Opera 11 will have Extensions

[bill]

This has been a real sticking point for people wanting to use Opera as their main browser. The extensions offered on other browsers simply make a lot of tasks easier. A lot is built into Opera already, but this addition could be a real turning point.

Opera 11 will have Extensions [my.opera.com]

Good news, everybody! Today, at Up North Web, Opera Extensions was confirmed to be a feature of Opera 11.

What are Opera Extensions?

Extensions in Opera is a way for you to easily add new functionality to your Opera browser experience. Developers can easily create extensions using open standards (HTML5, CSS, JavaScript) and supported APIs.

Extensions will be based on the W3C Widget specifications and this is being considered for an Open Standard effort.

Will Opera Extensions be similar to extensions in other browsers?

Yes, Opera Extensions will be similar in some ways and we have tried to make it easy to port extensions from certain browsers.

[jkovar]

I hope this works out better than those retarded widgets they tried before. The only Opera widget I still use today is the screen ruler.

[JAB Creations]

HOORAY! It will be called "Opera 11" and not something short-bus like "Opera PS4". :)

- John

[mattglet]

What would lead you to believe it would be called anything other than Opera 11?

[kaled]

Extensions will be useful but really, they are a geek thing that Joe Public doesn't care about much.

Whilst Opera is very good, it can feel quite retarded. For instance, in Firefox, you can open a bookmark in a new tab by holding down the control key, similarly you can open the previous page in a new tab. Also you can drag bookmarks around and edit/delete them with a right-click (rather than opening a bookmark organiser). Also, in Firefox, a right-click on the forward/backward buttons brings up the window history. Also, some features in Opera are well buried, such as how to change the spell-check dictionary. Indeed, the properties/setup dialogs in general need to be looked at - they're a complete mess (they're so bad that they could have been designed by Microsoft).

As for the name Opera 11, personally I think a change would be a good idea. Keep the name Opera but, if version 11 is intended to be revolutionary call it something like Opera Warp, or Opera Starlight - anything would be more evocative than 11 - that's just plain blandsville. Also, a decent name might inspire the developers - they definitely need something. (I'd start with a kick up the bum but perhaps that's just me.)

In fact, having thought about it, maybe Opera Crescendo would be a good choice for a new name.

Kaled.

[BradleyT]

Do they still force banner ads upon you for using their browser?

[mattglet]

It's just amazing how many people still think there are ads in Opera. Really, just amazing.

They removed banner ads once-and-for-all on September 20, 2005 (version 8.5). v8.5 changelog [opera.com]

It goes to show how much that negative view of the browser really stuck with people.

[pkaster]

I hope this works out better than those retarded widgets they tried before. The only Opera widget I still use today is the screen ruler.

Widgets aren't really relevant since they have a different purpose than extensions. Widgets are out-of-browser web applications, whereas extensions are in-browser add-ons.

[graeme_p]

Does Opera have enough market share for people to write extensions for it?

Firefox should rename extensions "apps" and the part of the Mozilla site from which they are installed an "app store", then Joe Public will get it.

Linux distros should do the same with repositories.

[mattglet]

enough market share

Definitely. Check out some usage stats [techcrunch.com]

[Fotiman]

Wow, talk about spinning a story to sound good. The truth, though, is that Opera has very little market share, hovering around 2% for their desktop browser over the last 3 months [gs.statcounter.com]. The question was a sound one... is 2% enough market share for developers to want to write extensions for it?

[JAB Creations]

I think people will write extensions for Opera though obviously there won't be as a large number of extensions for Opera as there are for Firefox.

Opera is a pretty solid browser and while it's my second choice as a browser I dislike hearing people bashing it or snubbing it as if it doesn't count as it has helped me numerous times when other browsers would not catch errors.

- John

[mattglet]

hovering around 2% for their desktop browser

Specifically talking about the desktop browser, you're absolutely right. I guess what I was trying to portray is that it's not as if only 2% of the overall browser market uses Opera. Because it has such popularity with their mobile products (Opera Mini & Opera Mobile), I'm betting that because people (probably) think highly enough of those products - and now have a way to build extensions - that more people than you think will contribute.

[Fotiman]

Sure, but this thread is about Opera 11, which is a totally different browser than Opera Mini or Mobile. Has there been any talk of adding extensions to those browsers?

[pkaster]

That Opera has a 2% market share is wrong. It actually is so different depending on which part of the world you are talking about that it's quite useless to talk about global stats. In some places Opera is the #1 or #2 desktop browser.

But mobile browsers are far from irrelevant. Opera's mobile browsers use the same engine. So ignoring mobile user numbers just because it doesn't match the "Opera has a low market share" meme is not very useful.

[bill]

I have tried out several extensions on Opera 11 beta, and so far I like what I see. They only have about 150 or so now, but they have a lot of useful ones.

LastPass

Redirect to HTTPS

Analytics blocking

NoFollow highlighting

Screen ruler

Translate tool
(Not all of these are the actual names)

They're getting there. I may be able to cut down my use of other browsers and spend more time on Opera now.