Opera Software has released Opera 7.10 for Windows and Opera
7.10 for Linux Beta with features that are not only new to Opera,
but also completely new to the world of browsing. Right from the
beginning, users can see the two new buttons FastForward and Rewind
in the toolbar, accelerating Opera users’ Web navigation. Users can
also speed up researching with the completely new Notes features or
view photo files with SlideShow.
With the two new buttons FastForward and Rewind, the user can
sit back and let the browser anticipate where they would like to go
next. FastForward was introduced as part of the Forward button in
Opera 7 for Windows, but has been developed much further, resulting
in two completely new buttons being added to the Opera toolbar. The
FastForward and Rewind buttons are illustrated by two arrows each,
either going back or forward, placed right next to the
corresponding Back or Forward buttons.
“FastForward, Rewind, Notes and Slideshow are completely new to
the world of browsing allowing for a more flexible and intuitive
user experience,” said Jon S. von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software.
“Opera 7.10 is a must-have upgrade. It takes browsing to a
completely new level with its many new features, major improvements
and refinements. At the same time, we have created an even faster
browser in a smaller package.”
Both browsers include all the popular new features introduced in
Opera 7 for Windows including the password manager the Wand, the
e-mail and news client M2, as well as new features such as
FastForward, Rewind, Notes, and Slideshow. Popular Opera functions
from previous versions including multiple document interface (MDI),
mouse gestures, keyboard shortcuts, Hotclick translation, zooming,
integrated search, and many more, are of course included and
refined. Now users can even customize and make their own toolbars,
mouse gestures and keyboards shortcuts and share with other Opera
users.
Unlike Opera 7 for Windows, which has been available in a final
version since February, Opera for Linux makes a great leap all the
way from Opera 6.12 to 7.10, bringing the development on Linux and
Windows closer together. In addition to enjoying an even faster,
smaller, browser as well as numerous new features, this is the
first time Linux users have their own mail client in the Opera
browser. Opera 7.10 for Linux Beta comes with the popular M2 mail
client known from Opera 7 for Windows, which automatically
categorizes and sorts e-mail messages, has an integrated spam
filter, and supports POP3, IMAP,and ESMTP.
“Thanks to the interoperability of the Opera core, the Opera
7.10 for Windows and Linux browser versions we are releasing today
have the same features,” said von Tetzchner. “In the future, the
Opera browser will look increasingly the same across the different
platforms thanks to this interoperability, so that users, schools,
universities and businesses who truly want to be cross-platform can
enjoy the same Opera features on all major operating systems.”
Completely new features for both Linux and Windows include:
- FastForward and Rewind
- Opera has added two new buttons in the toolbar to speed up
Opera users’ Web navigation, letting the browser anticipate where
the user will want to go next. Opera first introduced FastForward
as a part of the Forward button in Opera 7 for Windows, but in this
release Opera has refined this feature and added two completely new
buttons to the toolbar. The FastForward and Rewind buttons support
all major languages and lets users browse much more
efficiently. - Slideshow
- The FastForward button displays photo files on the Web in a
slideshow. To see photos full-screen on a black background, simply
press F11 to invoke Opera’s presentation tool OperaShow. - Notes
- Speed up researching with the new Notes features. Jot down a
note in conjunction with a Web page, drag the note to an e-mail to
send it to others, or simply store your notes for future
reference. - Cookie Manager
- Keep track of the cookies you would like to keep and delete the
rest.
Completely new features for Linux include:
- M2 mail client
- Opera’s mail client automatically categorizes and sorts e-mail
messages, has an integrated spam filter, and supports POP3, IMAP,
and ESMTP. - The Wand password manager
- Opera now offers one-click log-in to password protected sites.
Log-in fields with available passwords are marked with a slick
golden rim, and access provided by simply clicking the Wand icon or
the keyboard shortcut CTRL+Enter. - Mouse gestures
- Now users can make their own mouse gestures and share them with
other users. Simply go to Preferences/Edit Mouse gestures to add
your own. - Keyboard shortcuts
- Now users can choose to use the space button on their keyboard
instead of the FastForward button in the Opera toolbar, to let the
browser anticipate where the user would like to go next on a Web
page, or to move forward in the M2 e-mail client when searching
through e-mails. - Skinning
- Changing the look of a browser has never been easier with
Opera’s new one-click skin install. Just pick and click once on any
of the many skins available at MyOpera community. The skin is
downloaded and applied, and users can choose to keep or remove the
new skin. As a further enhancement, even changes in the coloring
skins can be altered by selecting a color scheme from the View
menu. - Powerful panel management
- All panels can now be shown, hidden or rearranged at will.
- Links panel
- Opera 7 includes a new, easier way to navigate pages. The
Hotlist now includes a Links panel by default. In the panel, all
the links in the current page are listed, with icons for common
types like images and movies. Links can then be easily selected for
quick navigation or download. - Spatial Navigation
- Spatial Navigation was first introduced in Opera’s iTV business
unit. With Opera for iTV on their set-top boxes, TV viewers
appreciates how simple it is to use the arrows keys on their remote
controls to navigate the electronic program guides or between links
in Web pages. Now Opera is bringing the same concept to everyone’s
desktop computer. By combining the SHIFT and arrow keys on the
keyboard, users can easily move to links or any other navigational
element on a page. - New navigation bar
- On sites that support navigation through link tags, users have
more control over how they interact with Web pages. The site
navigation will be displayed in the navigation bar, and the
navigation menu will feel the same to the user regardless of
site. - Extended and improved drag-and-drop support
- Rearrange or move toolbar items using drag-and-drop
customization. You can even move an Opera button from a Web page to
your toolbar to see how it looks. Or choose to move bookmarks,
tabs, and window sessions (MDI/SDI) URL as shortcuts on the
desktop. Open or save any page link. - Multiple user style sheets
- Opera comes equipped with 12 new style sheets, varying from
helpful features for users and developers, to the more zany like a
Commodore 64 browser emulator. By choosing style sheets such as
“Accessibility layout” or “High contrast B/W” users can in a snap
modify pages for an easy read. Developers immediately benefit from
features such as viewing structural elements without constantly
reverting to its source code. - Window management
- Instead of having to choose between multiple and single
document interface (MDI/SDI) as in Opera 6, users can now combine
MDI, SDI and tabbed browsing–without restarting the browser. Users
can also save different window combinations as window sessions, or
go back and forth between different window sessions. - Multiple or single user accounts
- Set up different Opera user profiles in one Opera browser to
ensure that all your family members have the Opera set-up and look
that suits them best. - Small-Screen Rendering?
- Check out Opera’s Web browser breakthrough for mobile phones
and PDAs in your desktop browser. See how Web pages would look on a
small-screen device by simply pressing [Shift+F11] to enable
Small-Screen Rendering. - Refuse pop-ups
- Opera can easily be configured to push all pop-up windows to
the background, or to not show them at all. - Hotlist
- Bookmarks and history, windows sessions and e-mail can be now
be managed via the Hotlist and shown respectively as a bookmarks,
history, e-mail, or windows panel. Manage your downloads and
transfers via the floatable download and transfer manager with
extensive drag-and-drop support. - Built-in search
- Use Opera’s search utility to search the Web, just enter your
search in the convenient search field at the top of Opera’s
window. - Improved standards support
- The standards support in Opera 7 has been improved with added
support for DOM level 2 and CSS2; improved ECMAScript and HTML 4.01
support; and complete WML 1.3 and 2.0 support. Opera 7 also handles
non-standard pages using DHTML, giving Opera’s millions of old and
new users a hassle-free Internet experience.
Download Opera 7.10 for Windows and Opera 7.10 for Linux Beta
versions from www.opera.com/download.
Linux users should make a backup of the “.opera” settings directory
located in their home directory before installing Opera 7.10 for
Linux Beta.
The browser is available free of charge with a sponsored
advertising banner in the top-right corner of the user interface.
To remove the advertising banner, users must register their version
for US$39. Various discounts apply. Registered users can freely
access personal support via e-mail and enjoy six months of free
OperaMail Premium.