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A new release of Opera 10.50 is currently available for download for early adopters comfortable with running software in the very early stages of the development process. At the end of last week, Opera software released a second update to the next iteration of the Opera browser, coming one step closer to fully-fledged Alpha. However, at this point in time Opera 10.50 remains in pre-Alpha phase, with the Norway-based browser maker offering no specific deadline as to when the product graduates into Alpha, or any dates from the version’s timetable. Opera 10.50 is developed under the codename Evenes.
“So what do we have for you so far? Well we have upgraded our core rending engine slightly, done a little work on video support, improved certain aspects of performance, improved Windows 7 integration, fixed some mail issues and added support for IMAP COMPRESS, added 'inspect element' to the right click menu and finally of course, fixed a number of common crashes,” revealed Ruari Ødegaard, from the Opera Desktop team.
Only users of Windows platforms, Windows 7 included, will be able to take advantage of the new Opera 10.50 pre-Alpha release. Opera Software continues to be working on the browser flavors for Linux and Mac OS X. Ødegaard revealed that Unix/Mac builds should be available to testers by the end of the week. Opera 10.50 was released ahead of Christmas 2009, and was refreshed with Build 3186 in the first week of January 2010.
“Given that we still have much work to do, what we are really looking for from you is new issues and bugs that you notice. If you have reported a bug already and it isn't fixed, don't worry, we'll get to it but do keep in mind that this is work in progress. Also remember that whilst it is handy to discuss bugs with others in the comments below, reporting a bug consists of actually submitting a bug report through our bug report wizard,” Ødegaard added.
Opera 10.5 pre-Alpha for Windows is available for download here.
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Internet/Browsers/Opera-for-Windows-without-Java.shtml
Here are some key features of "Opera Web Browser":
Speed Dial:
· Now you have a new way to access your favorite Web sites. Just open a new tab to get your Speed Dial. It's easy to populate and addictive to use.
BitTorrent:
· You don't need a separate BitTorrent application to download large files. Simply click a torrent link and start the download.
Site preferences:
· Want to view a site in a different way or deny certain cookies? Want to block pop-ups on certain sites only? Right click and select "Edit site preferences".
Thumbnail preview:
· It is easy to have many tabs open at once in Opera. But exactly which tab had that video you wanted? Hover your mouse on any tab to see a thumbnail preview.
Fraud protection:
· Opera's advanced fraud protection protects you against web sites that try to steal your personal information.
Add your favorite search engines:
· Right-click on the site's search field and select "Create search" from the menu.
Widgets:
· Small Web applications (multimedia, newsfeeds, games and more) that make your desktop experience more fun. Use the Widgets menu to discover new widgets and access your favorites.
Transfer manager:
· View download progress and access all your downloads from one simple transfer manager window.
Password manager:
· The password manager remembers your usernames and passwords so you will not have to.
Mouse gestures:
· Opera supports mouse gestures, allowing you to perform certain movements with the mouse to access commonly used features.
Notes:
· Notes can be kept in conjunction with a Web site you want to refer to later, or remind you of any particular information you may like to review again.
Keyboard Shortcuts:
· Keyboard shortcuts - like mouse gestures - make your browsing faster and more efficient. Read more about all the keyboard shortcuts in Opera.
Tabbed browsing:
· Surf the Web easier and faster by opening multiple Web pages within the same application window
Integrated search:
· Search Google, eBay, Amazon and more with our integrated search field. You can also search directly in the address field using keywords
Fast Forward:
· Fast Forward will detect the most likely "next page" link and greatly simplify navigation in multi-page documents such as search results and image galleries.
Voice:
· The voice feature allows you to control Opera's interface by talking and to have documents read aloud. Voice is currently offered in English
Full-screen mode:
· The F11 key toggles Opera's projection mode, using the whole screen for browsing and, if a projection style sheet is present, displays 'slides' suitable for presentation.
Kiosk mode:
· Opera supports kiosk mode - a lock-down mode in which the browser can be used for unattended computers in public places.
Opera mail:
· Our built-in POP/IMAP E-mail client is a combined e-mail program, news reader, mailing list organizer and RSS/Atom newsfeed reader.
Standards support:
· We take pride in supporting all major Web standards currently in use, including CSS 2.1, XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.01, WML 2.0, ECMAScript, DOM 2 and SVG 1.1 basic.
Requirements:
· 20 MB of free disk space.