Ubuntu 10.10 Opera 10.70 skins - Opera has never felt this native!

We're mentioned Kyle Baker's superb Opera themes before so, and in light of sad news yesterday that PPC support for Opera will be discontinued, it's nice to see said skins have been updated for the new & improved default themes in Ubuntu 10.10.

Screenshot of Opera 10.70 using updated theme

Så bra!

Download

Pssssst!
Want to take the latest development snapshot of Opera for a spin? Links ahoy!

• Opera 10.70 Dev. 64bit.deb
• Opera 10.70 Dev. 32bit.deb

Thanks to Mr Meek ;) 

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Opera for PPC Linux to be discontinued

Sad news for PPC Ubuntu users everywhere (admittedly we’re a minority, but we do exist!) Opera have announced that Opera 10.6x will be the last version of the browser to support the PowerPC architecture on both Linux and Mac.

This follows Mozilla’s announcement that Firefox 4 is ‘unlikely’ to support PPC.

The Opera team cite the reason that only 0.1% of all Opera use PPC - a figure I have no trouble believing since the Mozilla-based Camino browser is more popular with users of OS X PPC and for Linux users Firefox affords - and by relieving themselves of its burden they can “focus… on our high quality browser to make sure that it meets the need of the modern web browser user on the popular architectures.”

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Install Opera Mobile in Ubuntu (.deb)

A few days back we covered how to run Opera Mini - the super tiny mobile web browser from Opera - in Ubuntu. Today we're looking at installing and using Opera Mobile - the larger, smart-phone, finger friendly version of Opera.

This developer version of Opera Mobile 10 is, you won't be shocked to learn, primarily aimed at web developers. Having a native desktop emulator allows them to test their websites' performance without needing to purchase expensive mobile/cellular devices.

Installation

Opera Labs have made installation in Ubuntu super easy: - 

• You download this .deb
• Double-click on it once download has completed
• Click 'Install'
• Hey presto!

Opera Mobile can now be run from the Applications > Internet sub-menu 

Usage

Opera Mobile is very straightforward to use and this native package allows even greater control: resize to any size and yes - you can even go fullscreen!

You can open as many tabs as you like, add entries to the speed-dial and enable Opera Turbo for faster loading times on slower connections.

Better yet all of your settings and additions are saved, allowing you to use them again and again.

The install package also includes a desktop version 'Opera Widgets' for Mobile devices.

This comes with a handful of pre-installed widgets and access to the Opera widget directory where you can try and test many, many more.

Thanks to Darren for the tip!

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New Opera Snapshot fixes crashes, gets speed boost

I need to come up with a catchy name for the incremental development snapshot Opera releases - something like 'Ohnother-Opera'. Yes. I am aware I am waffling so on to the news in hand...

A new development snapshot of Opera 10.70 (the main development series running parallel to the 10.61 bug fix branch) has been made available today.

Recommended only for users who like living on the edge, this release brings an improved Presto rendering engine - claiming to deliver speeds 50% faster than Opera 10.50 - WebM and improved HTML 5 support, geo-location features and a new search suggestions feature that boasts being able to

Download
As always the lovely desktop team have packaged up some .debs for you to consume. As above, this is a development snapshot and isn't recommended for casual users.

 opera_10.70.6423_amd64.deb
 opera_10.70.6423_i386.deb
 opera_10.70.6423_powerpc.deb  

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Opera 10.61 Release candidate ready for testing (bug fixes ahoy)

The first release candidate of Opera 10.61 - the first ‘service pack’ to Opera 10.60 released 28 short days ago - has been made available for wily users to download and test today.

Opera-fiends and those looking to fix some -really- annoying bugs in Opera 10.6 (looking at you plug-in crasher) on Linux may wish to use this bug salve pronto. Casual users (or those of a nervous disposition) should wait until this update hits stable.

Download

• opera_10.61.6415_amd64.deb
• opera_10.61.6415_i386.deb
• opera_10.61.6415_powerpc.deb 
  

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How to run Opera Mini in Ubuntu

Ever wanted to see whether the fuss over Opera Mini - oft lauded as one of the best mobile web browsers - stacks up? Maybe you just want to see how your mobile site will displays to users on smaller screens.

Either way why not take the ickle-browser for a spin without the need to go anywhere near a mobile phone...?

First up you will need to make sure that you have the Java runtime environment installed. After that all you need are a few other odds n' sods and before you know it Opera Mini will be rocking out on your desktop.

Step one

Download the microemu @ microemu/downloads. This is pure java implementation of the Java Platform Micro Edition (Java ME).

Extract the folder. Enter the folder. Right click on the 'microemulator.jar' file inside and give it permission to execute via the Permissions tab. You'll also want to ensure that it will open with Java, so set Java as the default application to open .jar files.

Step two
Next up you'll want to grab Opera Mini. Head over to operamini.com, select the version you wish to try and download both the .jar and .jad files, placing them somewhere memorable.

Step three
Now lets load OperaMini 5.1.

1. Open up the emulator by double-clicking on it. You can resize the emulator to any size you wish, just extend as you would any other window.
2. Click through to "File > Open MIDlet" choosing the Opera Mini .jad (yes, .jad not .jar) file you previously downloaded.
3. "Opera Mini" will now be listed in the apps list. Click on the "Start" button to launch it

If you so wish you can easily create a menu launcher to the emulator. Likewise you can easily install plenty more Java-based mobile applications, games and utilities - getjar.com is a great place to poke around.

Article originally appeared on www.omgubuntu.co.uk | If you're reading this elsewhere then sue.

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Opera 10.60 Released For Linux - Was it worth the wait?

The first stable release of an Opera browser since November 2009 has finally been announced today.

The last stable release of an Opera browser on Linux was the 10.10 branch back in November last year making today's release of Opera 10.60 an important upgrade for users. A whole host of new features and improvements have occurred since then including: -

• Native integration with GNOME & KDE (no longer uses QT)
• Geolocation support
• Private mode
• WebM support
• Visual tabs
• Chrome-style search-as-you-type in the URL bar
• Configurable speed-dial
• Over 60% faster than 10.10 thanks to new Carakan JavaScript engine
• Bing now default search engine
• Opera unite fixes

Was it worth the wait?

I think we all know the answer to that one: Yes. Opera feels much more at home in GNOME now than it ever did previously thanks to the exit of Qt and reliance instead on X to draw the interface.

Opera has often has issues with fonts on Linux but, dare i say, fonts appear smoother in Opera 10.60 than they do in Google Chrome! 
Speed

Benchmark tests, whilst interesting, aren’t always entirely representative of real-life results. A browser my execute some java 2milliseconds quicker but is that a reason to continually hop between browser based solely on results? No.

Opera 10.60, without a doubt, has some of the best benchmark scores for a browser on Linux but unless your life depends on seeing a webpage a fraction of a second quicker the browser needs to offer a lot more than simply raw stamina.

Speed increases of over 60% are touted when comparing 10.60 to 10.10 - and a lot of this has to do with the new Carakan JavaScript engine. It is a bit of a beast. That said the speed increase doesn’t feel notably different from that of Chrome/ium or Midori or even the latest Firefox.

So what else does Opera 10.60 have to offer? Great support for web-standards like WebWorker, Apache & HTML5 and the browser can boast lighter resource usage than other browsers (although it is not the lightest).

Download

Opera 10.60 for Linux can be downloaded via the following link. Ubuntu users note that .debs are provided for both 32bit, 64bit and PPC.

http://www.opera.com/download/

Don’t forget…

To grab one of Kyle Baker’s excellent Ambiance/Radiance Opera 10.60 skins to truly integrate Opera into your Ubuntu desktop!

http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2010/06/opera-106-ambiance-radiance-skins.html

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Opera 10.6 Ambiance & Radiance skins

Kyle Baker - who's awesome Ambiance skin for Opera we featured a few days back - has put pedal to the metal and created both an Ambiance and Radiance theme for the newly released Opera 10.6 Alpha.

You can download both skins on his @ http://kyleabaker.com/2010/05/26/ambiance-skin-and-speed-dial-backgrounds/

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How to disable the Opera tray icon

Whenever we feature Opera in a post there is one question that inevitably crops up:

How do you disable the Opera tray icon?

It’s actually really simple and quite why Opera don’t let users tweak this via one of the copious preferences/settings/options/appearance dialogues they have i' am ignorant of, but here is the 3-step guide for disabling the Opera tray icon in Ubuntu (or any OS)

• Type ‘opera:config” in the URL bar and hit enter/return
• Search for ‘tray’ in the search bar (or manually go to ‘userprefs’)
• Uncheck ‘show tray icon’.

Happy days!

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opera 10.6 alpha Linux brings nicer UI, dizzying speed

Opera 10.6 Alpha sees an improved menu button

The first Alpha of Opera 10.6 has been released, adding small UI improvements and even-greater speed gains.

As development has now moved on to the 10.6x series there will be no stable release of Opera 10.5x for Linux.

Speed
The most impressive thing about version 10.6 is the speed improvement over the 10.5 series - which already came out top in our Linux browser speed tests!

For comparison with our previous article, Opera 10.6 scores 80 fails in Google Sputnik test, down one fail from version 10.5. By comparison the latest Google Chrome dev build scores 135 fails.

Download
Bear in mind this is an Alpha release and not a final, highly polished, flawless production version.

opera_10.60.6344_amd64.deb
opera_10.60.6344_i386.deb

opera_10.60.6344_powerpc.deb

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Ambiance Opera Skin restores desktop harmony

Opera came out top in our ‘What is the fastest browser on Linux?’ test-a-rama conducted a few days back and since then a number of you have decided to take it for a whirl.

Theme

Opera 10.5x no longer uses QT for it’s interface meaning it integrates with the default DE much better.

Sadly this isn’t as perfect as Chrome or native GTK browsers but Opera user (and Ubuntu fiend) Kyle Baker has created a simple script that modifies the default Opera skin to flawlessly match the default Ubuntu 10.04 Ambiance theme, like so: -

On his blog Kyle says: -

“The only change to the skin (thus far) is the tab bar background which now allows for a smoother appearance between the tab bar and window title.”

Download

You can download the Ambiance theme by hitting the link below.

Download

Speed Dial

Kyle has also created some excellent speed dial backgrounds that compliment the theme wonderfully. You can grab those on his blog, too.

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Opera 10.52 gets initial KDE integration, PPC Linux support

The Opera desktop team have made available a new snapshot of their popular browser, this time with "...initial work on KDE 4 integration." Also available is the first Linux PPC build for 10.52. Linux users are still waiting for a final release of Opera's latest browser, released officially for Windows last month, due in part to the stripping out of the QT component in the user-interface and switching to X11 for drawing the interface. This will result in near-native window styling for both GNOME and KDE users. Refer to the official post for known issues and related discussion. Downloads

• Opera 10.52 32bit .deb
• Opera 10.52 64bit .deb
• Opera 10.52 PPC .deb

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Yet-Another Opera 10.50 Snapshot Released

Despite a new Opera snapshot only being released yesterday the Opera team have announced the availability of a new revision.

This release fixes many bugs including: -

• Facebook is working again
• Work on tab management (MDI)
• Stability fixes
  

Download
http://snapshot.opera.com/unix/snapshot-6204/

Installation

Opera 10.50 runs from the directory so extract the downloadable archive above and then double-click on the 'opera' file inside.

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New Opera 10.50 Alpha Released For Linux

A new snapshot release of Opera 10.50 has been released for Linux.

This new snapshot also sees a return of the standalone Opera Desktop widgets (which you can read and see more of here)

Main "highlights" of this updated version are: -

• Upgraded Carakan engine
• Search box enhancements
• Bookmark fixes
• Improved stability
• Restructuring of the Opera menu

Download

http://snapshot.opera.com/unix/snapshot-6201/opera-10.50-6201.linux.i386.tar.gz

Installation

Opera 10.50 runs from the directory so extract the downloadable archive above and then double-click on the 'opera' file inside.

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Opera 10.5 Released for Linux, Is Faster Than Chrome!

The Opera development team have given all Linux users something to smile about this fresh new years day - the Pre-Alpha of Opera 10.5!

Opera 10.5 Pre Alpha looking pretty

"Blazingly fast"
First impressions are pretty good because boy does this browser have speed on its side thanks to the new Carakan JavaScript engine powering it. A quick non-scientific side-by-side comparison of Amazon.co.uk loading in both Google Chrome and Opera 10.5 had Opera winning hands down.

It is blazingly fast!

Interface - Bye bye blocky menus!
As we mentioned in our previous article on Opera 10.5, the browser no-longer uses or relies on the Qt framework.

This is noticeable from the get-go on a GNOME desktop because it boots up with relative speed now it doesn't need to call and employ an entire Qt library. UI wise it looks pretty good on my GNOME desktop given it's just had Qt ripped from it's skeleton.

There are one or two issues such as fonts look blurry and baldy rendered and menu's disappear when using them, but overall it integrates quite nicely with GTK - and this integration will only get better during the development cycle.

 Sadly for KDE users, this pre-alpha only currently "draws" GTK for its interface, so you'll be stuck with something resembling Opera via MSDoS via an etch-a-sketc. (It's not that bad, honestly!)

 HTML5 Video
Opera 10.5 also includes support for the HTML5 video tag - which Opera themselves first proposed. The "video" tag on Opera lets videos use the native GStreamer plug-in set, so anything GStreamer can handle - so can Opera!

Sandwiching Gstreamer between the video itself and what you see also has an added benefit to end users - "improved responsiveness and audio quality."


Opera:Cache - A new way to view
Also present is Opera's spiffing new cache view - allowing you to browse, search and preview items on a "Per Site" basis.

Missing
Given the status of this release being not-even-an-alpha, please don't expect this to be stable, feature complete or even pretty to look at. The standalone Opera Desktop Widgets we told you about a week or so ago, which are currently available with Opera 10.2, are missing from here (i.e. widgets close when Opera closes.)

Download
Opera 10.5 Pre-Alpha (boy am i sick of typing that out...) can be "got" @ http://snapshot.opera.com/unix/labs-6177/

Install
To run Opera, extract the archive and run './opera' from the main directory via terminal or just double click on the 'opera' file inside.

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Opera 10.5 For Linux Ditches Qt, Is Faster Than Chrome

Opera 10.5 pre-alpha was released as an early XMAS present for Windows and Mac users early last week but Linux users were seemingly left out in the cold. However the reasons for the delay in a Linux build are more than exciting enough!

What’s New In Opera 10.5?

Speed

Opera 10.5 will see the niche browser gain a brand new JavaScript engine codenamed “Carakan”. Carakan boasts speeds up to 7x faster than the previous JavaScript Engine and will better place Opera in standing against Google Chrome’s irrepressibly fast V8 engine and open-source giant Firefox.

Benchmarks of the Windows and OS X pre=release already show that the browser not only matches Chrome’s V8 engine for speed but in some tests beats it!

What Else

• The cache in Opera is more streamlined and faster allowing for faster shutdown and start up times. 
• Improvements to its vector graphics library with it allowing potential hardware acceleration using OpenGL.
• New inline page search and password manager.
• Private “tabs” relegate the need for an entirely new “private” session
• Presto 2.5 engine supports more CSS3 effects, HTML5 properties

Widgets

As we reported on earlier last weeek, Opera 10.5 will come with “Desktop Opera Widget” support – allowing you to run Opera widgets on your desktop without the need for the browser to be running.

Opera 10.5 For Linux

The Linux version of 10.5 wasn't released alongside the other OSes. Annoying for some, but the Linux build is currently not quite ready enough according to developers.

One reason for the delay is most certainly down to the fact Opera 10.50 will no longer use the Qt framework for its interface.

"What?!!!"

No, that wasn’t a typo - Opera is ditching Qt and will instead rely on X11 drawing for the interface. Native window styling for both GNOME and KDE users will also be available in 10.5.

Stripping the Qt component out of the next version will make Opera “…faster, smaller and easier to install.” Huib Kleinhout continues “Naturally Opera will still integrate well with your desktop environment by supporting KDE/GTK skinning and show open/save dialogs that match your desktop.”

The reasoning behind the dropping of Qt may seem odd until you learn that, according to Opera developer Arjan van Leeuwen, “…integration with the main desktop environments and toolkits on *nix (Gnome/GTK and KDE/Qt) is easier for us without Qt than with.”

What does it look like?

Opera developer Ruari Ødegaard posted some screenshots of the for-now internal build of the Linux Opera 10.5. The title-bar in the screenshot below may not be present in the final version, as per the Windows and Mac builds which omit it, but nothing as yet has been decided.

When will a Linux version be available?

There will likely be no Linux pre-alpha, however developer Shwetank Dixit responded to a query on his blog that the first Linux version will be the proper Alpha. 

Sources

http://my.opera.com/desktopteam/blog/2009/12/22/from-all-of-us-to-all-of-you

http://techie-buzz.com/opera/opera-10-5-for-linux.html

http://my.opera.com/ODIN/blog/opera-10-5-pre-alpha-build-released-here-is-whats-new

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Move Over Screenlets - Opera Desktop Widgets Come To Town

The developers of web browser Opera recently announced plans to free their widget platform from the browser and let them run on the desktop. Users need no-longer have Opera running in order to use Opera Widgets.

"...as long as you have Opera installed, you can run any widget you like, without ever opening the browser." ~ Remigiusz Bondarowic, Opera

Opera widgets are also cross-platform allowing developers to focus on creating great widgets and not on porting and adapting them for various desktops.

The State Of Widgets
So where will the Opera Desktop Widgets sit within the Widget eco-system?

There are currently three main "widget" frameworks available on Linux, not counting KDE Plasmoids as they're DE-centric. Thes are Screenlets/Universal Applets, GDesklets and Google Gadgets.

GDesklets

Gdesklets is the oldest out of the current options and perhaps the least elegant. The majority of 'desklets' available are either out-dated or don't work properly. The last stable release of GDesklets was over 4 years ago.

Screenlets

Screenlets are perhaps the best known "widgets" for Linux. There are a ton of  useful "screenlets" out there, with plenty still being created.

Some screenlets.

The development of the Screenlet framework itself is less secure. The last release was well over a year ago, the project forked and re-named itself "Universal Applets" but this, too, seems to have stalled in development.

Google Gadgets

A popular if much maligned choice for desktop widgets is Google offering - Google Desktop Widgets.

 

Ubuntu-derived distribution gOS comes installed with Google Desktop Gadgets by default.

There are a multitude of well designed and useful applications available for it, most of which run on the Linux version flawlessly. Sadly, as with the other options, development on Google Desktop Gadgets has quietened down with no stable release on the horizon.

Opera Desktop Widgets

Firstly, kudos to Opera for calling widgets 'widgets'! Gadgets, Desklets, Screenlets, etc may sound cool, but when we think about what they are we think "widgets".

Widgets can be downloaded in any browser as the .wgt file extension will call Opera’s widget runtime to take care of the installation and, via the Widget manager, can be packaged up into .deb's.

Opera Widget Manager
Widgets are 'managed' using the Widget Manager. The entry for this sits in the Applications > Accessories sub-menu.

'Manage' is a bit of a stretch when describing it in the current Alpha version, given the only option you have is 'uninstall'. One would assume some configuration action will, at some point, end up in here.

Widgets
The widgets themselves sit inside an folder named "other" - along with all the other applications Ubuntu doesn't quite know where to shove. It wouldn't be much to ask for the widgets to land in their own 'Opera Widgets' folder, would it?

Two demo widgets are provided by Opera that take advantage of the newly un-caged framework. These are a Twitter client and a Google Translator.

UI
Widgets come with their own styles, borders and window dressing, but all have a little control toolstrip that sits in the top right corner. This does fade when unfocused.

Widgets can also "dress up" in native system window decorations.

"Normal" Opera Widgets also work the framework, though without being optimized UI wise there can be some annoying visual quirks.

Download/Install

Opera Desktop Widgets are currently in Alpha so don't expect a wonderfully stable walk in the park. That said there is very little chance of screwing up your system by install it to try out.

The Opera Desktop Widget package is available in a handy .deb file. For total GTK integration download the QT4 version.

32bit Link
64bit Link

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Opera 10 Adapts Flawlessy Into Gnome Desktop - Goodbye Ugly Opera!

Opera 10 Beta comes in a QT version, meaning it can “use” the GTK theme in a Gnome environment.

Here is Opera 10 under Gnome using the GTK theme 'Dust': -

 

Sexy! (And faster to use than Firefox i hate to say.)

Download

You can find the build you want from Opera’s Linux FTP site:

• http://ftp.opera.com/pub/opera/linux/1000/final/en/

Be sure to select both the correct processor type and QT4 if you’re using Jaunty and want Opera to use your GTK theme!

Tweaks/How To

First off, make sure that you have chosen the 'Opera Standard' theme in the 'Appearance' menu.
Also in the appearance menu - at the bottom, beneath the theme selector - change the 'Colour Scheme' to 'System Colour Scheme'.

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