Opera News

This week here at Opera HQ was all about fine-tuning the high-performance machinery of our browser engines, specifically the ones running Opera Mini for Android and Symbian devices. Without so much as a whisper of mechanical friction, the most recent "silent update" took care of an assortment of bugs, ranging from page-loading lagtime to the occasional crash when logging into Twitter.To grab the update for Symbian S60, click here; Android users, when you get that auto-update message - just press "OK"!

(Speaking of Twitter, did you know that the Twitter bird's real name is Larry? Not to be confused with Talking Larry the Bird, of course. That is a completely different virtual bird, and they get very annoyed if you mix them up.)

Out in the rest of the world this week, a key theme was alternatives, starting with a an exciting new entrant in the more affordable computing category. Taking a cue from Android's relentlessly sweet dessert-themed releases (or perhaps a long-running tribute to that great painter of confections, Wayne Thibaud?), this is a "credit card-sized computer that plugs into a TV and keyboard" called Raspberry Pi. It runs on Linux, and costs a mere twenty-five US dollars.

At the other end of the spectrum were the new "ultramobile PCs" (don't call them tablets!) making their debut at CeBIT, the big electronics trade show in Germany. These little babies will cost around one thousand dollars, US, and will (wait for it, folks!) allow users to type with their thumbs. This is actually quite an important differentiator in the "keyboard-free computer" world, since the release of the new iPad this week was clearly aimed at users who do not have thumbs, specifically dogs and cats.

While we're on the subject of animals, a new museum has just opened in Pittsburgh, USA, on the subject of living things altered by human technology. Called The Center for PostNatural History, it is dedicated to the collection of "organisms that have been altered through processes such as selective breeding or genetic engineering," ranging from goats to trees and even transgenic mosquitoes. (Doesn't it seem like glow-in-the-dark beagles should be in there too?) I was going to say, "Don't try this at home!" but apparently quite a few folks out there already have.

(Don't worry, we're all mutants anyway.) Have a great weekend, everyone!