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Opera Software Co-Founder Passes Away
worb writes "One of the two founders of Opera Software, Geir Ivarsoy, recently passed away after a long battle with cancer. His funeral yesterday was attended by Opera employees who paid their last respects to their former lead programmer. While Opera hasn't had the same success as Firefox on the desktop, it has had considerable success in the mobile phone market due to its speed and small footprint, combined with excellent standards compliance and innovative features."
Though I am no opera user - thanks for the effort supporting an alternative solution. The possibility to choose is well appreciated.
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they attack you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
Silent Post
The show ain't over 'til the fat lady sings.
I read the summary, clicked the comments link, and saw this in the random fortune quote at the bottom of the page: "Someone is speaking well of you. How unusual!"
Poor guy.
The alternative he provided created much-needed freedom to leave MSIE back when Netscape couldn't get its act together. Rest in peace.
For such a nice product and being there when I needed you.
God bless you!
Thanks for all your work, Mr. Ivarsoy. The innovative features in Opera have had a great amount of influence in the browser market and beyond.
Their product wasn't free (in either sense) until last year, and it's still not open source.
In general, we need to discuss what can be done, to improve cancer screaning, and treatment, using open source technology. We need a slashdot or similar site which deals with genetics, technology, medicine, and health research and related topics.
Cancer is a threat to us all, and while we discuss Netscape vs IE, or Linux vs Windows, we ignore the fact that we arent using open source technology or ideas in healthcare. I think we should discuss personalized-medicine, and ways to lower the cost of cancer screenings and treatments.
your sick, using someones death, or the battle to cure cancer to push open source... shame...
portfolio
Opera is a great browser, with many unique features. I use IE, Firefox, and Opera everyday. It is sad to see anyone go, let alone someone who you know had a huge part in something you come to take for granted.
"...if people respected copyright more, like you guys do with the GPL so religiously, [the DMCA] wouldn't be necessary."
I've never used opera, but since it seems that this man's death is /. worthy, I'm thinking about trying it. Before I do though, I would like to know what some of the features that set it apart are. Could someone oblige me?
Does this sig remind you of Agatha Christie?
I hope, when I die I've left behind something that inspires. The desire to create I believe comes from somewhere deep within and is a capacity that clings within you despite what life tosses your way .. it never seems to fade. For him, it never will, people will take the best part of him, what he was able to dream together and make it their own.
.. ) , I'm sad that he won't.
I think that's truly immortality, when you stop and think about what shapes your creativity.
Didn't find his age on the blog? Wow he looked young. Opera hasn't seen the real fruits of his efforts and creativity (just yet, but starting to
Oh, and thanks for the great browser.
Oh, I guess you're dead and can't read this.
I don't think this is the right time. I was going to use my mod points on you so feel lucky.
here is the url to goto and find info http://www.opera.com/products/desktop/ it supports almost every os and is a very small file size, if u like the features of firefox then opera might be right for u...
~FFTL4LIFE~
lucky bastard
He will be known as the Phantom of the Opera!
Sorry, that was in poor taste. My regards to someone who helped contribute to the diversity in web browsers.
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it dissolve.
Did the ones who didn't pay have to watch an ad banner over the casket?
If you search Google for "why Opera" you'll find pages like this one, with a nice list of reasons for why you should consider Opera.
The best thing you can do is to simply download it and give it a fair go. If you surf around and read about Opera you'll discover lots of nice little touches that make browsing more convenient. Maybe you'll find that you love Opera. Maybe you won't. It's a slightly different approach than what Firefox is doing, but at least you won't have to rely on extensions for functionality. That can be both good and bad, I guess. (Opera seems to be a bit more efficient on the memory usage than Firefox, mind you.)
But Opera is actually also extensible in various ways, such as User JavaScript ("Greasemonkey"), and similar. There are lots of nifty things to discover, such as custom made toolbars.
Anyway, the Search Engine Journal editor asked Opera users to convince him to use Opera. He got quite a few useful replies. Maybe they will be of interest to you, too...
From too much love of living,
From hope and fear set free,
We thank with brief thanksgiving
Whatever gods may be
That no life lives forever;
That dead men rise up never;
That even the weariest river
Winds somewhere safe to sea.
- swinburne
Rest in peace, thanks for making a difference.
I came to the datacenter drunk with a fake ID, don't you want to be just like me?
Beyond any doubt, I would have concluded the ceremony with a Fat Lady, singing.
That aside, this is pretty sad news. Better times on the other side, man.. and my personal condolences to his family, friends and colleauges at Opera Software.
There's a Starman, waiting in the sky / He'd like to come and meet us, but he hasn't got the time.
I don't use Opera now, but I used it very briefly. Opera rose at a very dark time. IE had just won the browser war with Netscape 4 being a bloated, happy, piece of crap. Opera gave us hope when us anti-IEers were most down. Although I use Firefox now, the conditions for Firefox's success should be creditted to Opera.
The loss of a loved leader in a group can have either of two outcomes:
;-)
1. Everyone falls apart, and the group with it.
2. The group rallies, and is spurred on to greatness.
I use three browsers through out the work day, and personal night.
1. Camino-Super fast, great for our intranet php based apps.
2. Opera-Pretty fast, but has the option to open to last page viewed at launch.(The option that sets Opera apart really!)
3. Safari-Solid performer, secure.
4. Firefox-odd man out really, but do use it to test sites once in a while. useful. I do recommend Firefox to the common users I assist with their computers after virus, worm, malware etc climbed aboard via IE.
I love that all of these browsers offer tabbed browsing
There are tons of features I will never use on all of these browsers, but they are there for those who need the tools. I can't say enough about the browser choices available other that IE. They are the market of the future. IE will only be able to mimic the new features.
Sig Hansen?
Here is a remembrance of Geir Ivarsøy from someone at Opera Software who knew him: Death in the Family
It's probably not the right time to rant about this, but... could people *please* take care to actually spell names correctly? It's Ivarsøy, not Ivarsoy; you'd think that at *least* his Slashdot obituary would get this right.
It's not difficult, either. If you can't type the ø character directly, use a HTML entity, ø (ø), or ø (ø) - it's really simple.
But don't just substitute another letter that looks vaguely similar. Would you like it if somebody whose native language doesn't have a "d" substituted a "b" in your name for it because the two letters look quite similar? Of course not. So please, do the same thing and try to spell other people's names correctly. With HTML entities, it's not hard, and it's a sign of respect - doubly so on an obituary.
quidquid latine dictum sit altum videtur.
I thought grammar nazi's were bad. This takes the cake.
Rest in Peace, Geir Ivarsoy.
Evolution is a fact. Darwinism is a joke.
From Tom Rettig @ 1985 * REMEMBER.PRG * Sometimes we forget... * USE Yourself SET TALK OFF CLEAR * DO WHILE ALIVE STORE "Love" TO Heart STORE "Health" TO Body STORE "Peace" TO Mind STORE "Compassion" TO Others STORE "Esteem" TO Self STORE "Trust" TO Humanity STORE "faith" TO God REPLACE Negative WITH Positive,; Judgment WITH Acceptance,; Resentment WITH Forgiveness REPLACE Hopelessness WITH Choice,; Confusion WITH Clarity,; Procrastination WITH Participation REPLACE Separation WITH Connection,; Lack WITH Abundance,; Sorrow WITH Celebration @ all, times SAY your_truth IF its_time EXIT ENDIF ENDDO * SAVE TO Always CLEAR ALL RETURN * * EOF: remember.prg
While Opera hasn't had the same success as Firefox on the desktop
I'd like to see some trustworthy figures backing up this claim.
All your better deeds Shall be in water writ, but this in Marble... Thank you for Opera - Philaster, Beaumont and Fletcher, 1611
The founder of Libranet (Debain-based linux distro) died of cancer too. Does linux cause cancer? In all seriousness, I think working in such close proximity electronic devices and electronic radiation does promote cancerous cell mutations.
Even if he was from Norway.
I'd like to use Opera. It feels nicer and more complete than Firefox, and the much smaller footprint & startup time are also plusses. However, the only thing keeping me from using Opera is that I couldn't find an Adblock-like feature/plugin for it. Does anyone know if such a thing exists? Bonus points if it's compatable with Filterset.G.
Cancer didn't exist prior to the invention of the computer.
I know this is Slashdot (News for ners etc.) but someone passed away. Is it really appropriate to talk about the marketshare of his programming work?
I've had this discussion with people many times, but I personally think that people, even programmers, are worth more then the code they write. And I would personally perfer that people don't talk about my code when I pass-away.
God made the natural numbers; all else is the work of man - Kronecker
Much more that /. worthy, 2 hours after being posted /. is the only news agency to honor Geir Ivarsoy's memory. Google News: Results 1 - 1 of 1 for Geir Ivarsoy. (0.01 seconds)
Silent Post II
Free beer is never free as in speech. Free speech is always free as in beer.
> While Opera hasn't had the same success as Firefox on the desktop, it has had
> considerable success in the mobile phone market due to its speed and small
> footprint, combined with excellent standards compliance and innovative
> features."
Plus the fact that there's a commercial organisation behind it, pushing it, as opposed to some other software being out there but with no motivation on the part of the programmers to actually get it put onto any devices...
1. It has an option to ignore the author's
stylesheets (shift-G). so many great
web-designed pages become readable on my
15'' monitor.
2. It's easy to change all key bindings
to make it feel like vi/less (for instance)
3. It's easy to turn on/off annoying
features on the fly (cookies, referrer
reporting, javascript, etc)
Just how in the FUCK is that funny?
Thanks for the excellent browser. RIP
I thought it was funny.
Yep I laughed too
Sometimes laughing at death is the best way to cope, cause fretting about it sure as hell won't make it pass you over.
Don't mess with Anonyous Coward. Remember, you can never defeat AC.
Now go home. And take that dick out of your ass.
"The opera ain't over until the fat lady sings."
But everything he copied was made in USA. Face it, what was the last thing anyone got made in Norway, all from Norway, who isn't from Norway? Seal pup boots don't count.
It's tough to post in here without going on about what a great product Opera has turned out to be, but suffice it to say I use it on everything I can, it's always been ahead of it's time, and while I know none of the programmers personally they all deserve my many thanks and respect.
I just went to the download site, selected Ubuntu, and there are packages for 5.10, 5.4, and 4.10. For most places, you're lucky to get "Debian-ish, if you're lucky".
Making packages for Debian unstable and testing is definitely something most companies wouldn't do, though. Above and beyond the call of duty.
It's ignorant to only consider the superficial aspect of what someone is trying to say, so please don't only consider the spelling but the actual message. It's the information, feeling, and sentiment that makes communication important, not the syntax.
Twinstiq, game news
Sad news and my thouhts to the family.
But the good news is there's still time to buy banner space on his casket!
And anyway, this is an English web site. We use the English alphabet. The spelling was correct as an anglicized version.
Actually, the correct way to handle ø if you don't have it is 'oe', so 'Ivarsoey' would be more correct.
for all the fish
Opera has a lot going for it. It is a lightweight standards compliant browser who's rendering engine still fits on a floppy disk today (if you take away the chrome). It is the second browser to pass the ACID2 compliance test (Safari was the first).
It is also the best browser technology to work on embedded devices. Previously the best way to provide rich-content for embedded devices(e.g. mobile phones) you would have to use WML (basic markup for mobiles,etc). Instead Opera went a different route and chose to instead 'scale down' the web page so it would fit in the embedded devices, this allows the devices to be able to view much of the websites on the Internet. This is why its the choice browser in many embedded devices e.g. the Nokia 770.
They are also the leading innovator in many browser technologies that we use today including Tabbed Browsing, mouse gestures, etc.
I personally use it because it has the best IRC client available on OSX - and the browser is now available at no cost!
RIP
Rest in Peace...
That's all that needs to be said really.
Emerald Astrology
Parent post is clearly not off topic. It was modded down by a small minded person with a personal vendetta.
oddly enough, I decided to install and run opera for the very first time the same day the news story was released.
Article:(Friday, 17. March 2006, 09:01:15)
Install stamp: (Friday, March 17, 2006, 8:42:51 PM)
I was very impressed with the software, as many are, and am now sad to hear of this loss.
I also recommended opera to my sister, who uses MSIE over Firefox because the favorites button has a shiny star. I kid you not.
If we must be stupid and unfeeling, there is also "caught the bus" . To say nothing of such pearls as:-
If we are going for the stupid and unfeeling, we must at least not stint.
This said, I'm with you, I'm pretty sure that the fellow is dead and, given what he accomplished, a drum-roll is the very minimum. A burial with full honours seems not to be excessive.
How many beans make five, anyhow ?
May your humuliation of Micro$oft live forever in the history of tech.
I paid for Opera and am gladly typing this from Opera v8.53.
Thank You for allowing us to ignore that bloated pile of shit called IE.
RIP