Opera 7.5

some interesting new features

[amznVibe]

Opera 7.50 Preview 1 Build 3494

download:
Windows: http://snapshot.opera.com/windows/o750tp1_3494.exe
linux: http://snapshot.opera.com/unix/7.50-Preview-1/intel-linux/en/

What's new:
User interface redesign
Panels improved
Start panel
Reintroducing M2
RSS Newsfeeds
Opera Chat
Spelling checker
Learning message filter
Override Browser Stylesheet

[bakedjake]

amzn: you try the M2 in it yet? Any improvement over 7.23?

[GaryK]

Thanks for the info and the link.

Is the official plan to skip directly from 7.23 to 7.50?

[amznVibe]

detailed changelog [people.opera.com]

Folks, do *NOT* install this as an upgrade, install it into a different folder or risk losing things/functionality.

[GaryK]

Has there been any word on why they appear to be skipping 7.3x and 7.4x to go directly to 7.50?

[amznVibe]

I would make an easy guess the version leap is because of the numerous changes...

Just dealing with the interface, this is what they have done:

This release includes a prototype design of Opera's user interface, which has been revamped to make it cleaner and more intuitive. The ad banner has been reformatted into an ad bar at the top of the Opera window. The main menus have been restructured so they aren't as cluttered. There's a new "Tools" menu for items such as managing cookies, contacts, and Wand. All toolbar customizations are now done through the Customize toolbars dialog. The main and personal bars have been turned off and the most used web page buttons have been moved to the address bar. Any toolbar can be set to "Show only when needed" (most useful for the Navigation and Page bars).

As part of the user interface improvements, Opera's panels are now more functional. The Hotlist has been renamed to Panels. The panel selector now defaults to the left and is always visible. Clicking panel names or pressing F4 toggles the display of Panels (ESC closes Panels). Panels can be maximized using Shift+F4, by clicking the maximize icon, or by double clicking on the panel selector. Maximized panels act as replacements for management dialogs used for things like contacts and bookmarks. All panels have toolbars and a panel selecting button at the top. Custom panels have toolbars to allow Reload (F5), zooming, and SSR display of panels. Also, the "X" to close Panels is back.

One of the user interface prototypes in this release is the Start panel, a portal to Opera and the web. Accessible from the Panel selector, the Start panel is always maximized and allows you to easily go to a web site, search the Internet, or search your e-mail. This is only a taste of things to come!

[GaryK]

Thanks. But I still think the changes are worthy of making it 7.30. Nevertheless, I have updated my browscap.ini file and for those of you who use it it's available for download at the site in my profile. Thanks again for the heads-up.