• Opera 12

    Opera 12

    Opera 12 has been released, bringing with it a series of enhancements that could help the Norwegian browser steal users from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer.

    The browser currently has less than two-percent share of a market where Chrome and IE each have around 32 percent, Firefox 26 percent and Safari seven percent. However, Opera chief executive Lars Boilesen said on Thursday that Opera 12 will provide something different from its bigger rivals.

    "You spend hours each day in front of a web browser," Boilesen said in a statement. "Shouldn't those hours be as fun and, occasionally, as productive as possible? We think so, so we made Opera 12 the smartest, fastest and most unique browser available. In a sea of browsers that look the same and act the same, isn't it nice to know that you can get something better? We think you deserve it."

    The new version debuted on Thursday, with one major new feature being the integration of Opera Extensions into the Speed Dial function. Superseding the Opera Widgets platform, the extensions allow what are effectively live widgets to populate the default tab.

    The screenshot above shows several of these extensions: one shows the TED talk of the day, and another displays local weather conditions.

    The Widgets platform is not the only legacy Opera feature to be turned off in the new version — Opera Unite, which effectively turned the user's PC into a web server, has also been dropped.

    Photo by: Opera

    Caption by: David Meyer

  • New themes in Opera 12

    New themes in Opera 12

    Themes have been introduced in Opera 12, using the same engine that powers Opera Extensions.

    Opera is providing access to hundreds of themes, ranging from the photographic to the abstract.

    Photo by: Opera

    Caption by: David Meyer

  • Certain sites can control your webcam

    Certain sites can control your webcam

    One standout feature of Opera 12 is the browser's support for the HTML5 Stream application programming interface (API).

    This provides a way for applications using the API to gain access to the user's webcam — but "always and only with your express permission", the browser maker was keen to point out in a statement. Only Opera supports the Stream API at the moment.

    The feature is demonstrated with the Photo Booth app pictured above, as well as with a Polaroid app and a game called FaceKat that lets the user avoid asteroids with their head.

    Photo by: Opera

    Caption by: David Meyer

  • New privacy features in Opera 12

    New privacy features in Opera 12

    The company has added new privacy features to Opera 12, in particular by revamping its security badge system.

    The redesigned badges are intended to show the user "how websites treat your data and personal information", Opera said, by giving a quick view into sites' location information and webcam use.

    Photo by: Opera

    Caption by: David Meyer

  • Crash protection in Opera 12

    Crash protection in Opera 12

    Many of the changes in Opera 12 are to do with performance.

    As pictured above, plug-ins run in their own process in the new version. This means that plug-ins that crash don't take the rest of the tab with them.

    Opera 12 is also faster than its predecessors and "64-bit support on Windows and Mac gives better performance on more advanced machines", the browser maker said.

    Photo by: Opera

    Caption by: David Meyer

  • Different languages in Opera 12

    Different languages in Opera 12

    The new version of Opera also introduces support for right-to-left text and the Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, Urdu and Kazakh languages, bringing the total number of supported languages to 60.

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    Photo by: Opera

    Caption by: David Meyer

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Screenshots: Opera 12 launches with HTML5 webcam support

The Norwegian software firm Opera is going for differentiation in the latest version of its browser, supporting the HTML5 Stream API and revamping its extension system

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Opera 12

Opera 12 has been released, bringing with it a series of enhancements that could help the Norwegian browser steal users from Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer.

The browser currently has less than two-percent share of a market where Chrome and IE each have around 32 percent, Firefox 26 percent and Safari seven percent. However, Opera chief executive Lars Boilesen said on Thursday that Opera 12 will provide something different from its bigger rivals.

"You spend hours each day in front of a web browser," Boilesen said in a statement. "Shouldn't those hours be as fun and, occasionally, as productive as possible? We think so, so we made Opera 12 the smartest, fastest and most unique browser available. In a sea of browsers that look the same and act the same, isn't it nice to know that you can get something better? We think you deserve it."

The new version debuted on Thursday, with one major new feature being the integration of Opera Extensions into the Speed Dial function. Superseding the Opera Widgets platform, the extensions allow what are effectively live widgets to populate the default tab.

The screenshot above shows several of these extensions: one shows the TED talk of the day, and another displays local weather conditions.

The Widgets platform is not the only legacy Opera feature to be turned off in the new version — Opera Unite, which effectively turned the user's PC into a web server, has also been dropped.

Caption by: David Meyer

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