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Opera CEO: Why No Extensions (So Far) in Opera

Saturday, April 19, 2008 8:44:09 PM

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I've noticed some more debate about "why/why not" to have extensions in Opera, on various fora. Many people seem to have not seen Jon von Tetzchner's (Opera's CEO) comments about this topic, so I thought I'd post it and maybe put it to bed, already.

It's something [extensions] that we have evaluated many times. We'll probably do something in the future. Our focus has been more on widgets – making applications that run outside the browser and are able to build on web technology. On the extensions side, traditionally our focus has been 'let's try to build as much into the browser as possible so people have a choice'. So we do it in a way that's tightly integrated and works out of the box. We've done so much – you mention extensions through user JavaScript, we've done it through CSS and we continue to find new ways to do it. It's clear that Firefox has a more extensible way of doing that. It will not be soon but we may provide some easier ways in the future to add more functionality to Opera.

[/QUOTE]
So, there you have it. In my experience, with or without extensions, Opera has been the most productive, most innovative browser out there for years, YEARS; along with the fastest. Yes, there's all kinds of speed tests that everybody shouts about how their browser is faster. Everyone can make their own decision, so just try Opera on your own PC or Mac or phone or set-top device, with your own favorite sites and decide for yourself.

There's a list a mile long about the useful features in Opera that most of Internet Explorer or Safari users have never heard of, like Speed Dial or Fast Forward. (There's even some, that Firefox users haven't seen, like Rewind and Fast Forward or using your desktop bookmarks on your phone with Opera LINK.) You won't go back after trying it for a few days. (By the way, if you miss how your old browser looks while trying Opera, just go and get a new skin to pretend Opera is IE, or Safari or Firefox. You may even find a cool, new favorite skin that you love, like the Neanderthal skin!)

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Comments

Øyvind ØstlundNoteMe Monday, April 21, 2008 9:10:59 AM

There's even some, that Firefox users haven't seen, like Rewind and Fast Forward



FYI I used Fast Forward with Fx, and I must admitt I like the way it treats images better than Opera beacsue it also guesses what the next page is.


- ØØ -

Kamaleshkamalesh Wednesday, April 23, 2008 7:08:33 AM

@Øyvind:
Explain for me how it treats images better?

Øyvind ØstlundNoteMe Wednesday, April 23, 2008 7:28:31 AM

First of all I forgot to mention it is an extension. Last time I checked Fx did not have this out of the box, so Opera is better out of the box there as usual.

Over to the example. If you are looking at this image:
http://www.noteme.com/images/ss/auto-search-1.jpg

You can guess that there is an other image called:
http://www.noteme.com/images/ss/auto-search-2.jpg

aswell. You don't know for sure, but there is a big chance. And if there is, then there probably is an image called
http://www.noteme.com/images/ss/auto-search-3.jpg

and so on. Opera won't try to guess this, but the Fx extension does, until it gets a 404. With opera you first need to go to
http://www.noteme.com/images/ss/

Then it will remember all the links and give you the fast forward possibility.

It's a small feature, maybe not very useful for an average guy, but I miss it from time to time, probably mostly because I have a few friends with image galleries where it works.


- ØØ -

Kamaleshkamalesh Friday, April 25, 2008 7:42:20 PM

I see, that's an interesting use case. smile I think you're right, though, it's an edge case (and it requires an extension and a reinstall when you upgrade Baked in features are my preference).

Also, no Rewind capability as in Opera, which I use a million times a day to rewind to google results or back a few domains after clicking, going off on a tangent and need to get back in one click or keyboard shortcut (shift+z)... doh

aic0n Wednesday, September 9, 2009 10:16:15 PM

sweet, really sounds like Extensions will come! bigsmile
perhaps in opera 10.10..? wait smile

Unregistered user Tuesday, September 15, 2009 8:41:04 PM

Anonymous writes: After being a loyal Opera user for many years (since v.4) I finally was forced to switch to Firefox. Yes Opera has many features built that Firefox has to use extensions for, but... they will never be able to catch up this way. How can a single company compete with a world full of devs coding features for every possible occasion. The sheer amount of extra functionality and customizability finally outweighed everything that I liked about Opera. If Opera team does not wake up soon, it may be too late. P.S. Widgets are a flawed concept (even Vista's sidebar is more useful).

Unregistered user Thursday, July 1, 2010 12:00:42 AM

Anonym writes: i i have been using opera since 4 till 9, after firefox came with extentions, please opera add extentions.

Unregistered user Saturday, September 4, 2010 6:39:58 PM

Anonymous writes: I am trying Opera for first time. I have always used Chrome. There are zillions of extensions in Chrome that make life so easy... I am shocked to find out that there are no extensions in opera!!! I guess, using chrome is definetly a better option... I'll use your product on my mobile for sure as nokia's default browser is bad...

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