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Opera Software Changes Name To Otello Corporation (reuters.com)

Posted by msmash on from the what's-in-a-name dept.

Opera Software has changed its name to Otello Corporation, it said in a statement on Monday. From a report: Otello owns companies that develop software for advertising, telecoms, games and other online business. The name changes does not affect Opera Software AS or the Opera and Opera Mini internet browsers, all of which Otello sold in 2016, Opera Software AS said in a separate statement.

55 comments

  1. Slow news day? by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 1

    It's been about ten years since Opera mattered, even to nerds.

    1. Re:Slow news day? by Hal_Porter · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Opera used to be great back in the 12.x days. Then they switched rendering engines and lost all the features that made it better than Chrome.

      Interestingly there are attempts to recreate the Opera 12.x UI features in other browsers, Vivaldi and Otter.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opera_(web_browser)#See_also

      --
      echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
    2. Re:Slow news day? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Opera still matters. It's a perfect example of why throwing away your own code and switching to "the big thing" destroys your identity.
      In this case, it was Opera ditching Presto for Chromium. End result, no change in marketshare, shittier software and a shittier community.

      It also shows how FOSS can fill the void when companies fail their users. In this case, my Opera 12 needs are almost filled by Otter Browser.

    3. Re:Slow news day? by jellomizer · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I tossed out Opera when they upgraded the Opera Mini with "news feeds" that cannot be disabled.
      Because of the following
      1. I wanted to save bandwidth having news feeds counteracted that.
      2. The "News" was click bait not actual news.
      3. It was slowing my browsing experience.

      This change from a browser company to an add company is quite apt. Because I don't care to use a browser who counteracts all their positive features with junk. So it runs poorly overall.
      Car Analogy: It is like having a Sports Car built with a non-detachable trailer.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    4. Re:Slow news day? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's been about ten years since Opera mattered, even to nerds.

      Then, I'm afraid, you are over-inflating your own knowledge.

      I run 3 browsers at all times, Chrome, Firefox, and Opera. IE is a browser of last resort for things which I have no choice but to use and can't make work with anything else.

      Opera is my "I don't trust random websites" browser ... javascript disabled except by exception (of which there are 2), and cookies disabled except by exception (of which there is 1), combined with HTTP Switchboard to aggressively block most 3rd party crap and trackers ... and my browser doesn't even make requests to the parasites of the internet. Which means the assholes at Facebook don't get to track me by embedding their shit all over the internet.

      Do I care that it's essentially Chrome under the hood? Not really. Is it a viable browser which can be locked down and used to keep the ads and analytics companies at bay? Yes, it is.

      If you're not using something like HTTP Switchboard or uMatrix to block all of the unwated crap, you probably have no idea just how much crap is in your average web page.

      Opera is a perfectly fine browser, but to say it doesn't matter pretty much shows you don't know very much.

    5. Re:Slow news day? by Hal_Porter · · Score: 1

      uBlock Origin does all the things uMatrix does now

      https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/wiki/Blocking-mode:-medium-mode

      https://www.wilderssecurity.com/threads/umatrix-help.388516/#post-2620652

      That post is December 2013. The truth is that I am not using uMatrix anymore, I use uBO in medium mode. With 3rd-party cookies and all plugins blocked by default in browser, this is really what works for me.

      --
      echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
    6. Re: Slow news day? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I like Opera on Android because it has a 'force zoom' function that preserves word wrap. So on poorly laid out sites like slashdot I can resize text and it corforms into the window size. No other browser I have found lets me embiggen text without forcing panning to read all of it. I am sure it breaks some "layout designer's" concept of what they want to force me to see, but the text content becomes readable.

    7. Re:Slow news day? by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 1

      Did you really need a car analogy? Next time you want to talk about a sports car built with a non-detachable trailer, use a browser analogy.

      --
      Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
    8. Re:Slow news day? by jellomizer · · Score: 2

      You always need a Car Analogy. Without one is like a Manual Transmission car without an RPM Gage, while not required, it is kinda expected, and useful.
       

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    9. Re:Slow news day? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Please, go fuck yourself, self-centered cocksucker.

    10. Re:Slow news day? by gweihir · · Score: 1

      Bookmarks still suck in Vivaldi (well, depends on your usage), but I have moved over from Opera 12.x. Opera never recovered from their ill-advised change after 12.x, in particular because they were not up to the same feature-set for a long time. (They still may not be, I have stopped caring.) Way to waste a very good niche position.

      --
      Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
    11. Re:Slow news day? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And Firefox STILL hasn't caught up to what they discontinued 5 years ago.

    12. Re:Slow news day? by ELCouz · · Score: 1

      My previous Ford Focus (MY 2005) didn't have any tachometer and was manual. It's more common than you think! Shift light only.

    13. Re:Slow news day? by Desler · · Score: 1

      This change from a browser company to an add company is quite apt.

      Good thing they hadn’t become a minus company.

    14. Re:Slow news day? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I actually installed it for the first time a few months ago. Its built-in free VPN capabilities allow it to access blocked 'pirate' sites from the UK and do it faster than the TOR browser. And as it's Chinese owned, assuming they're monitoring my VPN activities, I don't expect they'll be particularly interested in my piracy (which is all I use it for).

  2. you forgot ur "h" sakespear by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


     

    1. Re:you forgot ur "h" sakespear by amalcolm · · Score: 4, Informative

      Not necessarily. Given that i's a reference to opera - Verdi's opera Otello is spelled exactly like that, being the Italian translation for Othello.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      --
      Time for bed, said Zebedee - boing
    2. Re:you forgot ur "h" sakespear by Khyber · · Score: 1

      ITT an AC confuses the game with one of the most classic tragic operas.

      As an aside, the recent (two months ago) VTO modernized version of Verdi's Otello was great to watch and be one of the behind-the-scenes people. I did grip, supertitle, and production of a custom silk-screened plot device kerchief gift handed out at the doors.

      --
      Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
  3. Now that's quite an unexpected ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    ... reversi!

  4. doesn't sound chinese enough to me... by maybe111 · · Score: 2

    Opera browser sold to a Chinese consortium for $600 million...

    1. Re:doesn't sound chinese enough to me... by CrashNBrn · · Score: 1

      Which was hilarious. At that point they basically sold the Chinese a bunch of Czech developers familiar with Chromium. Any of the Norwegian devs that were left had already jumped ship to join the Vivaldi project spearheaded by Opera's ex-CEO.

  5. Re:Far more important to ban bump stocks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Give it a rest, fuckwit

  6. Bad Idea by boudie2 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I still use Opera 11.60 which may have been their last "decent" browser. Doesn't work for every site, but for some it's great. They should call their new company BadIdeas because that seems to be all they've come up with for years.

    1. Re:Bad Idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Check out Otter Browser: https://otter-browser.org/

      It's not quite up to Opera 11/12 levels, but it is getting there. It's FOSS, and has been actively developed since the Opera switch...

    2. Re:Bad Idea by CrashNBrn · · Score: 0

      You are coming to a tech-site to brag about how you are using a browser that hasn't been updated in 6 years. Good Job.

    3. Re:Bad Idea by boudie2 · · Score: 1

      Actually I was trolling for dickheads and think I caught one!

    4. Re:Bad Idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think boudie2 had his snowflake feewings hurt. Somebody get him a bandaid for his hurt feewings!!

    5. Re:Bad Idea by CrashNBrn · · Score: 1

      Well I am male. That's at least half true.

    6. Re:Bad Idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're also a dick head. The old Presto engine was a lot more secure than Gecko and Webkit, in a large part because it emphasized security over keeping up on the endless treadmill of everyone adding features to already heavily overbloated web engines.

      My website -- no, I'm not telling an asshole like you where it is -- renders perfectly with the final public release of Presto.

    7. Re:Bad Idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, Firefox hasn't caught up with it yet. So there's that.

    8. Re:Bad Idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I can imagine what will happen in Japan:

      Otelo: Otero
      Otter: Otero

  7. The name is irrelevent. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Opera went from a respectable niche browser to a Chinese Chrome clone. Use Vivaldi or Otter if you want the “real” Opera back.

    1. Re:The name is irrelevent. by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 1

      Name irrelevant? Otter... Otello...

      --
      Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
  8. Opera is almost more widely used than Firefox by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm assuming you didn't even bother to read the summary, since it clearly states:

    The name changes does not affect Opera Software AS or the Opera and Opera Mini internet browsers, all of which Otello sold in 2016, Opera Software AS said in a separate statement.

    But while we're on the topic of the Opera web browser, it's important to note that it has almost the same number of users as Firefox does these days.

    The most recent browser market share stats show that the various Opera browsers have a market share of around 4%. Firefox, on the other hand, is only about 5% in total, including their desktop and mobile offerings.

    We should also remember that Firefox is probably losing market share at a much faster rate than the Opera browsers are. Firefox 57 was a disastrous release for Firefox, breaking most extensions for most users. The new UI also hasn't been well received, and many users report not seeing any of the claimed performance improvements. More recently there was the disastrous marketing stunt where they injected a very suspicious extension into Firefox users' browsers unexpectedly. The negative sentiment surrounding Firefox is perhaps at an all-time high. People are truly disliking Firefox now more than they ever have before.

    So I think it's very plausible that Firefox will shed more and more users, especially after this latest extension injection debacle. All it will take is them losing 1% of their users to end up where Opera is. Seeing as Firefox has dropped from about 35% of the market down to 5% within only a few short years, losing 1% is very possible.

    If you consider Opera irrelevant, then Firefox is just about as irrelevant now, and is likely to become more and more irrelevant as its market share continues to drop lower and lower.

    1. Re: Opera is almost more widely used than Firefox by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Really is this to her the fact that a Chinese company owns Opera now you are beyond stupid if you use sortware from China or Russia

  9. What about Netscape Navigator? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Actually, I'll just AltaVista that.

  10. Re:Far more important to ban bump stocks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You are seriously deranged. Go play on the motorway.

  11. READ THE FUCKING SUMMARY! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    HOLY SHIT! This is one of the shortest summaries we've seen around here in a long time, and even then you couldn't be arsed to read it!

    It very clearly states:

    The name changes does not affect Opera Software AS or the Opera and Opera Mini internet browsers, all of which Otello sold in 2016, Opera Software AS said in a separate statement.

    Let me put that in bold for you, in case you missed it:

    The name changes does not affect Opera Software AS or the Opera and Opera Mini internet browsers, all of which Otello sold in 2016, Opera Software AS said in a separate statement.

    And let's italic it, too, just to be sure:

    The name changes does not affect Opera Software AS or the Opera and Opera Mini internet browsers, all of which Otello sold in 2016, Opera Software AS said in a separate statement.

    Since you still might be having trouble understanding this simple concept, let's monospace the text:

    The name changes does not affect Opera Software AS or the Opera and Opera Mini internet browsers, all of which Otello sold in 2016, Opera Software AS said in a separate statement.

    And since there's still a good chance you're too foolish to read what it's saying, let's repeat it a few more times:

    The name changes does not affect Opera Software AS or the Opera and Opera Mini internet browsers, all of which Otello sold in 2016, Opera Software AS said in a separate statement.

    The name changes does not affect Opera Software AS or the Opera and Opera Mini internet browsers, all of which Otello sold in 2016, Opera Software AS said in a separate statement.

    The name changes does not affect Opera Software AS or the Opera and Opera Mini internet browsers, all of which Otello sold in 2016, Opera Software AS said in a separate statement.

    Do you understand now? Do you?

    In conclusion:

    The name changes does not affect Opera Software AS or the Opera and Opera Mini internet browsers, all of which Otello sold in 2016, Opera Software AS said in a separate statement.

  12. First sign of FAILED business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Change the name!

    NeedToImpeach.COM

  13. Re:Far more important to ban bump stocks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Good posts (like this one) keep ending up at -1, and it makes Slashdot IMPOSSIBLE to read. Moderation (censorship) is RUINING this site.

    You could always leave to Reddit. Or 4chan, or really anywhere else would be fine.

    JEALOUS LOSERS are angry they can't PIRATE my code and because I tell the TRUTH about them in my posts.

    I can reverse engineer if it means that much to you. It's likely very boring though. And I don't see why anyone cares to see the source to your program. Unless they are security minded and prefer to audit executables before running them.

    ZIP

  14. Re:A whacko loon's impersonating me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "You're a whackjob freak" - you two should get together. Could be a marriage made in heaven

  15. Othello by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I know the domain was taken, but wat te ell.
    Te otello board was fun too.

  16. ....and nothing of value was lost .... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


       

  17. I'll tell you this tho.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I've had an OtelloBox case for phone for years...
    Best case on the market
    even had one for work tablet
    made it big and heavey
    but was good

    MORE OTELLOBOX CASES FOR ALL!

  18. What's in a name? by Solandri · · Score: 1

    The problem with picking a name like this is that a large fraction of your potential customers will spell it the way it's normally spelled in English - Othello. When they're unable to find the website to download the browser, a large number of them will just give up.

    A similar thing happened to a friend. He opened a high-end mail order chocolate shop (one of the places he advertised was in-flight magazines) but used some name whose spelling looked nothing like its pronunciation. I warned him that would make it impossible for people who vaguely remembered the name to find his store via a web search, but he was so enamored with the name he stuck with it. He was bankrupt within a few years. (The chocolates were good though.)

    Likewise, company and product names which are common words (Opera, Otello/Othello) can be impossible to find in search engines or have a lot of noise in their search results. Whereas made-up unique names and acronyms or obscure words from dead languages (VAIO, ATIV, Camry, Prius, Pepsi, Verizon, etc.) yield easy and exact search results, provided people can remember your made-up word. I know this is marketing, but in this case it's true. You want your customers to be able to find you as easily as possible.

    1. Re:What's in a name? by ausekilis · · Score: 1

      I've found companies change names when they no longer want to be associated with whatever crap they tried to pull before. Just look at the Mortgage industry, I've had a house for 10 years and my company has changed names 4 times. Yes, they suck.

      Opera Mini is absolutely god awful on iOS and crashes at the thought of a wordpress site, jumbled nonsense on HTML5 sites (if I'm looking at it right). What else is Opera trying to run away from?

  19. The name is entirely appropriate by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    First they kill their browser and then themselves. Bravo!

  20. Re: Far more important to ban bump stocks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not more deranged than you, American!

    Sincerely, the world.

  21. Re: Far more important to ban bump stocks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The rest of the world can suck our collective dick. The USA is the best nation in the world by far and you are green with jealousy.

    Go have a croissant and some tea, faggot.

  22. A whacko loon's impersonating me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See subject: To whom it may concern - the freak I'm replying to has some dumb scheme in impersonating me folks - ignore him.

    * He's just a butthurt fool that tried to "take me on" in tech stuff & lost badly to his public dismay is all - I've seen it before & it makes me LMAO!

    (His "kind" brings it on themselves & this is their WEAK effete 'retaliation'...)

    APK

    P.S.=> You're a whackjob freak - no questions asked - this has to be the 20th time you've impersonated me this week alone - apk