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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!"

23 of 636 comments (clear)

  1. How utterly useless... by YoJaUta · · Score: 5, Funny

    as that's virtually the content of msn.com already.

  2. I love this by TwistedKestrel · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I wish far more companies would respond like this, instead of instantly suing each other until one of them dies a bitter death.

    1. Re:I love this by cioxx · · Score: 5, Funny

      here

      Please don't mod me up. ;)

    2. Re:I love this by SoSueMe · · Score: 5, Funny

      It actually took me a moment to spot the difference.
      I guess reading Slashdot for a couple years has me imune to speeling earroors.

    3. Re:I love this by cel4145 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      That's great!

      But I think what we really need is a show of solidarity. Mozilla and Safari, among others, should release a Bork edition asap.

    4. Re:I love this by howcoome · · Score: 5, Interesting

      We have an office in Sweden, and besides, it was just a bit of fun.

      Microsoft were not trying to fix layout bugs in Opera 6 - there weren't any. Also, we contacted them several times requesting them to fix their site so it displayed properly in Opera 7. They had done nothing about it until today.

      Håkon Wium Lie
      CTO, Opera Software

    5. Re:I love this by Moloch666 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I think what this does in my mind is give Opera some personality. You know there are real people there. With this light on things people may be more inclined to actually buy Opera. They will know their money is going to a group of real people, not some dirty money grubbing corporation. It's just a thought on things, I like Opera maybe I'm partial, or that I'm just a little hungover.

      --
      Understanding is a three-edged sword. -- Kosh Naranek
    6. Re:I love this by Iamthefallen · · Score: 5, Funny

      As a Swede I have to agree, throughout modern history we Swedes have suffered terribly. This Swedish chef thing is just the latest in the anti-vikingism seen around the world. We gave the world quality music like Abba and Ace of Base, not to mention we brought you quality furniture through Ikea, and crappy cellphones from Ericsson. And what do you do, you laugh at us and mock us and create obviously evil things like this... It's to the point now that I can't hear someone mention Swedish meatballs without crying... My wife offered me Swedish massage and I shrieked and I immediately went fetal. No more I say! We Swedes have suffered enough.

      Signed:
      The Swedish Non-Confrontational Front for the Invasion of Norway, Or The Invading By Norway, Either One.

      PS, Norweigans smell.

      --
      Wax-Museum Fire Results In Hundreds Of New Danny DeVito Statues
  3. Good idea! by Some+Bitch · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Can we have an anti-goatse version? Maybe one that brings up a page saying 'Hello Slashdot newbie, you have been linked to some sick shit by someone, trust us when we say you do NOT want to look.'

    1. Re:Good idea! by guacamolefoo · · Score: 5, Funny

      Telling someone not to look at something is the surest way to get them to look at it. Besides, at least goatse is funny. The funniest part is that someone took those awful goatse pictures as part of a series of photos that were evidently meant to be erotic.

      In any case, I find things at AOL, MSN, and Yahoo to be just as offensive as goatse.

      Basically, to all you goatse haters, get a sense of humor for fsck's sake. And for you moderators with no sense of humor, I have karma to burn. Give it to me baby.

      GF

      --
      Lots of petrified grits
  4. An Open Letter to Opera Software by Lethyos · · Score: 5, Funny
    I was taken back to learn that only Windows users benefit from this new technology. Here's an open letter I sent to Opera Software, inquiring about bringing this enhancement to other platforms.

    I'm very excited about the new Bork technology in Opera, however I am disappointed to find it is not available for Linux. I am a little distressed that Windows users get the superior browser, while Linux users are stuck with yesterday's news. Does Opera Software plan on bringing this enhancement to other platforms? I hope in the future all platforms will be equally supported with enhancements to the Opera browser. Many thanks!


    You can send this letter to Opera Software using their feedback page.
    --
    Why bother.
  5. 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.

  6. 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

  7. Re:standards? by epsalon · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Oh, but it is! As the msn.com site does not pass validation, it can be treated any way the browser chooses.

    --

    Make even shorter URLs - 8LN.org

  8. Now all we need... by hyphz · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is a browser that detects HTML errors in the pages it reads. If it finds any, it will display/fix up the pages just like all current browsers do, but it will also add a big banner at the top of the page that says "WE DO NOT KNOW HOW TO WRITE WEB PAGES PROPERLY."

  9. Surreal... by Some+Bitch · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ok, the Funny grandparent post is now Insightful, the Complaining parent post is now Funny, can we have a new surreal moderation option? +5 Fish!

  10. 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 :)

  11. I predict... by kinnell · · Score: 5, Funny

    Microsoft will respond to to this insult by releasing "Microsoft Internet Explorer Yosemite Sam Edition", which will deface the opera corporate website in a witty manner. Except it'll have a bug, and will also deface the KDE webiste. The konqueror team will respond in their next version by replacing every 'c' on the MSN website with a 'k'. Microsoft will take this as an assult from the open source community, and will render the mascots on both the KDE and Mozilla sites with comedy spectacles and moustaches. Lynx users will be served graphics only versions of MSN with lots of frames. Mozilla will respond in kind, by rendering MSN upside down. Applewill by default not be able to provide a browser which does not offend anybody, and will be reluctantly drawn into the frey. It will be the browser wars all over again, but this time more bitter, and somehow, more hilarious. It will escalate out of control, until the entire internet is rendered and defaced in a comical fashion. Internet Obfuscation Protcol (IOP) will become an ECMA standard, but each browser will maintain its own incompatible version. Everyone will go back to using phones and fax machines.

    --
    If I seem short sighted, it is because I stand on the shoulders of midgets
  12. To all the naysayers... by ndogg · · Score: 5, Insightful

    For all those who called this "childish" or "unprofessional" or "juvenile" or any such names--firstly, RTFA, and secondly, lighten up, they didn't put this in their main version. It's a special purpose, no-other-good-use offshoot of the main version. You can still download the regular Opera without this "feature." If they did put this in their main version, then I would agree with all of you, but they didn't. This is merely a parody, no worse than any portrayed on Saturday Night Live. In a month or so, we'll all have had our laugh, and forgotten the entire event.

    So, if I may so repeat myself, lighten up!

    --
    // file: mice.h
    #include "frickin_lasers.h"
  13. 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!
    "

  14. finally MSN is usable by mrycar · · Score: 5, Funny

    In other news, slashdot users all agree, The Bork edition makes MSN usable.

    Opera, the Bork Edition does what MSN editors have failed to do, make MSN a site that people want to visit.

    Joe M Soft said, "Wow after the Bork Edition was released, web hits increased over 10000%. I can't believe all of the positive comments I have recieved."

    In other news, Microsoft signs the Swedish Chef to be Editor at Large.

    --
    Gator/Claria is Spyware.
  15. My treat! by JediTrainer · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I am proud and privileged to have been a part of this. I got an email from Hakon just a few days ago, asking if they could use my JavaScript encheferizer (ported from someone else's Java version) on "one of their pages". I had no idea what they intended to do with it, but nevertheless said sure! No problem.

    I'm rolling on the floor laughing my ass off now! Haha! You're my heroes!

    --

    You can accomplish anything you set your mind to. The impossible just takes a little longer.
  16. 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.