Opera to Put User's Face in Times Square

An anonymous reader writes "Opera has announced that they will be putting one lucky user's face up in Times Square during the New Year's Eve celebrations. The ABC SuperSign will display the winner of of Opera's most recent contest that only requires a submission of your picture and the reason why you should be chosen as their New Year's mascot. Nearly one million partygoers will witness the super sized fan tribute with the Opera browser logo on the 585 square foot (that's 54 square meters!) screen."

Comments

Screen Resolution

[biocute]

For me, I would rather have my photo on opera.com for a month.

By the way, does anyone know the screen resolution of this thing? I checked here but it didn't say much, and Wiki says it's often very low resolution.

Re:Screen Resolution

[Anonymous Coward]

Typically, large video displays have lower resolution than you might think. For example: The physical pixel size of the Samsung display in Times Square is ~500px X ~600px

You'd actually be pretty amazed how good something can look at such a low res.

Re:Screen Resolution

[askegg]

At 500x600 lines it's better than NTSC.

Re:Screen Resolution

[Fred_A]

What I don't get is what's so lucky about having your face plastered on Times Square.

Or is it supposed to go like this :

Rockfeller type : Wow your face is on Times Square, you must be lucky, here's a cheque for ten millions !

Pretty Girl : Wow your face is on times square, I want to have steamy sex with you !

Bill Gates : Damn, this geek's face is on Times Square, I have been enlightened, let's make all our products open source !

RIAA exec : this guy's face is on Times Square, let's let him decide what our policy should be from now on !

Flying Spaghetti Monster : Your face is on times square, I shall touch you with my noodly appendage...

Oooh, lucky !

Whoever wins...

[ari_j]

I hope she's hot.

Re:Whoever wins...

[Anonymous Coward]

Naah, it'll be * * Beatle-Beatle...

Re:Whoever wins...

[Anonymous Coward]

She will be. Also, smiling, successful-looking, pretty but not super-modelish, young, and caucasian.

We still encourage other users to submit their photos. This will allow us to focus on improving our product, because it lowers costs on our next ad campaign.

I.M.Moral
PR Department
Opera

Re:Whoever wins...

[Anonymous Coward]

I sure hope Adriana uses Opera.

Re:Whoever wins...

[Anonymous Coward]

My picture:

: )

Why should you pick me?
I'm hot.

Re:Whoever wins...

[Meagermanx]

I think it's safe to say we all know what your wallpaper is set to.

Re:Whoever wins...

[knightinshiningarmor]

Anyone else notice that everyone in this thread posted as an Anonymous Coward?

Re:Whoever wins...

[Anonymous Coward]

"I'm hot."

If you had just submitted a link your pr0n site......

Re:Whoever wins...

[kosibar]

Yeah, most of the women on Getty Images are good looking.

Oh, wait, this isn't Microsoft?

Re:Whoever wins...

[muszek]

May someone enlighten me what's wrong with this **Beatle-Beatle guy?

Re:Whoever wins...

[RenHoek]

**Beatle-Beatle is a user who spams slashdot with crappy outdated submissions to try and get linked as much as possible to his crappy site so that he gets more money from the banners.

It wouldn't be so bad if he was actually providing a service to slashdot users if he provided good submissions, but we get 2/3 year old stuff about how fingerprint scanners can be fooled..

In the meantime, REAL submissions get hosed. That is what pisses us off.

1) Losing good stories to crappy ones
2) Obvious link whoring

Re:Whoever wins...

[Anonymous Coward]

>I hope she's hot.

Marilyn's giant neon figure was in the Times Square for some time if I can remember correctly. Who can be hotter than her?

That chick from accounting...

[infinite9]

So I guess it will be someone's O-face? Oh! Oh!

Re:That chick from accounting...

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't you have a meeting with the Bobs?

Post Picture

[Rac3r5]

Along with a small caption....

to arrange a date, please call this number: ... ... ....

There is a hotness threshold...

[IAmTheDave]

...that I have to assume I just do not meet. Not sure that my nose pores will look that good at a half meter across each.

Re:There is a hotness threshold...

[Rosco P. Coltrane]

Not sure that my nose pores will look that good at a half meter across each.

They'll just look like dead pixels...

Re:There is a hotness threshold...

[Anonymous Coward]

The winner's blurb will read, "So I should, like, be the Opera mascot, because, like, my boobies are almost bigger than my head!" Unfortunately, that set of boobies will belong to a large, large man.

This time, the opera ain't over until the fat dude sings.

problem?

[Anonymous Coward]

ok this is lame

Re:problem?

[hesiod]

Despite the terse message, this AC is exactly right, IMO. I've never looked into the price of something like this, but it seems like an extremely immense waste of money to me. Of course, I'm also not a not very knowledgeable about marketing: maybe this will end up being a great investment.

So anyway, my question is this: does anyone know of any examples of such adverts (not just New Years, but stuff like the Super Bowl) that have ended up being good investments, besides beer and the like? In particular, companies related to technology in some way.

Re:problem?

[Stormwatch]

does anyone know of any examples of such adverts (not just New Years, but stuff like the Super Bowl) that have ended up being good investments, besides beer and the like? In particular, companies related to technology in some way.

1984.

Geek beauty contest?

[bubulubugoth]

Now, thats innovation... ;)

and then what? they'll usurp firefox?

[passingNotes.com]

the big banner should just say, "we used to cost money, but now we're free even though many web sites don't display properly, but do note that we invented lots of cool ideas that were adopted by all of our competitors and most people don't know this but most of our core marketing team is in the southern USA area and also we have this mobile browser accelerator that nobody even really uses much because it only works on like ten phones"...and the winner of this contest will be: ideally thin, caucasian and with a hip "opera user look" that the company can deploy in a larger integrated campaign. mark my words: no fat people, burn victims or others in that category of "couldn't work for abercrombie" will win...in fact, my guess is that the winner will be employed by either starbucks or abercrombie, age 22-26, female (tech influencers right now), shoulder length hair that's dark, thin and with a natural look light on cosmetics and wearing only solid colors on the billboard because it will create better contrast with the opera logo...

Re:and then what? they'll usurp firefox?

[worb]

I'm hesitant to reply to this troll and give it more exposure than it needs, but on the other hand, a few corrections/different points of view probably won't hurt...

"the big banner should just say, "we used to cost money, but now we're free even though many web sites don't display properly,"

That is true for all non-IE browsers. Until v1.5 Firefox couldn't even display the old Slashdot correctly, but you often had to refresh to make it work properly.

"but do note that we invented lots of cool ideas that were adopted by all of our competitors and most people don't know this but most of our core marketing team is in the southern USA area"

Opera Software is based on Norway (Northern Europe).

"and also we have this mobile browser accelerator that nobody even really uses much because it only works on like ten phones"..."

Not sure what this is all about, but Opera Mini works on most phones available today.

"and the winner of this contest will be: ideally thin, caucasian and with a hip "opera user look" that the company can deploy in a larger integrated campaign. mark my words: no fat people, burn victims or others in that category of "couldn't work for abercrombie" will win..."

Let's see what happens. Opera isn't exactly known to do it the traditional way. Heck, the CEO doesn't even allow himself a big fat pay check even though he certainly deserves it. He could have been a millionaire, but drives around in a rusty old car.

"in fact, my guess is that the winner will be employed by either starbucks or abercrombie, age 22-26, female (tech influencers right now), shoulder length hair that's dark, thin and with a natural look light on cosmetics and wearing only solid colors on the billboard because it will create better contrast with the opera logo..."

Actually, the person will be chosen based on submissions posted on the my.opera.com community site. They will not choose a professional model, since this isn't Opera's style. See above about how even the CEO is really down to earth.

They don't like to brag, so this marketing campaign is really unlike Opera to begin with, so my guess is that they'll choose someone who looks decent enough, but probably not someone who could have been a model anyway. Just an average person who doesn't make Opera look really bad.

Basically, this is meant as a "thanks" to the community that's been supporting Opera through all these years. Opera just turned 10, remember.

Oh well, this probably won't get through since bashing Opera seems to be the popular thing to do these days...

Re:and then what? they'll usurp firefox?

[StateOfTheUnion]

I couldn't agree more . . . And to make matters worse, I just went to the forum where you can see uploaded pictures for the contest. If the 7 (yes that's right . . . seven) people that uploaded pictures as of the time that I visited the forum are any representation of Opera users, then I think that this ad campaign isn't going to get the demographically perfect person . . . Or at least not the demographically perfect person from a marketing perspective (stereotypically youthful, saavy, successful, and of course good looking with a look that implies professional or student in a way that would inspire people to use opera). And I have to agree with the parent post that the winner will probably be female . . . except there were no female pictures when I checked.

Of course opening your eyes, smiling, and focusing the camera would have helped . . .

Example 1 Example 2 Example 3

Re:and then what? they'll usurp firefox?

[AndroidCat]

Hmm... Does Microsoft still have the advertising use rights to Start Me Up?

Re:and then what? they'll usurp firefox?

[hkmwbz]

"I couldn't agree more . . ."

With what, exactly?

"And to make matters worse, I just went to the forum where you can see uploaded pictures for the contest. If the 7 (yes that's right . . . seven) people that uploaded pictures as of the time that I visited the forum are any representation of Opera users, then I think that this ad campaign isn't going to get the demographically perfect person . . ."

You are assuming that Opera is looking for the "perfect person". This isn't a huge corporation we are talking about. It's a tiny company from Northern Europe which isn't exactly known for its bragging.

You obviously don't know anything about Opera Software. They are doing this as a thank you to their community, and they've just turned 10. Yes, the company has been around for ten years, and only now are they starting to do this kind of thing.

Cynicism is good, but you are just proving your ignorance. Opera keeps in touch with its users. How often do you see Mozilla employees/representatives answering support questions over at MozillaZine?

Oh, and there are lots more than seven people there.

Re:and then what? they'll usurp firefox?

[StateOfTheUnion]

come on . . . get off your high horse . . . any company willing to purchase time on the jumbotron in Times Square on New Year's Eve is looking for a BIG publicity stunt to launch them into the big times . . . The fact that you think that this is merely a simple "thank you" from a happy company that is in touch with its customers speaks more of your naivete than it does of the strategies of Opera. Of course a big thank you is exactly what Opera's senior leadership want the userbase to think because they don't want to alienate their userbase.

But closer examination of their strategic intent indicates that they have bigger plans. Big jumbotron on New Year's Eve smells a lot like Monster.com buying commercial airtime during the superbowl. They are looking to kickstart an infective marketing campaign through a very prominent ad on a very prominent medium at a very prominent time.

Where is Opera compared with the other browsers? A niche player that serves as a focused differentiator (Read up on Classical Strategy (Michael Porter's five forces)). How can a niche player increase its market share? Only by becoming a differentiator or low cost leader . . . It's quite apparent that this marketing campaign is testing the waters to see how easy (or hard) it would be for Opera to shift gears.

If we consider the Boston consulting Group Matrix (BCG matrix), we can plot FireFox as a question mark (upper right quadrant) making moves to the upper left quadrant (star). It's logical to assume that Opera may be wondering if it can do the same thing . . . becuase it is likely that Opera currently hovers somewhere betweeb dog and star (between upper right and lower right quadrants).

In other words, Firefox has successfully broken Microsoft's stranglehold on the browser. Because customer's are now more likely to believe alternative browsers do possess adequate levels of Garvin's eight dimension of quality (Performance, Features, Conformance, Reliability, Durability, Serviceability, Aesthetics, and Perceived Quality), it is likely that this creates an opportune time for another browser to test the waters to see if it can go mainstream. It is quite apparent to the casual observer with elementary understanding of classical business strategy that this is a marketing stunt to gain data on the receptiveness of the marketplace.

To think otherwise is to have bought into Opera's marketing agenda, to not uderstand classical strategic theory (I have intentionally ignored resource based systemic, and processual frameworks for strategies because I do not have the data to comment), or to simply be naive.

Re:and then what? they'll usurp firefox?

[DeafByBeheading]

Actually, I think it would be an interesting move if they went with someone who's *not* in this young-hip demographic--it could actually work well for them. Someone that looks like Joe Internet User could draw people who are concerned about these IE security issues they keep hearing about, won't have IE7 as an option (aren't like 90% of people still running Win98 or 2k--okay, maybe not 90%, but it's significant; I'm on 2k myself), and just in general want a friendlier UI. A friendly, intelligent-but-not-overly-computer-savvy-looking man or woman of about forty-something. Yeah, probably still white and pleasant-looking... I don't know much about marketing, but I could see Opera trying to push a more down-to-earth image rather than the typical "teh new hotness".

Re:and then what? they'll usurp firefox?

[twollamalove]

Well, I mean if FF users would skip the hype for second and try Opera, they might.

But, then how would you all fill that void you currently use to search for extensions every time you need a new feature?

Wow, I'm kind of a dick. I actually think Firefox is pretty cool. But, in all fairness, Opera is just so much nicer. I guess I shouldn't stoop to the browser bashing. Next time, I'll leave that to cats like you.

Re:and then what? they'll usurp firefox?

[rapidweather]

many web sites don't display properly...
That caught my eye, and I thought of DRUDGE REPORT 2005
Occasionally, I cannot get the page to fully load. Can't figure out why.
I use Opera 8.51 for linux, Mozilla Firefox 1.5, it seems to happen in both of them.

Re:and then what? they'll usurp firefox?

[Lord_Dweomer]

"They don't like to brag, so this marketing campaign is really unlike Opera to begin with, so my guess is that they'll choose someone who looks decent enough, but probably not someone who could have been a model anyway. Just an average person who doesn't make Opera look really bad."

Ah, but you see, Opera has put themselves in a slight bind. They promote themselves as a real grass roots company who's completely down to earth and real. So now they do this big press event, and people are skeptical that they will put a "normal looking" person on there versus an attractive one. So what will happen is if they put a beautiful person on there, their fans will be pissed because they will feel they have been cheated and didn't stand a chance of getting their own picture up there. If they put a normal looking person up there, most fans will be fine, but there will surely be a vocal minority who will claim that person is way too "perfectly" normal to be on there, and "what does Opera have against ugly people or people with down syndrome, or people with disfigurements etc...etc...etc..." which will really be their way of saying "ooo, I'm so mad they didn't pick me, it must be because I'm too ugly....OPERA HATES UGLY PEOPLE!".

Of course, this is all hypothetical...

Re:and then what? they'll usurp firefox?

[Lisandro]

Preach on, bro! It's well known that Firefox nerds all look like male strippers... :)

Re:and then what? they'll usurp firefox?

[MutantHamster]

"Until v1.5 Firefox couldn't even display the old Slashdot correctly, but you often had to refresh to make it work properly. "

Whoa, that's freaky. I'm using IE and I often have to refresh to get Slashdot to display properly. The internet's really come full circle I guess.

Re:and then what? they'll usurp firefox?

[Anonymous Coward]

Let me guess - first year marketing student?

Re:and then what? they'll usurp firefox?

[glitch23]

And I have to agree with the parent post that the winner will probably be female . . . except there were no female pictures when I checked.

Surgeries are very non-invasive nowadays and recovery is very quick. There is still time.

Re:and then what? they'll usurp firefox?

[nutshell42]

blah, blah, blah. All your big theories, matrices and dimensions do nothing to refute the GP (which said that they're not looking for the perfect model but an honest fan). Putting an everyday face up there as a thank you to their community would do much more to differentiate them and draw attention than beautiful, perfectly-styled model #2355567. The very fact that they'd stay true to their roots would have the side effect of being a pretty good publicity stunt.

IOW, most of what you said is correct but it's orthogonal to the GP's argument not diametrically opposed =)

Re:and then what? they'll usurp firefox?

[passingNotes.com]

"this troll" - spare me. you sound restless. and i must have been all wrong when i researcher their marketing employees in texas handling all of americas marketing and desktop product marketing...here's the number, check it yourself before you imagine that i got it wrong: 512-647-7145 - i know that they're in norway. that's old news. they make it matter from the states (by matter, i mean 'minds and attention' - like this nyc publicity stunt being handled in the texas office)...
as for browsers not catching up, i'd like to imagine that opera consistently ranks high with page display issues. higher than other browsers. missing data for that, just a hunch (some smud). ...and opera mini works great on psions, which is great news for all 4,000 owners - versus moving it toward a platform like palm or another usa platform of choice for integrated devices (excluding windows and nokia models)....
and heck, that ceo doesn't need a fat paycheck - why bother when you can collateralize your equity with a major european lender (tetzchner holds 17,482,110 shares and 200,000 options in the company)....as for the winner and what that winner looks like, let's just wait and see, okay? i'm not opera bashing, i'm just not using it, so relax before you run with the flag when nobody's even organized the game yet.

Re:and then what? they'll usurp firefox?

[instarx]

Blah, blah, blah is right. My how smart you are with all that jargon. How impressed am I? Not at all. Spouting a jargon-filled diatribe to an audience not familiar with it illuminates the state of your ego more than providing any useful information. If you even have a point, which you may very well not, you have simply made it incomprehensible.

There really should be another category added to the slashdot scoring: Self-important Twit. You rate a 5.

Re:and then what? they'll usurp firefox?

[drsquare]

Why would they be trying to appeal to their fans, the people who already use it?

Re:and then what? they'll usurp firefox?

[hkmwbz]

"and i must have been all wrong when i researcher their marketing employees in texas"

Ah, students. Think they know everything. "Ooh, I read something in a text book, and now I'm an expert!"

"i'd like to imagine that opera consistently ranks high with page display issues. higher than other browsers."

Not really. Firefox couldn't even display Slashdot correctly until recently, and Slashdot's one of the main Firefox fan bases. How's that for "page display issues"?

"and opera mini works great on psions, which is great news for all 4,000 owners - versus moving it toward a platform like palm or another usa platform of choice for integrated devices"

LOL! How clueless can you be?! Opera Mini works on just about any phone with Java support. Which today means just about all of them. That's more than four thousand. We are talking billions of devices here.

You really need to get a clue before commenting on things.

Re:and then what? they'll usurp firefox?

[hkmwbz]

Because those are the people who have been supporting Opera through the years. Ignoring your fans is a bad thing, as Opera knows. God, I sure hope you aren't working in customer relations or anything like that...

Re:and then what? they'll usurp firefox?

[drsquare]

Putting someone attractive on an advert is ignoring the fans? Maybe Opera users are ugly or something.

The real question

[AKAImBatman]

Will this be like the previous "Swim the Atlantic" bit? "Oh no! Someone pulled the power cord on the screen, so we can't do it! But we REALLY tried! See? And don't forget to download Opera!"

Meh.

Re:The real question

[FireballX301]

Yeah, I believe that, in Greenspan's word, would have been 'irrational exuberance'. It started as a joke until the comment was leaked (intentionally or unintentionally), but it wasn't as if anyone truly expected him to swim to America (and stop by his mother in Iceland no less).

But there's no indication that this stunt is a joke.

Re:The real question

[NemosomeN]

Got a link for any information on that? I never heard anything about it being cancelled, heh. I just read the original plan.

Re:The real question

[AKAImBatman]

http://www.opera.com/swim/

How is that a prize?

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe I'm just a hopeless introverted nerd but I don't know if I can think of any reason you'd want this to happen to you.

Re:How is that a prize?

[IANAAC]

Everybody wants their 15 minutes of fame. Silly, yes, but believe it or not, the majorty of people DO like the spotlight.

That said, I'm older and no longer crave the spotlight. When I was in my 20s? You bet I wanted to be in the spotlight.

I guess...

[deathbyzen]

he'll never be the HEAD of a major corporation.

Interesting marketing

[mcgroarty]

I'm not sure how Opera makes any money with its small user base, with as much money as they spend on advertising. First they gave away like 250 cars, and now they're subsidizing this Opera Book Club thing.

Re:Interesting marketing

[Anonymous Coward]

You have not yet been modded funny, for the time being I'll assume you are a total ignorant.

dear god

[eyrieowl]

i look around the office, and i hope, and pray, that no one here uses Opera....

Re:dear god

[infinite9]

You think that's disturbing? I first read the title as "Oprah". I'd really rather not see a 54 square meter Oprah.

Re:dear god

[BushCheney08]

Why? You don't like to see her scaled down?

I already submitted

[ImaLamer]

this profile of myself but they rejected it for some reason.

Something about competition and being human or something...

Re:I already submitted

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, talk about Prejudice. They rejected my profile over a friggin number. My pic isn't as good as yours... :)

Re:I already submitted

[daniel_newton]

the legend of goatse has made me too afraid to visit links such as these.. I guess Ill never get the joke

Re:I already submitted

[Krach42]

I might check it out after work, but I'm way too scared to click on an arbitrary tinyurl link now, too.

Lord knows it's going to be something that I'll regret, and I don't particularly want that on the company web proxy.

Re:I already submitted

[J0nne]

I dared to click it.
It's the mozilla logo (the red dinosaur one)

this is the real url:
http://www.quantrimang.com/images/mozilla.jpg

I don't know why he used tinyurl, as it seems kind of pointless to me. Maybe it's one of those bait-and-switch trolls, where they switch the image after they get modded up.

Re:I already submitted

[md17]

After clicking that link I really thought that link was going to take me to the goat sex site. Thank you for not being cruel!

Re:I already submitted

[daniel_newton]

Ahh that is funny. Cheers
Maybe he used tinyurl so the punchline would not be revealed (mozilla.jpg)

Re:I already submitted

[hesiod]

It's a bad sign that we have to thank someone for linking to something relevant -- or at least non-offensive. Oh well, it was funny anyway.

Re:I already submitted

[ImaLamer]

Hey, you win the prize!

Thanks for playing the game kids

Re:I already submitted

[NereusRen]

No clue why he didn't just make it a regular link.

Re:I already submitted

[darkmeridian]

That link is to an image of the Mozilla Firefox dragon icon. Pretty funny.

Bullseye

[gooru]

This sounds like it'll be the biggest dartboard ever for one unlucky user. I sure don't want my face on there!

Will Both....

[ehaggis]

Opera users be submitting photos?

Re:Will Both....

[The employee can cho]

I didn't see the subject for the parent and thought this was an ebonics insult of Opera users.

Re:Will Both....

[SomeGuyTyping]

Read the title with the post - it'll help you out a bit

Re:Will Both....

[NanoGator]

"Opera users be submitting photos?"

Will FireFox have a similar event forcing both those Opera users to become really noisy on Slashdot?"

Re:Will Both....

[Anonymous Coward]

Read the body of the post you replied to, it'll help you out a bit. (Hint, it's written in past tense, meaning he's seen the subject since...) ;P

Re:Will Both....

[hesiod]

Yes, both of them, PLUS all the Mozilla users that are arrogant enough to want their face shown on a 20-ft high screen.

I'll be signing up as soon as I have a picture! :)

Misread Heading

[Anonymous Coward]

At first I thought it said "Oprah to put user's face in Times Square."
Creepy lady...

Probability

[MutantHamster]

"Opera has announced that they will be putting one lucky user's face up in Times Square during the New Year's Eve celebrations."

Awesome! So if you do use Opera there's already like a one in twenty chance your face will get picked.

Re:Probability

[NanoGator]

"Awesome! So if you do use Opera there's already like a one in twenty chance your face will get picked."

I'm amazed Slashdot has such a short memory. Years ago, this joke about Mozilla was blasphemy.

Why?

[JMUChrisF]

Why would I want that?

I don't want millions of people telling me how funny looking I am. It's not like I'd get a high paying job out of it or my own TV show on ABC.

Doesn't sound appealing to me, but I guess I'm not vain enough.

Re:Why?

[ZachPruckowski]

Well, if you are a hot girl between 18 and 28, and you are trying to get noticed in terms of modelling or something, and you download Opera, you have a great shot at winning. Five minutes worth of work in order to qualify for the contest? Heck, someone like that could just ask any geek, and they'd do the download for her. Easiest beauty contest ever.

Here's my entry

[mcgroarty]

It starts with [my photo here] and then says that Opera should put my face on the Times Jumbotron thing because that's the only damned way they're going to pry Safari and Saft out of my hands. :)

Opera's good software - I tried it and liked it well enough - but maybe someone can tell me what makes it good enough to ditch what ships with my OS? Don't start by trying to tell me what I have isn't good enough. Can anyone sell me on some positives?

Re:Here's my entry

[Rude Turnip]

It's optimized for browsing pr0n, so I hear.

Re:Here's my entry

[SquadBoy]

Yeah. I don't really get this either. On my iBook Safari ships with the OS and is just a joy to use *and* it's based on an OSS engine. All of the good.

On other OSen. I use Firefox. OSS, works really well, and has everything I want.

I just don't get Opera. It doesn't come with anything. It's harder to install than Firefox on Linux and OpenBSD. Not as good as Safari on OS X and on windows well I just don't get why I'd want to trade one fully closed browser for another. Also I've yet to have anybody tell me what it brings to the party that Firefox doesn't.

Only thing I wish is that all of the above would use Konq's cookie management code. But the majority of people would likely disagree with me on that. (Note that I'm *not* a KDE user but the few times I've used it I've been really impressed by Kong's default cookie settings.)

Re:Here's my entry

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah. I don't really get this either. On my iBook Safari ships with the OS and is just a joy to use *and* it's based on an OSS engine. All of the good.
"A joy to use" is subjective. And OSS is more important to some people than to others.

On other OSen. I use Firefox. OSS, works really well, and has everything I want.
Firefox has everything you want because you installed lots of extensions. They often conflict with each other, are incompatible with newer versions, or plain don't work.

I just don't get Opera. It doesn't come with anything.
Opera comes with a web browser, database-driven (read: fast) mail client (POP and IMAP), RSS feeder, Usenet reader, IRC client, and note taker.

It's harder to install than Firefox on Linux and OpenBSD.
Both Opera and Firefox are available as tarballs, debs, and rpms.

Not as good as Safari on OS X and on windows well I just don't get why I'd want to trade one fully closed browser for another.
Again, this is a matter of taste. I happen to love Opera's speed and innovation.

Also I've yet to have anybody tell me what it brings to the party that Firefox doesn't.
It's all integrated, so you don't have to shuffle between Firefox and your mailer. It's significantly faster at rendering pages and going back and forth. The mouse gestures and keyboard shortcuts are to die for. The interface is customizable; not so with Firefox.

Only thing I wish is that all of the above would use Konq's cookie management code. But the majority of people would likely disagree with me on that. (Note that I'm *not* a KDE user but the few times I've used it I've been really impressed by Kong's default cookie settings.)
I think you'll find Opera's cookie handler comparable.

Re:Here's my entry

[Anonymous Coward]

Amen.

FF now has most of the "trail clearing" niceties of Opera, but nothing beats Opera's ability to open many, many, tabs and not bog down in memory-leak hell. (seriously, FF people, what the hell is up with the memory handling??)

Also... for you uninitiated, mouse gestures are the key for one-handed surfing.

Re:Here's my entry

[hkmwbz]

Uh... You're kidding right?

"I just don't get Opera. It doesn't come with anything."

What do you mean doesn't come with anything? "Isn't bundled with any OSes", or "doesn't have any features"? Opera has loads of useful features, if that's what you are talking about. And the good thing is that they don't get in the way if you don't want them/need them.

"It's harder to install than Firefox on Linux and OpenBSD."

Opera is available for FreeBSD, not OpenBSD, and on Linux the installation depends on your distribution. It's got nothing to do with Opera itself since the installation uses standard packages for various distributions. If your distribution is user friendly, the installation of Opera for that distribution is user friently.

"Not as good as Safari on OS X"

I disagree. It's smaller and faster, and has a lot of useful features that simply beat Safari, hands down.

"and on windows well I just don't get why I'd want to trade one fully closed browser for another."

Because Opera is smaller and faster, and it even has a better security record than Firefox.

"Also I've yet to have anybody tell me what it brings to the party that Firefox doesn't."

It's smaller, faster, and innovative. It also gives you lots of useful features without having to mess around with buggy extensions that get bolted on and clutter up the UI. Opera's UI is well thought out and everything simply works.

Re:Here's my entry

[Aranth Brainfire]

You can't simultaneously say it is harder to install than firefox AND say that it doesn't have any features Firefox doesn't have. To get 75% of Opera's features in Firefox, you have to install an extension. And unless you already know exactly what extensions you already want, this process takes time (and is annoying as heck, in my opinion).

If you actually want to know what features Opera brings, visit http://opera.com/features/ and look around a bit. Nobody really cares enough (I hope) to waste their time recompiling a list for you.

For me, it really just boils down to the philosophies behind them. Use Firefox if you really care that much about everything being open source or fiddling with your browser. Use Opera if you really don't care and just want something that works with advanced features.

Re:Here's my entry

[SquadBoy]

"What do you mean doesn't come with anything? "Isn't bundled with any OSes", or "doesn't have any features"? Opera has loads of useful features, if that's what you are talking about. And the good thing is that they don't get in the way if you don't want them/need them."

Bundled with OSes.

Neither install is as easy as FF on Debian or OpenBSD.

Of course that's a matter of taste. I don't see "smaller and faster" as a reason to go to a closed browser.

Re:Here's my entry

[SquadBoy]

By harder to install I mean it takes more than becoming root and typing.

apt-get install firefox

or pkg_add ftp://ftp.openbsd.org/pub/OpenBSD/3.8/packages/amd 64/mozilla-thunderbird-1.0.6.tgz

Also didn't mean that it didn't have any features. I mean that it didn't come bundled with any OSes. Now by my own admission I haven't used Opera but I have yet to have somebody point me to a kiler feature. It may very well have such things. I just haven't heard of them.

Having said that I use pretty much a plain FF everyplace I'm not using Safari. So maybe I'm just not the target audince.

Re:Here's my entry

[Kelson]

The interface is customizable; not so with Firefox.

This is one of those "give me a break" complaints. Firefox users say Firefox is more customizable than Opera, and Opera users say Opera is more customizable than Firefox. And for some reason, they all believe it.

This criticism -- whichever direction it's being used -- needs to die a lonely death to make way for more valid complaints.

Re:Here's my entry

[XnavxeMiyyep]

Nobody really cares enough (I hope) to waste their time recompiling a list for you.
We'll see about that!

Opera features
Efficient surfing
Tabbed browsing: Surf the Web easier and faster by opening multiple Web pages within the same application window.

Integrated search: Search Google, eBay, Amazon and more with Opera's integrated search. You can also search directly in the address field using shortcuts (e.g. "g" for Google).

Pop-up blocking: Opera lets you control whether to block all pop-ups, or open only the ones that you have requested.

Fast Forward: Fast Forward will detect the most likely "next page" link and greatly simplify navigation in multi-page documents.

Password manager: Opera's password manager remembers your usernames and passwords so you will not have to.

Sessions: Save a collection of open pages as a session, for later retrieval, or start with the pages you had open when Opera was last closed.

Mouse gestures: Opera supports mouse gestures, allowing you to perform certain movements with the mouse in order to access commonly used features.

Quick preferences: Pressing F12 displays Opera's 'Quick preferences' menu to easily switch settings such as browser authentication, pop-up and cookie preferences.

Notes: Notes can be kept in conjunction with a Web site you want to refer to later, to remind you of any particular information you may like to review again.

Voice: The voice feature allows you to control Opera's interface by talking and to have documents read aloud. Voice is currently offered in English and runs on Windows 2000 and XP.

Security and privacy
Security bar: Opera displays security information inside the address bar, located next to the padlock icon that indicates the level of security present on a site.

Encryption: Opera supports Secure Socket Layer (SSL) versions 2 and 3, and TLS. Opera offers automatic 128-bit encryption, the highest available security of any Web browser.

Delete private data: Opera can be configured to clear the history and cache when exiting, to protect your privacy. Any kind of private data can easily be erased at any time.

Cookie control: Opera gives you detailed control of what cookies to accept and reject, such as allowing for different set-ups for different servers.

Mail and Chat
Opera mail: Opera's built-in POP/IMAP E-mail client is a combined e-mail program, news reader, mailing list organizer and RSS/Atom newsfeed reader.

IRC chat: Communicate with people all over the world using Opera's IRC chat client. Chat privately or in rooms, or share files with your friends and family.

Customization
Drag and drop: Using the 'appearance' dialog you can make Opera look almost any way you want. Move buttons and search fields, add and remove toolbars, and so forth.

Skins: Opera skins can give your browser the look you want. Make the browser your own by giving it the icons and buttons of your choice.

Language: Opera's user interface is translated into a multitude of languages, and the language can be changed on the fly.

Accessibility
Zoom: With Opera you can zoom the contents of any Web page from 20%-1000% using the zoom dropdown or the + and - keys.

Text size and colors: Text size and link styling can be changed using Opera. Text color and background color can also be customized.

User style sheets: Opera comes with a set of ready-made style sheets, including accessibility style, that can be used to override a Web site's style set completely.

Web development
Standards support: Opera prides itself in supporting all major Web standards currently in use, including CSS 2.1, XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.01, WML 2.0, ECMAScript, DOM 2 and SVG 1.1 tiny.

Small-screen mode: When displaying a page in small-screen mode (Shift+F11) you can see how it will look on a mobile phone or other small-scre

Re:Here's my entry

[Anonymous Coward]

Changing the interface in Firefox requires writing an extension or hacking a XUL file. To change something in Opera, just right-click on it.

Re:Here's my entry

[Anonymous Coward]

Try right-clicking on the Firefox toolbar sometime. You'll be surprised to see a "Customize" menu option.

Re:Here's my entry

[hesiod]

Please excuse my ignorance, but I haven't had any problems with firefox opening up to 10 or so tabs with no adverse consequences, that I can tell. Is there a problem I am not noticing? Are there any particular circumstances I have not met, or is this a troll (not to be accusatory)?

Re:Here's my entry

[el americano]

I usually mod up any mention of the FF memory leak, because it bugs the hell out of me, but since you're AC, I won't. Anyway, it's not annoying enough to start using Internet Exploder, but maybe it's time for an Opera test drive. I hope mouse gestures isn't the big draw, because rather than gimmicks I want a reliable, standards compliant, minimalist browser that works without bad features getting in the way.

Re:Here's my entry

[Anonymous Coward]

TEN?? Either you are quick off the draw, or you missed the particular "application" we were discussing.

Also, the memory leak in FF is cumulative. Leave it open long enough, and it tears itself apart. No matter how many tabs you have open.

Re:Here's my entry

[Lisandro]

I use both, even though i make no attemps to hide my love for Opera... but, objectively, yes, both are as customizable. Opera is just much more easier to customize. Not that i fiddle much with the defaults, which are quite nice (except for placing the close button for each tab on the tab itself... WTF?).

Re:Here's my entry

[Lisandro]

For me, it really just boils down to the philosophies behind them. Use Firefox if you really care that much about everything being open source or fiddling with your browser. Use Opera if you really don't care and just want something that works with advanced features.

    Exactly. I said it before and i'll say it again: Opera has, hands down, the best UI of any browser i've tried, and any software package as of lately for that matter. Firefox is an extremely nice browser aswell, but i keep gravitating back to Opera. It's just much more confortable to use.

    And, can we please dispense with the Opera bashing? It was adware before, and 100% free now. Hell, if it were open source, Firefox would have a tough competition among the /. crowd. I bet most of the people that trash Opera hasn't spent more than 10 minutes with it, if any.

Re:Here's my entry

[Lisandro]

I don't know about Debian or OpenBSD, but on Gentoo is as easy to install as any other package:

                  emerge opera

    It doesn't have weird requirements (it uses QT, but on the default package it's compiled statically) and works right away from a clean install. What i'm trying to say, it's not more difficult to install than any other binary package. And this is on a source-based distro...

Re:Here's my entry

[hesiod]

Firefox? The particular application I have open at this very moment? Perhaps uninterestingly, I have exactly 17 tabs open right now, with no (noticeable) adverse consequenses. 18, if you don't include opening the parent link, of course. I am a somewhat-regular user of fark.com (not sure if I should admit that) which, by its nature, allows itself to opening MANY pages at once. If you would prefer, I can list every link I have open at this exact moment, for reference:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=170983&op=Repl y&threshold=1&commentsort=0&tid=95&mode=nested&pid =14243431 (which is this /. reply page)
http://mail.google.com/mail/
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/state/h c-11154432.apds.m0309.bc-ct--statdec11,0,3518180.s tory?coll=hc-headlines-local-wire
http://www.helenair.com/articles/2005/12/11/nation al/a02121105_02.txt
http://www.pcomelet.com/articles1details.asp?NewsN um=40
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pag ename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&pubid =968163964505&cid=1134344411957&col=968705899037&c all_page=TS_World&call_pageid=968332188854&call_pa gepath=News/World
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/johnleo/20 05/12/12/178651.html
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AtXC1y50oxBO 7AL1gup9Q5.8vLYF?slug=ap-heat-vangundyresigns&prov =ap&type=lgns
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-12-12-brit ish-inferno_x.htm?csp=34
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051212/od_uk_nm/oukoe _uk_india_bangalore;_ylt=AosQuO8FvVJ0Vd3RebwSpmVva A8F;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051212/ap_on_el_pr/de mocrats_one_community;_ylt=AsioggEugZtPPwnu2ul_1Ii s0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3OXIzMDMzBHNlYwM3MDM-
http://www.wfmy.com/watercooler/article.aspx?story id=53576
http://www.wytv.com/news/regional/2075952.html
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/132 7686.cms
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/technology/5517017 /detail.html?r

Re:Here's my entry

[Anonymous Coward]

Memory leak != crash.

Are you saying FF doesn't have a memory leak?

In FF, if you keep opening and closing tabs, you will eventually eat up all your physical memory. At this point Windows will start maniacally swapping, and it will take forever to load a page.

Given that you're a farker (groan), and male (I won't even check this, I'm pretty sure), you've probably seen links to ixtractor (nasty, smutty site, don't even THINK of going there). For the sake of this argument (and well within the context of the GP) we will say that you did, indeed, visit this place.

Now. This webpage has many pictures. In sets. Which are accessed by links. You go through opening these links in new tabs, and then close them. Do this for more than a couple pages (a page being defined as a list of links), all the while CLOSING the tabs once you've "finished" with them, and you will invariably find that FF will eat through all your physical memory, and windows will begin to hit the hard drive incessantly, dragging performance LITERALLY to 486 levels.

So, the GP is correct. Opera IS the best browser for porn.

Leaving porn aside for a moment. This also happens to people who use Amazon's Mechanical Turk. FireFox MUST be restarted every 10-15 minutes, or you get dragged into the dirt.

Re:Here's my entry

[hesiod]

You are correct that memory leak does not equal a crash, and that I can only go by personal experience. HGowever, I am still in the same session as my previous post. Looking at my memory usage, Firefox has apparently claimed 77MB of my available RAM, in its roughly 40 opened tabs, which does seem excessive. However, performance has not declined at all. It is just as fast as when I first openned it, and isn't that the true measure?

Fortunately, or unfortunately, I do not know what ixtractor is, nor do I have any intention of going there, but if it has an extraoridinarily high number of images per page, it is still extraordinary.

Yes, memory usage has dropped, but to compare it to "486 levels" is either dishonest or beyond my own usage. While I cannot calim to be among the "extreme" end of usage, I am FAR for "usual" usage.

I cannot say that Opera usn't best used for porn, since that isn't my personal interest, but to say that Firfox is "full of memory leaks" is, in my experience at least, bullshit. I have been using Firfox for MUCH more than "10-15 minutes" without issue. Not theoretical, actual.

Re:Here's my entry

[Eradicator2k3]

"You can't simultaneously say it is harder to install than firefox AND say that it doesn't have any features Firefox doesn't have."

Ooh, I love a challenge...let me try...

*ahem* I hereby simultaneously say that Opera is harder to install than firefox (sic) AND that it doesn't have any features Firefox doesn't have.

There...did it. So when do the folks from Guiness start calling?

Re:Here's my entry

[SquadBoy]

Yeah. Well the inclusion of non-free stuff would be one of the many reasons I avoid Gentoo. :)

Re:Here's my entry

[SquadBoy]

Nah. I don't have any extensions installed. But sometimes I think I'm the last person left who wants a browser that well broswes the web and not a whole lot else.

I meant bundled with any OS. That was badly worded and I wish I could take it back. Having said that, and again I seem to be a dying breed, but I don't want all that with a browser. I want a browser not a platform.

I use mutt. :) Again a different approach to life.

Really by defualt it asks you about every cookie and the default option is to reject? Granted none of the other browsers do this but that is why I always mention this is one of the things I'd love to see.

If nothing else this has all pointed out to me that those of us who want a browser that renders webpages and doesn't try to be some kind of platform seem to be a minority these days.

Re:Here's my entry

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, yes... you've already pointed out that your particular browsing style doesn't encounter this bug. And to tell you the truth, I rarely notice it either. However, the two examples I gave you WILL cause the bug to manifest itself in a very nasty way. The problem seems to be embedded in the way that FF "cleans up" old images: for some reason they just don't go away from memory.

And please don't quote me out of context. You're already strutting around at +2, so nobody is going to even read my posts and realize that I'm not a frothing Opera nut who won't listen to your cold, hard reason (no snow crash allusions intended, that book was awful) as to why FF is so superior... at surfing porn.

No... Having 40 tabs open at once (how the hell can you even SEE them?) while FF is using 70 megs of RAM will not cause "486 performance". However, try opening a new browser window when your machine has completely run out of physical memory and is living solely on swap (and still loading new images of teh intarweb): it takes forever. This is the scenario I described.

Quote: "I cannot say that Opera usn't best used for porn, since that isn't my personal interest..."
In your parlance: "I call shenanigans!". There's no gosh-darned way you frequent fark and don't check "boobies" links. That used to be the only thing worth checking out on that catchphrase ridden troll-town (until they all-but dried up for non-paying members).)

Re:Here's my entry

[bhtooefr]

I don't use mouse gestures, and I like Opera.

Opera's goal is to be the jack of all trades. It tries (and mostly succeeds) in being reliable (it's more reliable than Firefox or IE, anyway), standards compliant, and lightweight (much lighter than Firefox or IE). It also tries to be a complete Internet suite, comparable to the old Mozilla suite. However, these things can be turned off, so that it's just a fast, lightweight web browser.

Oh, and yes, you CAN turn mouse gestures completely off. That's one of the first things I do.

Re:Here's my entry

[Lisandro]

Meh. Whiners :D

Re:Here's my entry

[SquadBoy]

And of course my response to both parties is to put on my "Knobs suck" shirt and go back to using my FF that looks the same everyplace I use it and my default, at least wrt the interface, Safari install.

Re:Here's my entry

[Anonymous Coward]

Multiply it by 10 and you will get the number of tabs you can open in Opera with no adverse consequences...

Marketing Wars

[nachmore]

must admit that the idea is cool - though the software is less than that. Is this a counter to Mozilla's excellent marketing strategys for Firefox?

Re:Marketing Wars

[hkmwbz]

"must admit that the idea is cool - though the software is less than that."

Opera is less than cool?

I don't know what you define as "cool", but I'd say that being smaller and faster than other browsers, and still having lots of useful features (that don't get in the way, by the way!) built in without the need to mess around with extensions is pretty darn cool.

Not to mention the new Opera Mini browser which works on just about all mobile phones and is available for free.

And of course the innovation which has helped shape the modern browser. The now standard search field and popup blocking? Opera came up with those. And countless other features we take for granted today.

Re:Marketing Wars

[nachmore]

No serious knock intended, neither on the browser itself or on Opera's contribution to the web world. Mini browser etc. aside, the Opera web browser itself has never really taken off. I have used it for years and I like it, just not as much as I like Firefox. Can't argue with those benchmarks either (apart from to say that on my side, Firefox loads faster than Opera, i've never waited 17 seconds on my 600MHz computer - and he's on 800).

In the end, for some weird reason, Opera has been around for longer than Firefox but still Firefox seems much more popular. The fact that Opera came up with good ideas is of course nice, but it doesn't make it the best...

Re:Marketing Wars

[hkmwbz]

"the Opera web browser itself has never really taken off"

Of course not. Opera has had to worry about the bottom line, being the only independent browser maker. They had to make money, and couldn't rely on donations. So they had to sell it, until they figured out that if they got a better deal with Google they could give it away for free.

"In the end, for some weird reason, Opera has been around for longer than Firefox but still Firefox seems much more popular."

Because Firefox came at the right time, when IE security issues were really being focused on, and it was free, and it got lots of hype.

"The fact that Opera came up with good ideas is of course nice, but it doesn't make it the best..."

"Best" is a matter of opinion, but smaller, faster, and yet more functional and innovative doesn't exactly sound like a crappy product.

Re:Marketing Wars

[nachmore]

This is getting a little OT. I never said that Opera was a "crappy product" - I don't think it is. I just don't like is as much as Firefox. Again, yes, Mozilla has/had the right marketing scheme to create the user following it has today - that is something that Opera sorely lacks, big time. That was the point, marketing is the name of the game today (see: Windows...). OT: More function? True, Opera has more built in functions (or seems to have) though I don't seem to be lacking anything. If I find that I am missing something it takes me approx 2 minutes to get that feature - and I have endless customization options... is that more or less functional? The strength of a product is not always what it comes bundled with (because I can get Firefox to come bundled with whatever I want) but what you can do with the end product.

Thats what'll happen when marketing choose.

[MarkTina]

This was marked as troll ?!?

It's exactly whats going to happen, the marketing guys will look through the faces and choose someone aesthetically pleasing ... your average nerd is usually not such a person (myself excluded of course :-)

erm and this is a good thing?

[thelost]

erm how's that a prize? If my face got plastered in public infront of millions of people then I'd feel like I won the boobie prize /hisses /slams hermit hut door shut

Here's the resolution...

[gasmonso]

There are a total of 2,300,000 LEDS at 122x48 feet. That equates roughly to a resolution of 2418x951 give or take a few :)

http://religiousfreaks.com/

Re:Here's the resolution...

[infinite9]

That equates roughly to a resolution of 2418x951 give or take a few

Since it's in times square, does that make it a new year's resolution?

Re:Here's the resolution...

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow.

Nice karma whoring.

Re:Here's the resolution...

[wfberg]

There are a total of 2,300,000 LEDS at 122x48 feet. That equates roughly to a resolution of 2418x951 give or take a few :)

However, those LEDs are probably just the one color. Presumably they're using 4 LEDs per pixel - one red, one blue, two green; just like the colors in LCD/TFT displays. Which would then yield a resolution of 1209x475.5

Since 475 is eerily close to the number of scanlines in an NTSC picture (480), I'd go with NTSC resolution, perhaps stretched out a bit faux-widescreen, or with some sidebars etc.

Re:Here's the resolution...

[Anonymous Coward]

Divide by 3 (3 colors), and don't you think there might be some binning? LEDs aren't THAT bright. The resolution is much lower than that.

Re:Here's the resolution...

[cloudscout]

That's just for the text-craw bands.

The screen itself is supposed to take a Betacam SP feed which would mean roughly 453x340 if I remember correctly.

Re:Here's the resolution...

[gkhan1]

I loathe you!

Re:Here's the resolution...

[NiallOBroin]

2418x951 is not a resolution - it's a size. Assuming 4 LEDs per pixel as posited by another poster, that's app. 600 x 240 pixels, or about 5 pixels per foot - that's what I'd call low resolution. But don't forget the distance from which it will be viewed. I haven't seen the sign, but I bet pictures look reasonable on it from the normal viewing distance.

Re:Here's the resolution...

[nickheart]

wow... can you imagine that nasty pimple you tried to pop in time for the submission dead line...... 2000px of crater!

Re:Here's the resolution...

[ImaLamer]

Since it's in times square, does that make it a new year's resolution?

No, it makes it 5846724 x 904401

Goatse anyone?

[delphipro]

Any chance of getting goatse up there? Think about the public service that would be, hundreds of thousands of people sobering up instantly. Of course, it will also point out which of your friends are truly grotesque as they are the only ones smiling while everyone else is gagging.

Re:Goatse anyone?

[Hoi Polloi]

In the case of thousands of drinkers I don't think the first thing they'd do would be to sober up. *Uuuurp*

Re:Goatse anyone?

[CyberZCat]

...and suddenly a multitude of slashdotters visit wikipedia: Goatse... :-D

(also a convenient mirror of the original site for those who dare...)

Re:Goatse anyone?

[Anonymous Coward]

look, what about some props for tub girl? i think that would be much better than goatse

Awww

[daniel_newton]

And I thought it was Oprah (the television host). Next thing you know slashdot will have a 'spirit' (mind and body?) section. Geesh

For those of you who think this is innovative...

[Anonymous Coward]

Someone tell the nerds that the camera people do this at baseball games and football games all the time! All you have to do to win that "contest" is show up - plus it's live so you get a unique opportunity to make any face you'd like!

Geez... some people need to get out more!

Ironically,

[errxn]

Everyone else in Times Square will be face-down at that moment...

Mod Parent Up

[Morky]

Troll my butt. This is funny and accurate.

Re:Mod Parent Up

[Anonymous Coward]

I think it just hit home a little too hard for some moderators :)

Re:Mod Parent Up

[passingNotes.com]

hah! quite likely...or maybe somebody is just trying to be an agitator ;)

Ok, everyone submit this picture

[texag1992]

opera user

Re:Ok, everyone submit this picture

[acercanto]

I got some better ones!
Bill in college

1985 ad for MS

any chance this one would get in?

--Acercanto

Re: and how is this "troll"? opera employee?

[passingNotes.com]

i'd appreciate the explanation - excluding that it's likely some employee of opera...

Firefox's Response...

[thisjustin]

Next week Firefox users at MIT will be drawing an enlarged version out of chalk of one of their heads in the main quad.

In other news ..

[RedLaggedTeut]

In other news, Microsoft will also put a selected Opera user up the wall

Just another shameless Opera plug...

[DogcowX]

Maybe these guys should try innovating in their software, rather than their publicity stunts.

No Digg! Oh... never mind.

Re:Just another shameless Opera plug...

[Anonymous Coward]

Fact is, Opera is far more innovative than Firefox, despite Slashdotters constantly calling Firefox innovative.

Re:Just another shameless Opera plug...

[taskforce]

Compared to Firefox, Opera innovates far more. Tabbed Browsing, Interface Customisability: even the principles used in the design of Gmail - Opera is far ahead.

Firefox is great becuase it has had such excellent marketing and is diversifying the browser genepool away from IE; but as an acutal browser Opera tends to be the far more innovative, responsive, faster and generally a better program.

Re:Just another shameless Opera plug...

[Anonymous Coward]

Operas innovations
- First browser to use tabs
- First browser to use mouse gestures
- Introduced sessions before IE or Firefox.
- Was the first drag and drop customisable browser (move address bar, buttons, whatever, wherever you want).
- Plenty more

Opera has been very innovative with their browser, marketing aside.

Re:Just another shameless Opera plug...

[Kelson]

Wow -- complaining that Opera should start innovating is kind of like saying that Mac OS ripped off Windows.

Re:Just another shameless Opera plug...

[vertinox]

Wow -- complaining that Opera should start innovating is kind of like saying that Mac OS ripped off Windows.

No. No No. No... Microsoft ripped off Apple.

Of course Apple ripped off Xerox.

Re:Just another shameless Opera plug...

[Anonymous Coward]

-1, Troll, people.

Firefox's tabs? Opera had them first. Greasemonkey? Opera had it first. SVG? Opera had it first. RSS support? Opera had it first. VoiceXML support? Firefox still doesn't have it. Aural CSS support? Firefox still doesn't have it. xml:id support? Firefox still doesn't have it. User stylesheet support? Unless you count editing a text file in a hidden directory to be "support", Firefox still doesn't have it. Mobile support? All the positive press about Minimo's latest proof-of-concept milestones are already implemented and deployed in Opera.

What if I Submit....

[Anonymous Coward]

goatse

Or...

[antdude]

Or this head or this head. [grin]

Damn that woman

[redphive]

Can't Oprah stick to Chicago?

what are the ftp details?

[Tandoori Haggis]

Well it says PUT user's face.

Where is the IP address or the ftp domain?
Username and password for login?

Re:what are the ftp details?

[kryptkpr]

They had obviously meant an HTTP PUT..

Re:what are the ftp details?

[Anonymous Coward]

Your username is just not right. Just not right.

oh boy

[icleprechauns]

i hope i dont win...somehow 50 ft pimples consuming times square seems more like something out of the next godzilla movie than something someone would actually want to see

Hot Babe?!?

[Dareth]

They wouldn't just pick a nice photogenic female would they?

As apposed to a pasty male, "Afraid of the evil daystar!", person.

Winning quote: "I love Opera, especially when the fat lady sings."

IT WILL BE:

[Gannoc]

A very pretty, but not extremely beautiful girl. I guarantee it.

Hot, but attainable, about 20 years old.

I use Opera because

[obarthelemy]

- it's smaller, lighter, faster than Firefox, and just as safe and compatible
- mouse gestures are included in the standard install
- there are slightly less frequent updates/bugfixes to download for the core program, and since I don't use any plugins (again, mouse gestures are standard), a LOT fewer plugin updates ;-)
- I think Firefox does not have "sessions" (a bunch of URLs and their associated histories), that I can load automatically at startup, or at any time thereafter. I use that a lot: when i launch Opera on my main pc, it automatically opens My Yahoo, my 2 main mail accounts, and Slashdot. For when I go shopping for computer parts, I have a session with my favorite shops and review sites...
- I like Opera's download manager better, but that's mainly aesthetics/ergonomics, not functionnality.
- I'm soooo used to typing F2 + "g dodo bird" when I want to google about the dodo.

Then again, I started using Opera almost as soon as it came out on Windows, 7+ years ago, so I'm set in my ways now (and I paid for it ;-) ) .

Let me return the question: apart from the quite valid philosophical one of Free Software being A Good Thing (tm), is there any reason to switch to Firefox ? I have it installed on several PCs, but I see no reason to switch over to it.

The one thing I don't like about Opera is that, if a fatal problem ( OS crash, network crash, other App fatal crash - note that Opera almost never crashes - ) occurs when you JUST opened a page (before a single byte of it has been downloaded), Opera loses track of that page, and opens a blank page instead with no URL. All the other, fully- or partially-downloaded pages, automatically reload when you re-start Opera.

Best Reagrds, Olivier

Re:I use Opera because

[Anonymous Coward]

I would use opera except for the ads. They have no adblock that I've seen and I grew weary of privoxy in the dark ages of Mozilla 0.8.

narcissism taken to a whole new level

[Anonymous Coward]

What kind of freak even enters a contest like this?

OPERA online speedtest results for positives

[Anonymous Coward]

"maybe someone can tell me what makes it good enough to ditch what ships with my OS? Don't start by trying to tell me what I have isn't good enough. Can anyone sell me on some positives?" - by mcgroarty (633843) on Monday December 12, @04:48PM

How about performance/speed?

Take a read, it's the MOST current "browser speed" competition I have found online!

This very page helped 'turn' me from FireFox/FireBird/Phoenix in years past as well (NOT knocking FireFox here, it's VERY nice)... & I am a person that helped to spot & fix some "bugs" with various sites online's forums I used to go to regularly for/with the FireFox team, who responded THAT VERY DAY in email to me directly, & then came to said website's forums to discuss the problem & fix w/ that site's webmaster... nope, I am NOT one to "knock" FireFox, even in 1.5 with the known bug out there now for it... why?

Because, those guys are GOOD & will get around it and fix it. I've seen them in action, directly!

However, for performance? Well, take a read:

http://www.howtocreate.co.uk/browserSpeed.html#win

Opera 6.x-9.x just hands-down won more of those tests than IE (& variants like MaxThon built off the IE engine iirc), Netscape, Mozilla, & FireFox did individually, & collectively as well, across the boards.

SO, IF YOU VALUE PERFORMANCE/SPEED online?

Opera's apparently THE "KING OF SPEED" for many purposes & tests as evidenced above in that URL!

(Folks say it doesn't display pages right, even here @ slashdot, but I have YET to see Opera 8.5 not display pages here right! Sure, there's sites that are IE dependent (such as Windows Update that need to use ActiveX controls) & also Intranet pages where IE still rules, but overall? Well, like I said, take a peek @ that page & do your OWN judging!)

APK

P.S.=> And, best of all? Opera's FREE now too!

IMO, such as it is, it's truly immensely tough to compete with freeware if you are 'sold commercialware'!

The ONLY companies I see doing well here are the likes of Microsoft/IBM sized entities...

With their "deep pockets"? They evidently can afford developer time for losses, just to gain market-share & wipe out competition! apk

MOD PARENT INFORMATIVE

[Anonymous Coward]

.eet nE

Ouch!

[Dareth]

That comment hurt... not as much as errr.... well hell, yall know what I mean!

Anyone have the IP?

[Anonymous Coward]

Anyone have the IP address of that big screen?

I've already submitted mine...

[th3space]

It was a portrait of Guiseppe Verdi. You can see it here.


PS - I'm actually using Opera right now, at work even.

Obligatory

[Orrin Bloquy]

"Hello, John Anderton!"

Re:Obligatory

[Anonymous Coward]

"No, I'm Spartacus!"

The actual prize

[Anonymous Coward]

Quoting TFA: "To top it off, we will fly (or bicycle) the lucky Opera user with a guest to New York City for the New Year's celebrations, where you will be staying at one of New York's premiere hotels and receive two tickets to ABC's New Year's Eve party."

So I guess the actual prize is getting a trip to NYC, not the displaying of your potentially ugly face.

Standard units of measure?

[Anonymous Coward]

on the 585 square foot (that's 54 square meters!) screen.

When will posters learn? We can't use silly made-up units, why not give us the specs in football fields, or Libraries of Congress?

*sigh*

Easier way to get on a billboard in Times Square

[Grenamier]

I asked my daughter if she wanted her picture in Times Square. She said she's been there and done that. 21 months, thanks for asking.

Seriously, Time Magazine is posting submitted pictures on a billboard until they announce the Person of the Year. If they use your picture, they send you an email with a link to the photo of the billboard with your picture on it. It took a day for her picture to make it up.

Why?

[belgar]

Opera's most recent contest that only requires a submission of your picture and the reason why you should be chosen as their New Year's mascot.
 
Because I never, never want to get laid again.

if she's got to be cute...

[anticypher]

Then let it be this girl:

Melissa Theuriau
with other photos here and a GIS will turn up enough to keep you happy.

Currently a Fark cliche, but one of the most pleasant to look at.

the AC

Re:if she's got to be cute...

[Aadomm]

No wonder the French keep so well abreast of current affairs.

OPERA maintains a DEBIAN package

[Anonymous Coward]

ftp://ftp.opera.com/pub/opera/linux/851/final/en/

What will happen

[houghi]

if the goatse guy wins?

Re:What will happen

[Anonymous Coward]

Then we'll finally get so see his face, and find out who it is...

What about...

[Kelson]

...this guy? He definitely seems to be using the Opera.

Bigger challenge:

[fishbowl]

Get a picture up there without involving the organizers...

The jokes are getting old

[Kelson]

I swear, the next time I have mod points and see a joke about someone getting Opera mixed up with Oprah, or a joke about all three Opera users, I'm gonna mod them -1 Redundant. They were kinda funny the first time, but they get old really fast.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

In soviet russia...

[erozen]

...the people use Opera!

Shocking winner!

[AndroidCat]

Who would have guessed?

It's just your mindset

[Nicolay77]

Back in the day Opera was the only one with tabbed browsing.

And Firefox users said the same as you say. "Tabbed browsing, I've tried and it's awful". Until firefox got tabs. And now everybody swears by the tabs, even IE 7 will have tabs.

Back in the day Opera was the only one with mouse gestures.

And Firefox users said the same as you say. But now they have an awful imitation in a plugin.

However Opera tabs are much more useful than FF. And mouse gestures are more useful than firefox. After you have used the mouse with Opera you just can't get back to anything else. And the mail client uses a database futuristic concept, but no one will notice until it's copied by mainstream apps. Ohh wait, gmail uses a similar approach.

For me, other killer features are: fit page to window witdh, a split page feature someone programmed in javascript (yes, like a plugin), total and absolute configurability of the toolbars (the tabs bar are just another toolbar).

FF is more compatible with some not standard pages, but that's the only feature I think is worthwhile.

It really doesn't matter what features Opera has. FF is opensource and Opera is not. That's the only feature you really care about. Face it.

Ohh and I installed Opera just typing:

emerge opera

Re:It's just your mindset

[SquadBoy]

Nah. See I'm a proud OS X user. But you've either said that things are "more useful" without really giving any example of why this is or listed a bunch of stuff that, frankly, sounds stupid.

Yeah, you are right, this is what I think. The whole point was why I don't use Opera. I happily use closed source software but it better bring some serious features to the party. I've yet to see or hear about anything in Opera that is compelling... Ah well.

Re:It's just your mindset

[LegendLength]

As a Firefox user, there is nothing I have seen that Opera does that can't be done using Firefox plugins. These are so easy to find and install it is not funny (extensions menu). So the argument that pre-integration of these things (opera) makes it more worthwhile is thin (especially for slashdot demographic).

Rally behind the math geek

[CommandoB]

Nice points worb. They'll always be someone who can't understand something fun when they see it.

Really, Slashdotters should use this opportunity to make a celebrity geek of their choosing. Everybody loved it when Andrew Wiles, when told he'd be interviewed, asked, "Who's Barbara Walters?" Let's hoist a similarly worthy individual into the public eye.

In this spirit, I'd like to selflessly (I can't join him) nominate my good friend Sean. As a mathematician and web developer (I think he gave Tanquerey's website a facelift), I think he'd represent us well.

So, Slashdotters, organize and vote! Oh wait, right... I must be new here.

Re:Rally behind the math geek

[Anonymous Coward]

But is he hot?

It's "there'll" not "they'll"

Re:Rally behind the math geek

[CommandoB]

But is he hot?

Of course! Aren't we all?

It's "there'll" not "they'll"

Uh, yeah. Noted.

That would have been funny...

[zigziggityzoo]

Except for that it wasn't.

OMG how horrible

[seabreezemm]

So now Opera is threatening to shame its users in to staying with them?... *gasp* Friends don't let friends use Opera! http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/

Goatse

[Anonymous Coward]

I hope goatse.cx man wins, and he shows what makes him famous

How about a date with a swedish hooker instead?

[Anonymous Coward]

Hell, i'll buy three copies. Those guys really have no clue about their demographics do they.

What if Hitler wins?

[Hao Wu]

What if a member of the Nazi party wins the contest? Operha will be forced to honor their agreement, and thus promote shameful acts of barbarism.

I have a better idea!

[rhesuspieces00]

I'm in my 20s, and I do not have any desire to be in the spotlight. I think I outgrew that phase at around 8 years old.

However, if I could have an image of my parted butt-cheeks up there (or really, anyones parted butt-cheeks, they need not be mine), I would go for that. I still haven't outgrown that.

You forgot...

[Anonymous Coward]

"Opera: We have the guts to write Good user-oriented software."

Huh?

[LFS.Morpheus]

(that's 54 square meters!)

Huh? What is a 'meter'? While your "square feet" reference sounds familiar, could you please provide a useful measurement of comparison, like percentage of a football field (no, not a soccer field), the number of the number of Big Macs that could fit on it, or the number of 54" widescreen TVs would be needed to make this giant TV. Also, how many Libraries of Congress does it ... something?

Thanks!

Obligatory Simpson's Reference

[Will2k_is_here]

This has the potential to backfire. Remember when Duff Beer promised to put the winner's face on their calendar but found Moe to be so ugly (ugly), they had to slap a sticker over top of him?

You don't get it.

[hkmwbz]

Blah blah blah fancy words. Of course this is a marketing stunt. Of course they want more users. What on earth do you think the purpose would be otherwise?

The point is that there's nothing sinister about this. They want to keep in touch with the user base, and they want to do something "crazy". Giving one user the chance to get his face on Times Square.

You are insinuating that they are actually misleading their fans, which just proves that you simply don't know anything about the company. This is not IBM or Microsoft. This is a small Norwegian company that has been doing browsers for ten years.

If you try it you'll find

[quokkapox]

that there are some pages you like to load and tasks that you enjoy doing with Firefox, and some others with Opera, and some where it doesn't matter. You'll find there are also occasional instances where it's better to be running IE (Windows Update, non-compliant video streams, etc).

I'm glad I downloaded Opera, and I now have both Opera and Firefox running simultaneously, and I will adapt my use of both to my own tastes and needs.

It's good for users to have competition in the browser marketplace.

There are definitely some cool features in Opera which I had no idea of, that I wish would be added to Firefox. And vice-versa. And IE is just a drag, at this point.

Opera features tour

[Nicolay77]

They are not worthwhile because they are pre-integrated. That's no argument.

They are worthwhile because they are in my opinion, better done.

It's the little details Opera users are really used to, like the fact that I can switch between tabs with the mouse wheel (that's a really nice one), the useful notes panel, the fact that I can program not only the keyboard, but the mouse gestures from the opera GUI.

Now tabs. I like to have my tabs in the bottom of the screen. Opera lets me do it happily. The tabs in Opera can have a close button in each of them. (I hide those buttons, though.) You can configure new tabs to open by middle click in the end of the tab bar, like FF, or just beside the current tab.

Then you close the current tab by accident. You want it back, with its entire browsing history? just hit Ctrl-Z. Hey you've even got a whole list of all the tabs you've closed!

And pop-ups open in tabs, not in unwanted windows hiding the tabs I have open. (Configurable just like everything else.)

I can duplicate a tab, with its entire browsing history, too. Or create a linked tab, and every link I click from the original tab is opened in the other tab. Hey, I can do that from the links panel too!

Now I'm browsing with... (let me count) 38 tabs opened. And all is easy and responsible.

I have a Windows panel too, and I can reorder the tabs using drag and drop, of every Opera window I have open. So let's make a window with just the online comics tabs! Easy.

If Opera is closed, and then reopened, all the tabs are back... yep you guessed right, each one with their entire browsing history.

And now the zoom. Opera zoom affects the size of everything, text, graphics, buttons, etc. So the page layout is not truly altered by the zoom. So what? Well this makes Opera the best browser for testing even extreme zoom sizes. You can even see the page as it would look in a cellphone/pda (not that I use it). That reminds me of other feature.

I friend of mine has a special software to read his scanned comic books. I've used it, and still feel that opera is better for that task. When Opera opens a page that's only a directory of files, creates a secuence of those files. So you click on the first one. And the next button goes to the second, third and so on, without needing to going back to the dir page, until you finish the slide show.

I'm downloading FF extensions as I write this. Not all of them work, so far only 9 of 16 have worked. So, no, I can't have all the features I like from Opera in FF. However, it feels much better than 1.0. Hey I like it, if just because it behaves more like... Opera. I just like Opera more, as you like FF.

"Opera to Put User's Face in Times Square"

[Legion303]

Obviously a ploy to find the person who downloaded it.

From TFA: "We didn't think anyone would actually download it," said Project Lead Jim Feuerfuchs. "It was mostly a joke to see which one of us could code the most bugs per square foot of code. I use IE, myself."

Re:"Opera to Put User's Face in Times Square"

[hkmwbz]

Funny, then, how Opera is smaller and faster, yet less buggy than Firefox...

I'm sold on

[porneL]

Fastest. "Back". Ever.

I use Safari and Firefox sometimes and I just hate when page reloads/redraws when I go back.

Here's one for the geek vote

[Chris Pimlott]

Old time Doom/Quake fans might remember this entrant...

Re:For those of you who think this is innovative..

[Sigma 7]

Someone tell the nerds that the camera people do this at baseball games and football games all the time! All you have to do to win that "contest" is show up - plus it's live so you get a unique opportunity to make any face you'd like!

To get in that contest, you have to blow a lot of money on a scalper - only to reasize that you had to miss eight days of work just to be early in line.

http://www.snpp.com/episodes/1F14.html

Besides, you don't get the individual attention required for the 15 minutes of fame. When you are part of such a large group, it doesn't feel special at all.