Opera Mini Blog

Help us test our new US data centre

By Kevin O'Rourkekeviniorourke. Monday, September 8, 2008 1:58:14 PM

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As Opera Mini gains more users around the world we're trying to make sure that it works well for everyone. As part of this we're adding more of the data centres where the web pages you request are formatted, compressed and sent on their way to your phone. The first new data centre is in the USA.

To make this work we've had to make some changes in the Opera Mini server software. We need your help to test the system before we trust it with all the Opera Mini users (because that's a lot of people).

So, if you want to help you just need to download and install a special version of Opera Mini 4.1. It can be installed on your phone at the same time as the normal version. You can find it here:
http://mini.opera.com/globaltest/

Edit: The test client is called "Mini Global Test".

The main difference you'll probably notice is that page titles are all prefixed by either "[EU]" or "[US]" depending on which data centre you're currently using. You'll be allocated to one or another depending on where you are in the world and which is busier. There are some other changes and I'm curious to see if you spot them bigsmile

Remember, this is a test so it might not always work correctly, we might sometimes have to make changes or fix things. You should keep your normal Opera Mini around as well.

More SVG support, and more fun with Outlook or FriendsterOpera Mini 4.2 beta available for testing!

Comments

shallemne Monday, September 8, 2008 2:18:57 PM

This is cool

First :-P

Vishwasvishwaskrishna Monday, September 8, 2008 2:53:52 PM

Just now downloaded it. Mine is US database. Hope there are good improvements.

ZandmanNicoZandberg Monday, September 8, 2008 3:25:46 PM

Yes another us database user here. Found a few bugs already wil report later.

Lenny ViDiViCiLennyViDiViCi Monday, September 8, 2008 3:31:19 PM

I Don't get the global version when I try to download on my pc. It just sends me to the regular phone selection page. I'll try sideloading this on my Nextel. I think it will just go in as an update, not a seperate install.


p.s. It just updated mini4.1

wolruf Monday, September 8, 2008 4:38:13 PM

I'm surprised to use the [US] data center, connecting from Orange France, IP address being 193.253.141.80

ZandmanNicoZandberg Monday, September 8, 2008 4:43:04 PM

Think most of the testers will get us servers. Since it takes into account traffic. Since almost nobody is currently using that servers we will all get directed to them. Or that's just my theory. Would like to know how these servers now share or do not share cookies.

tvierling Monday, September 8, 2008 6:07:26 PM

Well, 4.1 seems not to run out of memory nearly so often on my resource constrained Moto V360. That's a good sign. (Looks like image rendering might be lazy-instantiated to reduce active memory consumption.)

On the topic of hidden improvements, there's always room to improve the power users' "config:" page. whistle

The minimum phonenumber detection length can only be set as high as 9, but a fully qualified US phone number is 10 digits. wink

Manumanu6901 Monday, September 8, 2008 6:46:40 PM

I appreciate the Opera mini initiative.
I noticed some fresh and good changes like a super fast browsing experience on US server !! smile
glad to be one of the first few to use it !!
keep it up Opera Team
cheers

MishaKitten85 Monday, September 8, 2008 7:03:33 PM

Hmm... a Google as a default search! Thanks!!!
Now about bugs. I had forgotten my password for My Opera, and asked for new password. After that I followed a link in email, and was unable to login with new password... with Opera Mini 4.1 all worked ok, and I successfully logged in. After that I'm able to login with this version too.
And the second. When I'm entering wrong password on this site and some other (webmail at my work), pressing Back and filling the form again, it does not correctly sent to the site. I have to reload a login page to make it accept my credentials.

Added: Thanks for drag&drop in searches list! Not sure if it is a new feature, but I haven't noticed it before...

Dark FurieFurie Monday, September 8, 2008 7:15:00 PM

US Server here.

Thought the shortcut for Find In Page was new but it's not.

Feeds no longer get synced with Opera Link... down

Daniel Goldmandanigoldman Monday, September 8, 2008 7:31:18 PM

Downloaded...

Hawandaushe Monday, September 8, 2008 9:46:11 PM

I just down loaded mini global test it is nice and fast.
Live score improvement is very nice too.
Addition of dictionary.com is very educative and helpful.
From K.B. Inuwa, kano, Nigeria.

Bad WolfCois Monday, September 8, 2008 11:18:14 PM

Playing with it now..
US server here too..

FREEDOMfmdbuso Tuesday, September 9, 2008 12:35:44 AM

I HAVE BEEN USING OPERA MINI TWO YEARS,NO DISAPPOINTMENT ALWAYS FAST.I HELP MY FRIENDS TO DOWNLOAD IT.FROM ''SOUTH AFRICA''

Subandi sastradmajaSastradmaja Tuesday, September 9, 2008 5:41:31 AM

Run in my phone 6030 better than from norway. Kasian deh gue only 6030

Bad WolfCois Tuesday, September 9, 2008 7:35:27 AM

Two years and registered in September 2008? rolleyes

ZandmanNicoZandberg Tuesday, September 9, 2008 10:05:26 AM

Now getting [eu] servers. Glad to see cookies is getting shared between servers without a hitch! bigsmile

MalcSizzers Tuesday, September 9, 2008 10:35:31 AM

Well maybe I am missing something because I can detect no difference in the functionality or features. Anyone?!! lol

ZandmanNicoZandberg Tuesday, September 9, 2008 10:46:30 AM

Yep, neither have i spotted the new 'feature' apart from the obvious server sharing. I've searched everywhere but without much luck. But the new us server did make a speed improvement. But i think opera mini's speed is now reaching its limits so i must admit. A great job by manageing to improve it further.

I noticed that content folding was now on by default. But i turned this off at opera:config so hope the new feature was not hidden in there. Also lost my rss feeds was not synced hope this would return in the final version.

Kevin O'Rourkekeviniorourke Tuesday, September 9, 2008 11:46:07 AM

Syncing of RSS feeds isn't supported on this test setup, we didn't want to risk losing your feeds in the normal Opera Mini.

Dark FurieFurie Tuesday, September 9, 2008 12:07:29 PM

Cheers for the info dude.

Dark FurieFurie Tuesday, September 9, 2008 9:28:32 PM

You guys can't find new features? I've noticed feeds display the titles differently for starters. A new feature isn't necessarily noticable. The fact that it swaps servers depending upon usage isn't a noticable new feature, but it impacts on your experience loads.

theoddbod Tuesday, September 9, 2008 11:58:00 PM

Feeds look identical to me, Mik. I had the random 'big font' appear the first time, but it does that to me on the regular Mini too.

Another US server here.

artcraft Wednesday, September 10, 2008 1:17:44 AM

Hi, from Maine (USA) -

That link to "globaltest" above doesn't work. I just get the standard Opera PC/Mini download page.

Is this testing offer 'over' or what?

Really love Mini 4.1, a definitely improvement in speed/features over 4.0. (Have been with Mini since 2.x and PC Opera since 3.x)

Opera Mobile is a MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT. I installed the "trial period" one and it "does nothing" on my Nokia Communicator E90 'phone, with Symbian OS (S60 3rd).

The pages look great but there's no navigation.

Why would anybody pay for Mobile 8.65? Beats me! Until 9.x or a version that works is released, I'll skip it. Removed 8.65 from my Communicator after a few days' time.

Regards, Douglas
ARTCRAFT Music Rolls

Dark FurieFurie Wednesday, September 10, 2008 4:00:01 AM

If you actually download it, you'll see the difference and that the link works.

Feed post titles are displayed differently Mart. I've had 4.1 and GT open at the same time to check it.

theoddbod Wednesday, September 10, 2008 6:25:33 AM

I did the same, flicked back and forth between BBC News in both versions. Maybe it depends on the feed.

ZandmanNicoZandberg Wednesday, September 10, 2008 8:37:17 AM

Also alternated between the two and can also confirm there is no change in they way the feed titles look. Furie are you sure you compared it with the latest available official release of 4.1 ? I believe there was a small change with the previous release.

And in any case as far as i know rss gets formatted server side so a new mini should not really change the way it looks. Go to opera:config and ensure that the 'keep styling in rss' is in both cases the same. Or can you maybe just take a screenshot to show us, if it is indeed different?

Dark FurieFurie Wednesday, September 10, 2008 9:10:28 AM

Just downloaded last week. I'll grab some screen to illustrate the difference. You watch, it wont bloody do it now. lol

Satya Ranjan Mishrasranjanm2002 Wednesday, September 10, 2008 9:30:00 AM

Using Opera's US DC. Working very well on my K810i and i am on Vodafone IN Network.

Dark FurieFurie Wednesday, September 10, 2008 9:47:58 AM

mad I was kidding but I was right.

dariusch zamanidchz Wednesday, September 10, 2008 8:46:35 PM

Dear Kevin O'Rourke,
Downloaded, and all is good.
I’m in Iran and I’m using "Mini Global Test" in my htc touch p3450 with windows 6. I have GPRS system provider, and in the same time adsl-wireless connection at home. & not always with good connection
• All the pages are titled [US]
• I opened all the most heavy journals pages as “le monde”, “La Republica” TV5…etc
• I change with simplicity speed dial & bookmarks.
• And all is synchronized with my desktop Opera
I think my biggest problem is that I can’t save anything, any page and any image, and I don’t know if it depends on my device or your software?
Anyway, I wish the best for you.

Dark FurieFurie Wednesday, September 10, 2008 9:15:53 PM

47 views means that it's been looked at 47 times, not that there's 47 images. bigsmile

dariusch zamanidchz Wednesday, September 10, 2008 9:40:38 PM

Sorry
You are right now is 49 views
47+you and me
my excuse to Kevin O'Rourke

tinhoy Wednesday, September 10, 2008 10:38:47 PM

Trying to install on a LG LX570 (muziq) and I get a 907 invalid jar file error. sad

I even tried installing via a midlet uploader site and get error 907 invalid content manifest error.

Davidjamaicaguy Thursday, September 11, 2008 1:29:13 AM

After the testing of the servers (US & EU).What next?
Are we going to get a beta release by the end of September?

tinhoy Thursday, September 11, 2008 3:24:51 AM

Ok, I got it to work by rezipping the jar prior to loading. Don't know why it worked, but it did. wink Reading this thread, I noticed that when scrolling down with cursor the view automatically moves left and right to show the user icon then text. Is this new? Edit : it worked for me once but not now anymore... swear I wasn't dreaming. Anyway, the US server seems to be faster with less wait between Connecting and Processing.

Kevin O'Rourkekeviniorourke Thursday, September 11, 2008 7:00:01 AM

For questions and discussion you might be better using the Opera Mini forum topic related to this:
http://my.opera.com/community/forums/topic.dml?id=249281

Some of your questions are already answered there.

JoeGoJoeGo Thursday, September 11, 2008 8:50:37 AM

@artcraft: this is an Opera Mini blog. Opera Mobile is a different product. No need to post off-topic stuff like that down

Oh, and the Opera Mini servers are in Oslo according to this.

Dark FurieFurie Thursday, September 11, 2008 11:07:58 AM

I know it's off topic but I just can't let that go unanswered. If you're considering the E90, take a look at the E71 first.

artcraft Thursday, September 11, 2008 11:37:17 AM

Hello,

I "deleted" my off-topic postings, viz. those which the Forum would allowed me to remove. (Some don't have the Edit/Delete option.)

Just noticed that the [US] and [EU] server indicators have disappeared on my page headers.

No big deal but it is a change in the URL display.

Regards, Douglas


cool trickABHINAV202020 Friday, September 12, 2008 2:55:22 PM

i will not use it. US pentagon has powers to store data entering and leaving us secretly...norway is a lot better

Dark FurieFurie Friday, September 12, 2008 3:41:15 PM

pssst The FBI is behind you. yikes

cool trickABHINAV202020 Friday, September 12, 2008 6:33:59 PM

BUT i have always out roasted them...

Dexter Mdextersgenius Saturday, September 13, 2008 4:43:53 AM

Um, where do I download this from? mini.opera.com/globaltest is redirecting me to operamini.com with the normal 4.1 client! :S

Dark FurieFurie Saturday, September 13, 2008 5:15:43 AM

Use your phone.

artcraft Saturday, September 13, 2008 1:43:26 PM

Has the [EU] and the [US] addition to the "Globaltest" Mini 4.1 title disappeared on other cell 'phones?

At first, I could tell if it were American or European, but that extra feature disappeared a few days ago. (Just wondering.)

By the way, someone at Opera in Oslo - in the days of Mini 3.x - told me that their servers were in Stockholm, even though it's a Norwegian company.

Of course, I have no idea "where" [EU] and [US] servers are located now, but was curious.

So far, "Globaltest" seems to operate the same as the regular 4.1, except that I get a prompt for delete/move YES-or-NO in the "test" version.

Regards, Douglas

cool trickABHINAV202020 Sunday, September 14, 2008 1:56:13 PM

the new version is not faster than norway's . it's just a bit slower. i did speed tests just now.that's cos opera has set up a much much smaller and weaker server in usa ..

artcraft Sunday, September 14, 2008 2:11:16 PM

Hello,

Since I can't tell if I'm running on [EU] or [US] at this point - see my posting above - I don't know which remote server is in use, right now.

On a PC I have "flying fingers" and Opera is one of few browsers which keeps up with me. (In the days of IBM typewriters and Composers, I typed so fast that there was a "catch up" buffer operation when the carriage return key was used.)

On this Nokia E90 Communicator (currently a wireless modem for my PC), I don't notice any difference between "Globaltest" and regular Mini 4.1, and I am still very fast with my index finger.

Is there some other way to gauge the speed of the Mini browser???

It's far, far faster than the Nokia default one and Blazer, back in my Palm OS days.

Am still using "Globaltest" more than the regular 4.1 in case some other changes occur - - or the {EU]/[US] designations return.

Regards, Douglas

cool trickABHINAV202020 Sunday, September 14, 2008 10:37:45 PM

it's just a bit slower as i said . so you can't notice unless you measure. install them on pc and not phone and then you can measure time difference.

artcraft Monday, September 15, 2008 12:14:10 AM

Thanks, re the speeds of the browser on the 2 servers.

Since I don't have to "wait" for URLs to set up - as with Chrome, IE 7 or SeaMonkey on the laptop - whatever Mini 4.1 speeds exist present no writing problems for me.

This is a WAP area with connections to a Dial-Up POP3 server, by the way, low tech when compared to other regions.

Cordially, Douglas

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