date: Fri, 08 Dec 2000 16:01:35 +0100
>>)
>>)I also deem the discussion about Opera's "overbloatedness" extremely 
>>)useless. It's understandable that many people don't need the [SNIP]
>
>The "discussion" is far from "useless".  At least it is for me.  

Those were his words, not mine -- I agree that the discussion IS valid. 

>Both (IE much more successful than NS) were designed to have 
>as great a presence throughout your computer experience as 
>possible.  The more time you *see* IE while your doing work or 
>play, the more you come to expect that it is just part of your 
>entire every-day, normal activities. NS did the same thing to try 
>to prevent IE from apparently becoming your computer.  
>
>Once everyone started realizing that with just a couple more lines 
>of code, a browser could easily be used as a shell for the OS.  
>THEN it could REALLY take over how your computer worked and 
>looked.  [SNIP]
>
>Opera seemed to be very proud to be a great program that did 
>what it did, did it very well.  Not only took up little space, but did 
>it without taking over your system's look, feel or resources.  
>
>So my concern is more about the direction of Opera than with 
>any technical capabilities.  With these additions, it *appears* as 
>though in the browser wars, Opera is wanting to join the Dark Side 
>instead of being part of the Force that must end the Tyrant's rein. 

I know what you mean; any software that tries to take over my system 
(another one on my list is RealNetworks with their battle against 
Windows Media Player) gets uninstalled quickly -- or at the least, its 
roots yanked out of my Windows registry.

However, I think that Opera has produced a good balance of features 
while still providing tightly-written high-performance code. 

It appears that they want to move beyond the group of power-users who 
take the time to evaluate and choose good tools for each of their tasks, 
and then learn to use each of those individual tools to their fullest 
potential. The broader market is probably composed of folks who don't 
want to put that much effort into the process, they just want it to work 
-- and for them that is likely to mean that it should be very similar to 
the browser they already know (IE or Netscape). They expect that it will 
include e-mail, newsgroups, and instant messaging. 

The large companies that contract with Opera to develop browser software 
for their specialized environments (such as the recently announced deal 
with IBM) probably also expect that Opera provide these functions that 
Microsoft and Netscape have taught people to expect as part of the 
browser.

I certainly don't see any indication that Opera is trying to take over 
my entire system. It provides a great browser and basic e-mail, instant 
messaging, and newsreader clients. It lets me configure each of those 
features with much greater flexibility than IE or Netscape. AND, even 
its options to become your default browser make sense and play nice -- 
which is a refreshing change from some of the others.

The arguments about bloat are still valid, and I carry a copy of Opera 
3.62 on a floppy in my briefcase for those occasions when I have to use 
an older machine that doesn't have speedy processors and ample drive 
space. But even though new versions of Opera won't fit on a floppy, I 
still don't think of them as being bloated -- they're just so quick and 
nimble compared to the competitors that "bloat" just doesn't seem to 
fit.

-- 
James Card  --  http://home.inreach.com/jdcard/
The wise person restrains his words, and the one who keeps 
his cool is a discerning person. -- Proverbs 17:27