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Opera 9.5, named "Kestrel", carries on the Opera hawk names tradition. Previous versions of Opera 9.x have been dubbed "Merlin." The next version of Opera, development of which has just commenced, is code-named "Peregrine," another falcon.
For the various performance and relaibility tweaks in this version as detailed in Opera's release notes see the changelog lists below.
I've been using Opera 9.5, foirst in alpha and beta releases, since last September, but Opera did a major interface revamp for the 9.5 final release, gtiving the browser a fresh, up-to-date look, more "Mac-like" in appearance with improved conformity to Apple Human Interface Guidelines. I like the red/green Stop and Reload page buttons. Reportedly, Opera's boss has described the browser's new look a" inspired by high-end audio equipment and Scandinavian design." The Volvo or Ikea of browsers I guess. Opera's deep-feature set and solid performance nature does remind me a bit of a Volvo.
Opera 9.5 introduced a new and faster version of Opera's proprietary Presto browser engine. This adds support for the newest cutting-edge Web standards and the upcoming Web developer. With its re-written core code, Opera 9.5 contains more than a year's worth of speed, standards and performance improvements. It's very fast, although so are Firefox 3 and the latest Safari builds. I haven't done any formal bakeoffs, but I have to say that Firefox 3 does seem to have a distinct speed advantage on some sites, such as the Applelinks news posting CGI. However, for most pages there's not much in the difference, and these browsers are all very speedy.
Opera 9.5 is notably quicker to start up than previous versions of Opera, which is especially welcome as that had been one of Opera's weaker points. Opera claims that version 9.5 is more than 2x faster than Opera 9.2 in rendering JavaScript and HTML, and faster handling third party plug-ins.
Opera's already excellent Download Manager is a carry-over from version 9.2, but deserves mention since it's IMHO so much better than any other browser's handling of downloads, with excellent progress monitoring and full control, including resumable downloads after a pause or shutdown, and no-hassle multiple downloads
Opera's Zoom controls are among the best if not THE best, with a handy pull-down menu and button in the lower right corner to resize Web pages. If the page is too wide for your screen, simply hit Fit to Width and Opera will resize the Web page so you avoid horizontal scrolling. I also like Opera's implementation of the sidebar, which stays out of your way until bidden to appear with a button-click, and hiding again efficiently.
Opera has a built-in email client, which has been tweaked in a bunch of ways for better speed and improved responsiveness in version 9.52, plus a a new mail backend and new IMAP support. Opera's email client now runs in a separate thread, so it won't slow down simultaneous web browsing.
Other new features in version 9.5 include AppleScript support, improved font handling, improved image quality when zooming, respect for the Full Keyboard Access setting in Mac OS X System Preferences, full history search, improved site compatibility, access for everyone, improved platform integration, preview of bookmark and speed dial synchronization, a rewritten ECMAscript engine, some HTML 5 support, and improved IMAP reliability in the email client module.
The browser's Opera Link feature syncs your bookmarks and Opera's unique Speed Dial between your computers and mobile phone. Log in with your Opera username, and your data will always be accessible.
Security is enhanced as well. In Opera 9.5, the Fraud Protection feature is enabled by default, detecting and warning you about fraudulent Web sites automatically. Support for Extended Validation certificates (EV) provides added assurance and trust for secure Web sites.
New in version 9.5.2:
Opera 9.52 is a recommended security and stability upgrade.
Changes since Opera 9.51:
User Interface
Added several improvements to the icons and skin
Added a bookmark path to autocompleted bookmarks in the address bar to better distinguish them from visited pages
Added a Help button to "Engine Init() Failed" error message on start-up to inform users about a problem
Mail, News, Chat
Fixed an issue where "Mark all as read" in Opera Mail would also mark as read some mails not visible in the current view
Fixed the creation of the POP AOL/aim.com account
Fixed a problem with POP accounts where message bodies were not downloaded
Added work-arounds for problems with various POP servers
Fixed mail appearance when Opera is installed in a folder with a "#" character in its name
Fixed a problem that could occur when opening mail notification popups on a secondary monitor
Fixed a problem connecting to online.no
Note: Users experiencing problems with online.no should change their incoming server to use Plaintext authentication
Fixed a problem updating signature when switching accounts
Fixed a problem where UI would not update after unsubscribing an IMAP folder
Fixed an issue where IRC would disconnect users without informing them
Display and Scripting
Fixed an issue with history navigation: an iframe with document.write is not added to history anymore
window.close() now functions after invoking a context menu - now also works in widgets
Fixed a URL encoding issue: javascript: URLs
Fixed an issue with lists not displaying correctly when text is rendering in RTL
Fixed a problem where content blocker adds a generalized block rule when using the Details button
Security
Sites can no longer change framed content on other sites: see our advisory
Fixed an issue that could allow cross-site scripting, as reported by Chris Weber of Casaba Security: details will be disclosed at a later date
Prevented insecure pages from showing incorrect security information, as reported by Lars Kleinschmidt: see our advisory
Feed links can no longer link to local files: see our advisory
Feed subscription can no longer cause the wrong page address to be displayed: see our advisory
Miscellaneous
Fixed a problem where Gmail would not load
Fixed the opening of files in external applications when disk cache is off
Fixed an issue with low quality on YouTube video previews
Embedded YouTube videos should work more often now without having to reload
Fixed RealPlayer on BBC
Fixed a small memory leak in the BitTorrent code
Fixed some translation errors
System requirements:
Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later.
System support:
PPC/Intel
Opera is freeware
For more information and to download, visit:
http://www.opera.com/products/desktop/
http://www.opera.com/download/
General information about Opera:
http://www.opera.com
Charles W. Moore
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