Opera to Stop Spoofing User Agent as IE

Anonymous reader writes "The Opera browser will stop spoofing its User Agent (UA) as Internet Explorer. Currently Opera, by default, spoofs its UA to identify itself as Internet Explorer. This is seen, by some, as a move that will bring up Opera's usage stats a bit higher, and will hopefully make webmasters, who develop IE centric sites, more aware of Opera."

Comments

Good

[koreaman]

Maybe this will keep Opera from bitching about how Firefox is "cheating", etc.

Re:Good

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm sorry to break this to you, but Firefox-zealots are the 13 year old whiners who know nothing and bitch around, boasting how "perfourment my AMD Athlon 64 overclogged runs with http-pipelining enabled and nvideo gfx omg lol i luv aimgirls!!!1!".

Opera-users tend to be over 16 and are mostly able to articulate themselves in ways that can be comprehended by non-retards.

Re:Good

[Anonymous Coward]

My point is facts above, pretty simple & enumerated with verifiable tests & FACTS:

1.) Opera is the better performer on MANY platforms vs. FireFox/Mozilla AND also Internet Explorer...

2.) Opera is probably the MOST multiplatform browser of them all from what I have seen.

3.) Lastly that it is the least attacked/shown with vulnerabilities.

Those are my points & why I think (KNOW, rather) that Opera's the BEST choice you have as far as performance, speed, & multiplatform capability.

(Tough to argue with facts/figures/test results)

----

Now, I even said I like FireFox!

I do have it installed here.

However, it has its share of problems which I noted in my last replies' "P.S." portion (e.g.-> GreaseMonkey recent 3rd party XUL addon holes, & that will be just the first imo, there will be more. I hope that this type of 3rd party development doesn't 'burn' the FireFox folks the way ActiveX DLL extensions did IE is/was my point there)

----

And, just so you know?

I have even helped the FireFox/Mozilla team out before spotting a bug for them & helping them to nail it down & patch it with specifics where & when I saw it, & in WHAT conditions.

(AND, this is a plus in their favor from me: They wrote me, THAT DAY, agreeing it was a bug, fixed it the NEXT DAY (fast), but most of all what impressed me? They came to the site it happened @ (www.ntcompatible.com) & spoke to the website owner (his forums board engine, pretty impressive for homegrown, apparently was the problem) & they corrected it together...)

I thought that was the coolest part. They gave us PERSONAL service! They're surfers making a browser FOR surfers like themselves. I cannot knock that.

So, AGAIN - I am NOT "anti-firefox" & again, even have it installed here!

* However, I DO watch it with what XUL extensions I install & how many (too many, or "slower" ones? & FireFox's loadtime becomes VERY slow).

ABOVE ALL? So you know in case you don't??

It is not a "Big Trick" to go into Opera's settings & change the Agent ID string either from the default IE one to others either... anyone can do it, & via a "point & click GUI-easy" interface the Opera browser provides, anyhow!

APK

P.S.=> And, if Opera doesn't declare itself as IE on some sites? Know what happens?? They won't let you view their pages apparently!

So... as others stated here - "they're damned if they do & damned if they don't"... only problem is, the 3 facts I put out?

Show Opera, based on facts/test results, really aren't "damned" @ all!

They're apparently actually producing THE "superior-weapon-of-choice" out there for surfers, which is a faster performer, std.'s compliant, multiplatform, & least vulnerable...

That's all!

From what I have read here? It seems to me, that it's the website masters apparently that need to be the ones NOT 'blocking' non-IE or non-FireFox/Mozilla browsers imo, just what many others here seconded (far more than that) in other replies here... take a read... apk

Re:Good

[Anonymous Coward]

Take your own advice ok?

I don't need or take pills of any type...

By the by:

Do you possess a Phd in medicine, psychiatry/psychology to back up that advice??

No, you don't?

Didn't think so!

(Besides, on the latter 2 (psychology/psychiatry)? They are just WAY to "imprecise" as sciences imo. @ least by comparison to the science we are discussing here on THIS topic - computers).

IMO, you're just another "I am out of facts for reply" human refuse machine that is into being either a:

1.) Human grammar/spellchecker

2.) Name tosser

3.) 10 below plant-life IQ & out of facts & frustrated replier that has to tell folks replies like yours was to myself - in other words, pitiful.

* :)

Grow up man... use facts, not b.s. like that!

APK

P.S.=> That, in case you haven't realized it in that reply of yours? Only makes YOU look really stupid... apk

Re:Good

[hkmwbz]

"The problem is that Opera fanatics can't stand criticism, and any time someone makes noises like their browser isn't the best in the world, or the company's employees don't walk on water, they get all defensive and claiming to be unfairly treated by others."

This is, of course, yet more nonsense.

You claim that Opera Software keeps whining about things, which was clearly a lie, as demonstrated by my picking apart your claims one by one.

You claim that Opera's fans are nuts, but Opera fans are not the ones who have a terrible reputation online.

You claim that Opera Software put down others, but you have clearly not seen this guy called "Asa", who works for MoFo, and who keeps lying and spreading FUD about Opera in his own blog. You use an interview with Opera's CEO where he finally speaks out after taking a lot of crap from Mozilla for a long time, and you call it "whining".

You prove my point, as you continue to put down Opera, and you conveniently ignore the fact that Mozilla and its fans are well known for low blows against others.

Where do the company's employees get all defensive and claiming to be unfairly treated? Since you claim that this happens all the time, then surely you must have a lot of evidence to pick and choose from!

Your comment about "Opera fanatics" is also odd, seeing as you are the one getting defensive because I pointed out how silly your comment about "whining" was.

Don't throw stones in glass houses. Before accusing an entire group of users of being "defensive", try to not get all defensive yourself when your BS is exposed.

That's great

[Anonymous Coward]

But when will they stop shipping with spyware?

Who the fuck uses Opera?

[Anonymous Coward]

Does anyone with a fucking clue actually use Opera?

Re:It's a Good Thing(tm)

[Anonymous Coward]

When 90% of the web-using populace is using it, yes there is.

Re:Not likely

[hkmwbz]

"Actually it reinforces my opinion that "flawed stats" are an excuse that allows Opera Fans over-estimate their marketshare by dismissing any emprical evidence that runs counter to their assumptions (just what you did)."

Empirical evidence actually shows that Opera is usually under-counted. There are several reasons for this, such as Opera caching more than other browsers, and other things.

"Opera's issue with stat packages are their problem, not mine, and one I'm glad to hear they are addressing."

Why are you bitching at me? I'm not the one who cited stats from my own site and pretended that they represent the entire world.

Re:Not likely

[hkmwbz]

Slashdot: "This is seen, by some, as a move that will bring up Opera's usage stats a bit higher, and will hopefully make webmasters, who develop IE centric sites, more aware of Opera."

You: "Not likely. Our stats package can supposedly detect Opera's spoofed UA, and I'm still seeing numbers like 0.2%."

Re:Good apk reply to nxtw in rebuttal

[Anonymous Coward]

nxtw, @ least YOU have and are (and I will give you this) a rational, intelligent replier to my initial statements of fact about Opera vs. IE/FireFox/Mozilla etc....

Unlike some of the other replies I received like this one:

http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=157615&thre shold=-1&commentsort=0&tid=95&mode=thread&pid=1320 9072#13209287 [slashdot.org]

BUT, on your replies? At least they were factual & had merit... I will attempt to express my viewpoints vs. your own which were PRETTY GOOD couters I have to admit!

I will just discuss it rationally, vs. each of your points...

Here goes, point by point:

1.) nxtw - "This would be important if everyone had slow computers. I remember using Opera way back on when I had a computer that needed a speed bost over IE/Netscape."

It matters man, IF you are a performance enthusiast (which I consider myself as) on a computer (cars too). Every bit helps.

Your argument is that of the Visual Basic crowd (which used to be my fav tool for development prior to discovering Delphi 1.0 in 1995): The CPU will make up for the slowness of the interpreted language speed vs. native code based operations.

Well, e.g.?

In Visual Basic Programmer's Journal issue Sept./Oct. 1997, entitled "Inside the VB 5 Compiler Engine", Delphi beat the snot out of BOTH Microsoft's MSVC++ &/or VB5... especially in MATH & STRINGS work, which EVERY program does... and by HUGE margins in those 2 of 10 or so tests.

Delphi lost by a PUNY margin in 2 of the tests, 1 to VB (ActiveX form loads which VB is HIGHLY optimized for, even beating its brethren VC++ here) & graphics form paints (small loss to VC++ here)... but, all else, even though they downplayed it? The charts showed that a language like Delphi outperformed VB & VC++ HUGELY, overall in 8 of the 10 tests.

To someone like myself? That turned me from being a TOTAL VB/Access coder to a Delphi coder when I tried it myself, & have not looked back since.

It is THAT much faster of a tool in development (RAD) & also the code produced by it... CPU's types notwithstanding. Measured by hi-res multimedia timers in each procedure (like basic subroutines) or functions, you can SEE it easily.

So, I have to go with that argument here vs. your point there. I am a developer & I want that "instant advantage" a better/faster RAD compiler like Delphi gives you.

By the by? Those test results were found again to be true circa 2000-2001 online in "Jakes Programming Efficiency Contest"... why do you think Mr. Bill Gates hired away Anders Hejlsberg from Borland to Microsoft to make C# & improve Visual Studio??

He knew he had to get him or be beaten by Borland losing the "mindshare" of developers like myself worldwide... which he did to an extent. I only use MS stuff when forced to on the job, which IS alot!

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2.) nxtw - "That was five years ago. But Firefox's performance is more than adequate on every system I used, e.g. Firefox and IE can load pages faster than they can downloads them."

Doesn't matter really, @ least not to someone like myself (way avid performance & efficiency enthusiast & developer)...

I know one thing though - start loading those XUL 3rd party addons for FireFox for that added functionality you like?

What happens to its speed then?? I already know:

I have 24 of them installed here... FireFox's loadspeed ALONE goes WAY down, especially during FireFox loadtime!

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3.) nxtw - "Opera may, however, provide a benefit on an old 266MHz system I have, so I plan on trying it out."

This is good, it is open-minded fairness from you, I appreciate that.

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4.) nxtw - "I don't see this as an issue. With Firefox, and what I've seen of IE6 SP2, it's not easy to install addons (ActiveX, XPIs.) Furthermore, the additional func