Epilogue of the Opera
The company Opera Software still knows how to surprise. Only if earlier some good reason was found for this (introduction of useful functions and innovative technologies), now news from Norway are rather depressing. For example, on October 8, the developer announced the release of the next version of the browser number 17. After looking at the list of changes, many will be confused.
What fresh user will see?
So ... You can add your own search engines. Customize the launch of the program (whether to open the previous session or home page). And, finally, the tab pinning function is back. Scanty, isn't it? Moreover ... All this is far from innovation. Users simply returned the “stolen”, so to speak, functions, because they mysteriously disappeared from version 15. As commented on this situation in the company itself, this is connected with the transition to a new core.
Similar but completely different
Partly about the situation of abandoning Presto’s own engine and switching to Blink (the same one that uses Google Chrome), I told in my article “Top 5 Changes in Opera 15.” As it turned out, too softly then described what is happening with the browser. I did not want to hurt the developers, who were already in a difficult situation. As it turns out, in vain. Work, if conducted, it is not too active, and in the official blog on Habré, you can see only outraged reviews . Official representatives of the company on the same resource, at best, are trying to convince that it is this kind of browser that users need. Unfortunately, they do not understand: they are not Steves Jobs.
')
Fuel to the fire adds to the fact that the tabs fastening is not the only function that was in the “coma”. For example, synchronization of information, alas, is still only in version 12. The list of familiar Opera features that need resuscitation is quite long. Thumbnails and page previews, scrolling tabs with the mouse wheel, grouping pages into stacks ... The list can be continued for a very long time.
In addition, geeks could freely dig in the settings of Opera and adjust the program to fit their requests. And all this wealth was available in the application itself, and especially advanced climbed into the configuration files. Then the browser could change at all. Recall only the project Opera AC . Enthusiasts were busy with the distribution kit and added their own functions to it. For example, I particularly liked the ability to install software on removable media, which allowed me to always have my browser with me.
It is for such advanced settings, innovative features and loved the Norwegian browser.
Just think! Most of the functions, in Internet browsers that seem natural and familiar to you, are introduced by developers from Norway. These are tabs of pages (before the browser each time opened a separate copy of the program), a quick launch panel, fixation (minimization) of tabs, traffic compression, synchronization of favorites and much, much more.
Opera Software has influenced the World Wide Web as a whole. The modern Internet has become such in particular thanks to the ideas of developers from Norway. For example, in the HTML5 standard there is the possibility of using video with in-built tools without resorting to Flash. This determined the development of sites. In particular, YouTube, VKontakte, etc.
Norwegians had an impact on the IT industry as a whole. Recall only how the giant Microsoft. They became one of the initiators of the fact that it became possible to remove Internet Explorer from Windows. Alas, this did not really affect the situation, but, nevertheless, a precedent was created.
As soon as the news came about cardinal changes in the browser, I contacted one of the company's co-founders, Jon von Tetchner. In 2010, he left his post as executive director at Opera Software. Now is just a bystander.
Jon von Tetchner (November 2009)
By and large, he does not share the leadership policy. The Presto kernel, in his opinion, is one of the key advantages of the browser. It was not only powerful, but also very flexible in configuration, which made it possible to tailor the program to any needs. However, for a long time it was the engine, according to the assurances of the current employees of the company, that caused a decrease in productivity and affected the outflow of users. About the reasons for which the former core is simply outdated, Jon answered simply.
By the way, please note that at the beginning of the year the company reduced its staff by almost 10% . The official position of Opera Software is that the transition to the new kernel has reduced the number of developers. However, there is a perception that everything happened just the opposite. In particular, this confirms Jon's comment above.
What will be next? Jon responded somewhat vaguely.
The co-founder of the company, like any parent, in all likelihood, simply does not want to recognize a simple fact: it has not just changed, but is on the verge.
Numerous studies show that the proportion of Opera in the world is declining. For example, StatCounter assures that this figure dropped from 2.62% in 2009 to 1.69% in 2012.
StatCounter. Worldwide Browser Market Statistics
By the way, I didn’t just mention Russian users. In the countries of the former Soviet Union, the Norwegian browser was especially popular. Alas, the statistics in this case turns out to be quite eloquent: from 36.57% (2009) to 19.82% (2012) according to studies of the same StatCounter.
Data may differ slightly from different researchers. It all depends on the methods of collecting data and evaluating the information received. However, everyone records a drop in interest in Opera.
StatCounter. Browser Market in Russia (2009-2012)
The last three months of this year show no changes - the presence of the browser is still decreasing. In Russia, about 12% is still, and a little more than one hundredth in the whole world.
Another indicator that clearly speaks of ailment or good company health is the value of shares. Considering the trends indicated above, I intended to see a sad picture. Opening the same graphics, fell into a stupor from cognitive dissonance. Now the cost of Opera Software securities is higher than ever and reached record levels, if not for the entire time it has been in the market, then for 5 years for sure.
Stock prices have reached their record
I'm afraid to make unambiguous conclusions. I will express only my modest and very cautious opinion.
Last year, news feeds splashed with messages that the social network Facebook is going to acquire a Norwegian office . This promises to the shareholders a good profit and the securities began to actively buy, which caused a sharp jump in value. Further the snowball, which picked up speed, was difficult to stop. Now information about the acquisition of Opera Software no longer slips, but the market has already responded. Hope and wait. The company is doing very badly.
Is an unreasonable increase in stock prices for Norwegians good? I think no. After all, the value of shares must be supported by some real indicators and achievements. Anyway, any currency needs to be reinforced with gold. There is a possibility that the current state of affairs will still go sideways.
The company, which has long been a trendsetter in browser building, is now lagging behind and trying not to even catch up with its competitors, but to return what it has lost. I would like to say that this happened with the release of Opera 15. However, it is not. The process began a long time ago.
The Internet, like the entire IT industry, has changed significantly in 15 years. Over the years, there are no companies that specialize only in browsers. Microsoft is behind Internet Explorer, Chrome has been nurtured by the giant Google. Today, only mastodons can afford to develop programs to enter the Global Web and then as an optional lesson. Like, for example, Yandex did by releasing its browser a year ago. Firefox stands apart, but there, you shouldn't forget, there is a huge army of open source enthusiasts and many other programs are made on the basis of firewall.
For many years, Opera browser has been my faithful assistant for long journeys through the boundless expanses of the World Wide Web. Sometimes he even left unnoticed some of his dubious functions that were wasting the work of developers. For example, Unite. The idea of ​​a cloud service could be quite in time for 2010, but it was implemented too crookedly. However, then did not focus on this, hoping that they would bring it to mind.
Now a lot has changed ...
By the way, with the release of the Opera 15 version, I even decided to try Yandex Browser. It took several months before I noticed that I finally switched to using a domestic Internet browser.
New items?
What fresh user will see?
So ... You can add your own search engines. Customize the launch of the program (whether to open the previous session or home page). And, finally, the tab pinning function is back. Scanty, isn't it? Moreover ... All this is far from innovation. Users simply returned the “stolen”, so to speak, functions, because they mysteriously disappeared from version 15. As commented on this situation in the company itself, this is connected with the transition to a new core.
Similar but completely different
Partly about the situation of abandoning Presto’s own engine and switching to Blink (the same one that uses Google Chrome), I told in my article “Top 5 Changes in Opera 15.” As it turned out, too softly then described what is happening with the browser. I did not want to hurt the developers, who were already in a difficult situation. As it turns out, in vain. Work, if conducted, it is not too active, and in the official blog on Habré, you can see only outraged reviews . Official representatives of the company on the same resource, at best, are trying to convince that it is this kind of browser that users need. Unfortunately, they do not understand: they are not Steves Jobs.
')
Lost ...
Fuel to the fire adds to the fact that the tabs fastening is not the only function that was in the “coma”. For example, synchronization of information, alas, is still only in version 12. The list of familiar Opera features that need resuscitation is quite long. Thumbnails and page previews, scrolling tabs with the mouse wheel, grouping pages into stacks ... The list can be continued for a very long time.
In addition, geeks could freely dig in the settings of Opera and adjust the program to fit their requests. And all this wealth was available in the application itself, and especially advanced climbed into the configuration files. Then the browser could change at all. Recall only the project Opera AC . Enthusiasts were busy with the distribution kit and added their own functions to it. For example, I particularly liked the ability to install software on removable media, which allowed me to always have my browser with me.
It is for such advanced settings, innovative features and loved the Norwegian browser.
Already history
Just think! Most of the functions, in Internet browsers that seem natural and familiar to you, are introduced by developers from Norway. These are tabs of pages (before the browser each time opened a separate copy of the program), a quick launch panel, fixation (minimization) of tabs, traffic compression, synchronization of favorites and much, much more.
Opera Software has influenced the World Wide Web as a whole. The modern Internet has become such in particular thanks to the ideas of developers from Norway. For example, in the HTML5 standard there is the possibility of using video with in-built tools without resorting to Flash. This determined the development of sites. In particular, YouTube, VKontakte, etc.
Norwegians had an impact on the IT industry as a whole. Recall only how the giant Microsoft. They became one of the initiators of the fact that it became possible to remove Internet Explorer from Windows. Alas, this did not really affect the situation, but, nevertheless, a precedent was created.
New Deal
As soon as the news came about cardinal changes in the browser, I contacted one of the company's co-founders, Jon von Tetchner. In 2010, he left his post as executive director at Opera Software. Now is just a bystander.
Jon von Tetchner (November 2009)
By and large, he does not share the leadership policy. The Presto kernel, in his opinion, is one of the key advantages of the browser. It was not only powerful, but also very flexible in configuration, which made it possible to tailor the program to any needs. However, for a long time it was the engine, according to the assurances of the current employees of the company, that caused a decrease in productivity and affected the outflow of users. About the reasons for which the former core is simply outdated, Jon answered simply.
“The reason for dropping Presto was indeed funding. To ensure that you need to make sure that you’re up to the game. Opera has invested heavily there.
Jon von Tetchner - co-founder of Opera Software
By the way, please note that at the beginning of the year the company reduced its staff by almost 10% . The official position of Opera Software is that the transition to the new kernel has reduced the number of developers. However, there is a perception that everything happened just the opposite. In particular, this confirms Jon's comment above.
What will be next? Jon responded somewhat vaguely.
“Presto means killing Opera. I think it would be more convenient if I’ve been thinking about it. I also think of the current product direction. We built a great product, focusing on the user, with really really useful features. Now that has changed. ”
Jon von Tetchner - co-founder of Opera Software
The co-founder of the company, like any parent, in all likelihood, simply does not want to recognize a simple fact: it has not just changed, but is on the verge.
Few numbers
Numerous studies show that the proportion of Opera in the world is declining. For example, StatCounter assures that this figure dropped from 2.62% in 2009 to 1.69% in 2012.
StatCounter. Worldwide Browser Market Statistics
By the way, I didn’t just mention Russian users. In the countries of the former Soviet Union, the Norwegian browser was especially popular. Alas, the statistics in this case turns out to be quite eloquent: from 36.57% (2009) to 19.82% (2012) according to studies of the same StatCounter.
Data may differ slightly from different researchers. It all depends on the methods of collecting data and evaluating the information received. However, everyone records a drop in interest in Opera.
StatCounter. Browser Market in Russia (2009-2012)
The last three months of this year show no changes - the presence of the browser is still decreasing. In Russia, about 12% is still, and a little more than one hundredth in the whole world.
Drains
Another indicator that clearly speaks of ailment or good company health is the value of shares. Considering the trends indicated above, I intended to see a sad picture. Opening the same graphics, fell into a stupor from cognitive dissonance. Now the cost of Opera Software securities is higher than ever and reached record levels, if not for the entire time it has been in the market, then for 5 years for sure.
Stock prices have reached their record
I'm afraid to make unambiguous conclusions. I will express only my modest and very cautious opinion.
Last year, news feeds splashed with messages that the social network Facebook is going to acquire a Norwegian office . This promises to the shareholders a good profit and the securities began to actively buy, which caused a sharp jump in value. Further the snowball, which picked up speed, was difficult to stop. Now information about the acquisition of Opera Software no longer slips, but the market has already responded. Hope and wait. The company is doing very badly.
Is an unreasonable increase in stock prices for Norwegians good? I think no. After all, the value of shares must be supported by some real indicators and achievements. Anyway, any currency needs to be reinforced with gold. There is a possibility that the current state of affairs will still go sideways.
Epilogue
The company, which has long been a trendsetter in browser building, is now lagging behind and trying not to even catch up with its competitors, but to return what it has lost. I would like to say that this happened with the release of Opera 15. However, it is not. The process began a long time ago.
The Internet, like the entire IT industry, has changed significantly in 15 years. Over the years, there are no companies that specialize only in browsers. Microsoft is behind Internet Explorer, Chrome has been nurtured by the giant Google. Today, only mastodons can afford to develop programs to enter the Global Web and then as an optional lesson. Like, for example, Yandex did by releasing its browser a year ago. Firefox stands apart, but there, you shouldn't forget, there is a huge army of open source enthusiasts and many other programs are made on the basis of firewall.
Afterword
For many years, Opera browser has been my faithful assistant for long journeys through the boundless expanses of the World Wide Web. Sometimes he even left unnoticed some of his dubious functions that were wasting the work of developers. For example, Unite. The idea of ​​a cloud service could be quite in time for 2010, but it was implemented too crookedly. However, then did not focus on this, hoping that they would bring it to mind.
Now a lot has changed ...
By the way, with the release of the Opera 15 version, I even decided to try Yandex Browser. It took several months before I noticed that I finally switched to using a domestic Internet browser.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/198914/
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