Monday, 20. October 2008, 08:50:09
Enter the X-Widgets Challenge!
Opera is challenging developers to create cross-device widgets or “X-Widgets” that can be used on both mobile phones and PC/Mac computers.
An example of an X-Widget might be a shopping list you keep both on your computer and mobile phone. That way you can update it whenever and never lose track of what you need to pick up at the store. Another could be a simple game that you can play on your computer, then pause it, and continue on your mobile phone – perfect when you are going for a high score. One more could be an online auction widget, where you could follow an auction both at home and on the go, and bid right up to the last minute!
Cash prizes galore!
Opera is stepping up and awarding generous cash prizes for the best overall X-Widgets submitted.
- 1st prize: $5000
- 2nd prize $2000
- 3rd prize $1000
In addition you can win t-shirts and $50 Amazon gift cards if you're one of the first 20 qualified entrants. The best weekly widget will be rewarded with a $300 Amazon gift card.
If your X-Widget is among our top picks, we will promote it on widgets.opera.com and you might also find it bundled in our next widget product release!
Sweet! How do I get started?
Just read the full post in the widgets blog. Giddy up! 
Thursday, 25. September 2008, 15:48:42
We know we there are many talented photographers on My Opera and this user is a living proof of that. 
Many of you most likely are aware of The National Geographic Society (NGS). It is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical conservation, and the study of world culture and history (source: Wikipedia).
On their Web site they have a section called 'The Daily Dozen', which is photo editor Susan Welchman's daily selections. From the Daily Dozen, a selection of photos will be published monthly in National Geographic. Community member lvee submitted a photo of a male trumpeter swan and is listed as one of the best photos for September, but she needs your help to win the contest!
How to help her win:
- Go to National Geographic's voting machine → and choose 'Week 3'.
- Rate the photos until you come across lvee's male trumpeter swan (image 6) and rate it*!
- Done!
Best of luck to lvee. We hope your image get the highest average rating and is printed in a future magazine. You deserve it! 
* We think a 10 is a pretty good rate!
Thursday, 4. September 2008, 16:37:47
Summer is over and we're eager to find out what you did. 
Did you go by interail in Europe, or had a big city vacation? Maybe you had to work all summer and nothing happened? Anyway, we want to hear it, so we're hosting a "We don't know what you did this summer" story contest. The rules are simple:
- Write a story on your My Opera blog about what you did this summer and tag it "summer story".
- You are not allowed to use more than 1000 words.
- The post must include pictures.
- You must be a registered member of the My Opera Community to participate.
- It is prohibited to publish any content which is defamatory, offensive or abusive or of an obscene or menacing nature (will result in disqualification).
- Submit a link to your blog post either by e-mail (espenao[at]opera.com) or private message.
- Contest ends Tuesday, September 16th.
- Winners will be determined by community vote — for one week — so everyone can vote on their favorite summer holiday story.
We will also provide everyone who participates with banners and artwork they can use to spread the word and increase their winning chances.
The top-3 with the highest amount of votes will receive a very special Opera "back to school" kit, including a really cool bag you can use for school or work. We will also throw in some Opera pens, memo books, and some other useful items. 
Best of luck to everyone who wish to participate! We're looking forward to reading and sharing your summer stories!
Kudos to community hero fritter for this great contest idea!
Wednesday, 23. July 2008, 15:10:32
Our "User JavaScript contest!" contest ended on 15th July and there were two big winners! There were a number of strong contestants with awesome contributions, however, after going through all the submissions, hallvors has declared zomg and d4n3 the worthy winners of the competition! Both will receive a sweet HTC Touch Diamond™ with Opera Mobile 9.5 pre-installed!
Take a look at what the zomg and d4n3 submitted:
Site Enhancement Section Winner:
This sitefix makes sure Google Spreadsheet works as intended with Opera! Also, zomg almost won the Tool section of the competition with his directory-listings.js and bookmarking.js submission.
Tool Section Winner:
History+ is awesome! d4n3 really went all out when he created a script that allows users to visualise your travel through the world wide internet. History+ features a local HTTP server thats right on the edge on what you can do with a user JavaScript.
Thanks again to everyone who participated! For honorable mentions and the full post by hallvors, go and check out the competition forum post.
Wednesday, 9. July 2008, 15:04:37
Tuesday, 1. July 2008, 11:32:23
This contest has been the topic of discussion since June last year (and most likely even longer). The goal of this contest is to find out who can create the best User JavaScript in the following two categories:
- Best site enhancement
- Best tool (in general)
The best User JavaScript overall will be awarded with a brand new HTC Touch Diamond™ with Opera Mobile 9.5 pre-installed.
Guidelines:
We've defined a set of guidelines which will help us evaluate submissions, but also assist you in creating a winning entry. We recommend everyone have a look in the User JavaScript tutorials hosted on userjs.org, but also our own "Take control with User JavaScript" guides are a solid read.
- The script must not create variables or functions in the global scope or leak information to the page it runs in (anonymous functions).
- The script must not modify Object.prototype properties.
- Any changes to a site's own scripts or DOM should be as small as possible and as resilient to site changes as possible.
- Sites that are enhanced / fixed must be publicly available. If user accounts are required, registration must be free.
- You're free to participate in either one or both categories.
- Deadline is Tuesday, July 15th.
In addition, the script must be well documented / commented:
- What is being fixed or enhanced?
- How does the fix or enhancement work?
- How can we test the script?
To submit your entry, please use this competition form. The User JavaScript file can be hosted (for example) on your own My Opera files account (zip the folder along with documentation and upload). Please include a short summary about your User JavaScript along with a download link. All entries will be reviewed by Opera staff.
We've created a forum post for any questions or comments you may have regarding this contest.
Good luck, everyone! We can't wait to see those great submissions!
