(http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/03/opera-1051-linux.jpg)
I've been impressed with Opera 10.5 (and now 10.51) on Windows, so with the Ubuntu 10.04 beta now installed in VMware on my system it was time to check it out in Linux. Fortunately for me (and anyone else who wants to try it), Opera has just released new snapshot builds for Linux and they're now available for download in easy-to-install .deb and .rpm packages.
http://snapshot.opera.com/unix/snapshot-6252/
The bottom line: it's still fast as heck. The last Opera 10.5 Linux build I played with was a very early one, and it was still pretty well on par with 10.10 as far as performance goes. Not so anymore -- it's every bit as speedy as its Windows cousin, and it whooped up on Google Chrome's latest beta build on Sunspider.
I did try to compare the two browsers on Futuremark's Peacekeeper, but Opera 10.51 failed to complete the test. It died around the 2 minutes remaining mark every time. That's a shame, because I'd like to have results from a more full-featured test (if you've got 'em, please share in the comments!
As far as how the browser feels, it's light, fast, and packed with features and customization options. If you're running Linux, check out the latest from Opera and share your thoughts!
For more information on the release, check out Opera's official blog post.
http://my.opera.com/desktopteam/blog/2010/03/20/new-opera-unix-packages-arrive-deb-rpm-tar
Tags: 10.51, beta, carakan, linux, opera, snapshot