Opera Free as in Beer
nekura writes "Just last month, Opera was celebrating their 10 year anniversary by giving away free registration codes; now they've trumped that by offering Opera for free. Quoth their site, 'Opera has removed the banners, found within our browser, and the licensing fee. Opera's growth, due to tremendous worldwide customer support, has made todays milestone an achievable goal. Premium support is available.' Anyone who was on the verge of switching before now has virtually no reason not to."
A majority of giftware on the market today is malware, the creators "paid" through marketing or market analysis.
Opera should look into a similar strategy as Real Networks, adapting their business strategy with the changing paradigm of software production. If not, evolution will ensure their short lifespan. It really is that simple.