Google Half-Disses Opera - Again
Sunday, 27. September 2009, 20:16:43
I noticed the interesting release about Google Chrome Frame plug-in for IE. Very sneaky and really clever. I'm eager to try out Google Wave when it debuts, but did anyone else notice the browser-choice pop-up when an IE user points to Google Wave...?
What's wrong with this picture?
Opera isn't listed as a super-fast, standards-based, easy-to-code-for, advanced browser in the browser-choice pop-up... Lame. (It's not as if the inventor of CSS, Håkon Wium Lie, works at Opera...oh, wait, he does.) This used to be a problem with another huge company in the past.
While all's fair in love & war, web interoperability is critically important to browser users (whether they know it or not), web developer ease, browser-maker sanity, and ensuring the beneficial, not detrimental, network effects of the Internet as a whole.
Meanwhile, a Google spokesperson replied to The Register saying:
What's wrong with this picture?
Opera isn't listed as a super-fast, standards-based, easy-to-code-for, advanced browser in the browser-choice pop-up... Lame. (It's not as if the inventor of CSS, Håkon Wium Lie, works at Opera...oh, wait, he does.) This used to be a problem with another huge company in the past.
While all's fair in love & war, web interoperability is critically important to browser users (whether they know it or not), web developer ease, browser-maker sanity, and ensuring the beneficial, not detrimental, network effects of the Internet as a whole.
Meanwhile, a Google spokesperson replied to The Register saying:
"While we encourage users to use a more modern and standards compliant browser such as Firefox, Safari, OPERA or Google Chrome rather than a plug-in, for those who don't, Google Chrome Frame is designed to provide better performance, strong security features, and more choice to both developers and users, across all versions of Internet Explorer."
WIDGETIZE
kubm # 6. October 2009, 06:47
this exact thing bothers me too. Did you managed to fix this via some kind of user-js? Like http://files.myopera.com/xErath/files/fix-google-services.js for picassa?
Kub
matheusfernal # 14. October 2009, 13:38
Everybody knows (but don't want to accept) that it's getting old.
kubm # 14. October 2009, 15:07
Originally posted by matheusfernal:
Well, futhark was the fastest engine out there when released in the Opera 10.alpha (and it is in current opera10). Maybe you are right in this one, but i don't personally feel the problem is speed. Anyway, guys are working on caracan.
Next, google guys are writing wave in gwt. So there should be no problem with browser-compatibility. But I will wait till they release wave-beta, I do believe that opera will be included.
kamalesh # 19. October 2009, 19:33
Opera's new javascript engine, Carakan, is being built now, but Google services are quite fast anyway in Opera v10.10 beta (despite Google sometimes intentionally sniffing Opera to break it).
@kubm:
Google isn't excluding Opera from working in Google Wave. I'm sure Opera works fine with Wave, since its brower design ethos has always been speed and functionality for 15 years.
My only point was Google not including Opera on the Google Wave ballot screen lacked tact and actually feels counterproductive to me. Google wants to increase web usage and are spending truckloads of money for free WIFI in Mountain View and on Virgin Airlines and with Sony to pre-load the Chrome browser on Viao laptops.
Opera makes the web easier to use, like Chrome, faster to load and is a strong Google Search partner with built-in Opera search, so not sure what they could be thinking.
It seems to me that Google is as confused as Mozilla about Opera's intentions and it's always-stated neutrality.
The main problem is Microsoft, not Opera, and how they minimally innovate IE to limit web design by not fully supporting web standards.
It seems to be a classic case of a company that won't cannibalize to innovate, but continue the status quo instead.
kubm # 19. October 2009, 20:01
Originally posted by kamalesh:
No, it doesn't. After you continue at own peril, wave will load correctly, but after loading is finished, the gray transparent div at the top of the screen shows, stating that you need to reload. After you do it, nothing is changed. That div pop ups again.