Opera

[Iniamyen]

Does anyone out there use Opera as their primary web browser? I heard it was technically the fastest browser available, and it has zero security holes (as opposed to IE and even FF) so I decided to give it a try.

I really like it for the most part. The interface and controls are really slick, and I like the fact that it can save the tabs you had open when you close the window and then open it again. It seems like every time I go to look for something, it's very intuitively placed, almost like I had designed the browser.

The part I don't like is that there are some wierd compatibility issues. Sometimes applets don't run. Things like online tvguides rarely show up correctly, and it seems to be a formatting issue (they are jumbled-looking.) Also, sometimes audio & video files don't want to run. I was opening a .wmv file from a website yesterday and when I tried to play the video a second time, the browser hung!! I had to end its process.

I'm just wondering if others have had the same problem(s), or if there is just some settings tweaking I haven't figured out yet.

[ghost2003]

Its not that there are no security holes (there is no such thing), its that its not nearly as targeted as IE or FF.
I never had any real problems with displaying websites, although sometimes I have to set the site preferenses to mask as IE or mozilla to get it to display well.
Can you link to a site that doesn't display well for you?

[glc]

Opera is very intolerant of sloppy site coding.

[kstatefan40]

Opera (at least, version 8.xx does, not sure about 9.xx) uses a simple switch to read crappy code:
1) If all HTML tags match the doctype correctly and are used as specified in the standard, it uses a strict interpertation.
2) Else; it uses a sloppy interpertation. This interpertation is VERY hit and miss.

More details here: http://www.opera.com/docs/specs/

I have used Opera as my primary browser for about two years. I have loved every minute of it. It is fast, and very easy to use. It does everything I want it to do, every time. If sites do not care enough about themselves to code according to standard, I do not care enough to see their pages. Xanga is the worst - the little kiddies who think they know HTML are nightmares in Opera.

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Edit: More information. Opera officially calls the two switches standard and quirks mode. For more information, this chart should help you: http://www.opera.com/docs/specs/doctype/index.dml

I was searching all over the place for that, I knew I had seen a good explination before!

[Iniamyen]

I'm not on my computer at the moment, but one site which I know does not work is the yahoo tv guide (Yahoo > tv.) Personally, I like the program enough to continue using it with these few errors, but if they are fixable I'd like to fix them.

Another thing I remember is that when interacting with an applet such as those on homestarrunner.com (Yes I'm 23 and I watch homestarrunner, sue me) You have to click once for the applet to get the focus, and again to interact with it. This gets to be a hassle as you end up double clicking everything you would normally single click.

[peekaboo]

here's a site that does not work properly with opera (for me).
if you open it with IE and click one of the links on the right, mediaplayer opens up in the the middle of the page and starts playing a tv station.

if you open it up with ff(without ie tab) or opera, it doesn't work.

[glc]

That's because that site requires IE and WMP 10 - I can't read Hebrew but what little English I can see hints at that - or maybe you need the ExtraTV player?

[peekaboo]

with IE it just loads the mediaplayer and plays.
i haven't used the extratv player.

the question is, why does masking opera as IE not work while using ie-tab in ff does?

i suppose that if i knew more about webpage-browser compatibility it would be clear, but right now i don't understand why there is a problem.

[ghost2003]

Because ie-tab actually loads IE inside FF. You are really using IE but its is running inside FF. Mask as IE in Opera just spoofs the user agent it reports to the website.