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Opera Releases "Bork" Edition

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the something-in-the-meatballs dept.

David Arnesen writes "Two weeks ago it was revealed that Microsoft's MSN portal targeted Opera users, by purposely providing them with a broken page. As a reply to MSN's treatment of its users, Opera Software today released a very special Bork edition of its Opera 7 for Windows browser. The Bork edition behaves differently on one Web site: MSN. Users accessing the MSN site will see the page transformed into the language of the famous Swedish Chef from the Muppet Show: Bork, Bork, Bork! Here you can find the press release and download link!"

10 of 636 comments (clear)

  1. Re:screenshot? by jason99si · · Score: 4, Informative

    Check it out here:

    http://poriss.com/bork.gif

  2. Re:Juvenile & extrememly bad idea by Raphael · · Score: 4, Informative
    But this sets a bad precedent. This is the first time (that I'm aware of) that a browser manufacturer intentionally made a browser that does NOT show what the server is sending to me.

    This is exactly what they are trying to prove: any browser manufacturer could do this kind of things and everybody would lose in the end. Here is a quote from the Opera press release:

    "This is a joke. However, we are trying to make an important point. The MSN site is sending Opera users what appear to be intentionally distorted pages. The Bork edition illustrates how browsers could also distort content, as the Bork edition does. The real point here is that the success of the Web depends on software and Web site developers behaving well and rising above corporate rivalry."

    So they are fully aware of the consequences. They are releasing this as a joke to show how silly this could be and also to raise the awareness of this potential problem.

    --
    -Raphaël
  3. Re:Huh. by ag3n7 · · Score: 5, Informative

    Read the thread from the last slashdot discussion. They were intentionally sending erroneious content based on the User String of the Opera browser.

  4. Re:Childish by howcome · · Score: 5, Informative

    This is untrue. Opera6 displays the page which is sent to MSIE6 just fine. You can see screenshots on this page.

    Håkon Wium Lie
    CTO, Opera Software

  5. Obligitory Screenshot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative
    http://www.amoebasoft.com/madcamel/bork.gif

    Thanks rdesktop!

  6. You appear not to have read the story by horza · · Score: 4, Informative

    Clicking on the link and reading the press release, it clearly states:
    MSN now allows access to users of Opera 7, but is still targeting and sending users of earlier versions a broken page.

    Phillip.

    --
    Property for sale in Nice, France
  7. Google has done similar things lately... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    Another cute, funny, and "non-lawsuit" response was recently made by Google. If you search for a domain name which has been doing a ton of referer log spamming - for example this domain or this one - a random "SPAM" page shows up near the top of the results.

    This is definitely intentional on Google's part, as the offending referer spammers have no relation to the SPAM-oriented pages (and certainly are not mentioned or linked there). It's like a digital middle finger to the referer spammers.

    Gotta love when the geeks take precedence over the lawyers in the corporate food chain :)

  8. Not only the MSN page is in Bork... by new_breed · · Score: 5, Informative

    Check out the copyright stuff in 'about Opera'..

    "
    Zee oothur ooff thees sufftvere-a is Defeed M. Gey. Bork Bork Bork!
    Cupyreeght (c) 1991, 2000, 2001 by Loocent Technulugeees. Bork Bork Bork!

    Permeessiun tu use-a, cupy, mudeeffy, und deestriboote-a thees sufftvere-a fur uny poorpuse-a veethuoot fee-a is hereby grunted, prufeeded thet thees inture-a nuteece-a is inclooded in ell cupeees ooff uny sufftvere-a vheech is oor incloodes a cupy oor mudeefficeshun ooff thees sufftvere-a und in ell cupeees ooff zee sooppurteeng ducoomenteshun fur sooch sufftvere-a. Bork Bork Bork!

    THIS SOFTVERE IS BEING PROFIDED "ES IS", VITHOOoT ENY IXPRESS OoR IMPLIED VERRENTY. IN PERTICOoLER, NEITHER THE EOoTHOR NOR LOoCENT MEKES ENY REPRESENTETION OoR VERRENTY OoF ENY KIND CONCERNING THE MERCHENTEBILITY OoF THIS SOFTVERE OoR ITS FITNESS FOR ENY PERTICOoLER POoRPOSE. Bork Bork Bork!
    "

  9. Re:Good idea! by Gordonjcp · · Score: 4, Informative
    Simple enough to do. Add the line
    127.0.0.1 goatse.cx 198.247.175.96
    to your hosts file. You'll either get whatever your machine is serving up as a web page, or it will time out. Simple innit?
  10. enough is enough by stinky+wizzleteats · · Score: 5, Informative

    I have fucking had it with all this "voice of moderation" karma whoring.

    IIRC the source of the problem was a single incorrect figure in the style sheet. NO possiblity whatsoever of a typo there then.

    Okay, let me get this straight. You develop a completely seperate css file to work against the user agent string sent by Opera browsers, despite the fact that Opera can easily handle the default stylesheet. So your characterization of a single incorrect figure is incorrect:

    diff site.css site-win-ie6.css |wc -m
    2627
    My research indicates that you are off by two thousand six hundred twenty six characters. In this completely fucking seperate stylesheet, you copy shared values by hand rather than copy/paste and place -30px (a value which, in the css universe, is insane) rather than 23px for the standard production stylesheet. This is a typo in your universe?

    Can any opera users confirm if the style sheets are still messed up ?

    From TFA:

    MSN now allows access to users of Opera 7, but is still targeting and sending users of earlier versions a broken page.

    Moderators, please, stop mistaking skepticism for insight.