"All made possible because Opera signed a search referral deal with Google."
They signed that deal years ago! See that search box in Firefox and IE? Opera introduced that, IIRC.
According to the announcement, the thing is that Opera has gotten a better search deal with Google than before, so I guess it's partly true. But paid search referrals have been there for ages.
"I feel kind of bad for Opera. That the browser is now free is an indication that the company realizes it can no longer sell its flagship product. You know, for money. That's got to hurt."
Sure it can. It just wants more people to use it. It's been doing this for ten years, after all.
"(1) The latest version 8.02 crashes... A LOT. I reverted back to 7.54 and have had no trouble."
Get 8.5 then. 8.02 has been stable as a rock on my PC anyway.
"(2) With regards to the use of either version, I didn't get certain popup ads with the "ad supported" version of Opera, but once I entered the reg code, I started getting some popups that I didn't normally get."
Registering Opera didn't change anything, except that the ad banner disappeared. It certainly didn't start showing more popup ads. So this sounds like a lame attempt by an AC to spread FUD and lies about Opera.
"I wonder if Opera is going the way of Netscape."
Nope. Unlike Netscape, Opera is profitable and has been around for ten years.
"Such as integrated MineSweeper, Lorem Ipsum generator, egg timer, and calming mantra from Dune?"
Oh, I don't know about you, but I installed a Tetris panel in Opera:) It was based on JavaScript, IIRC. Possibly just a Java applet, but I think it was pure JS/HTML/CSS.
Panels are a nice feature people keep forgetting. Why install a separate IM client when you can just add a Java version to a panel?
"Listen to what you are telling people. Take an application with extensions and instead look spend time trying to find workarounds."
So what you are saying is that hunting down extensions is a pain in the neck, and an integrated approach (like Opera) is better for you? Some would consider extensions to be workarounds for missing functionality, you know.
"The day Opera has built in ad blocking similar to Firefox's extension, I'll consider using regularly."
Most of those are either available outside the browser (notifiers, etc.), or possible to do in Opera in some way (User JS to convert links in plain text files, built-in searches are there already, etc.). Greasemonkey is just the Firefox equivalent of User JS in Opera. It's rather easy to add a button to Opera which gets a BugMeNot login for the current page, too. As an example.
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You sure hit a nerve there. Someone @ MS HQ is boiling with anger. Perhaps he's even throwing chairs through the room as we speak? ;)
You are wrong.
He is right.
With several browser with about the same market share, the impact of viruses/worms targeting specific browser flaws will be lessened.
You are asking about something that was perfectly clear, even from the title of this story.
According to the announcement, the thing is that Opera has gotten a better search deal with Google than before, so I guess it's partly true. But paid search referrals have been there for ages.
How does Firefox make money? With searches of course. Opera will do the same.
Oh yes, they want to make money off the desktop version too, don't you worry.
Have a look at these: http://nontroppo.org/wiki/BlockAdvertisements - http://nontroppo.org/wiki/OperaAdblock
Image: Drag to the page bar. Or right-click, "Open".
Link navigation: Shift+arrow keys. Or Ctrl+J for a complete list of links on the page.
So basically your rant doesn't make sense. You are dead wrong on several accounts, and too vague on others so I can't really respond properly.
It doesn't sound like you have been using Opera at all though, especially since you thought the email client and newsreader were recent additions...
Panels are a nice feature people keep forgetting. Why install a separate IM client when you can just add a Java version to a panel?
Quickies: http://userjs.org/ - http://nontroppo.org/wiki/BlockAdvertisements - http://nontroppo.org/wiki/OperaAdblock
http://nontroppo.org/wiki/OperaAdblock
Just FYI.