Firefox Is Better

The Opera browser, (pronounced like the music genre) is a great second internet browser to have handy on your computer’s desktop. Opera, a free to download for individual use browser, adheres to strict web page rendering standards set forth by the W3C. Among the fastest browsers, far exceeding Internet Explorer and rivaling Firefox 3 (Beta), I would encourage everyone to download a copy for use. Why would you want another software program on your computer? Adding more software to your computer is sometimes like taking a poison pill. Everything was fine until you downloaded another program and installed it. Rest assured Opera won’t harm your computer, and Will come in handy for many reasons.

So now comes the WHY part. Opera first off is a very stealthy browser. With built in encryption like many other browsers, Opera currently uses SSL3 and TLS encryption. However encryption is just the tip of the berg, none of Opera’s found security vulnerabilities remain unpatched. Internet Explorer has the highest number of unpatched bugs/vulnerabilities and second is Firefox.

Opera’s strict web page rendering standards can sometimes be a problem with websites that are sloppy in written code. But don’t let that be a reason for not using it. I had a banking website that I used often which only worked in Opera! I could use it in IE and Firefox, but a submit button remained off screen and out of view unless I used Opera. That problem has since been fixed but Opera provided me a way around when my favorite browser was too lazy to render proper code. If you are having a problem with a website working like it should then try Opera, you just might solve your problem.

Another good reason for Using Opera is the page rendering speed. Opera loads pages so fast it will blow your mind. Now that Firefox 3 is around the corner and according to my use of Firefox 3 Beta, Opera will have a serious contender in the speed department.

So why don’t I use Opera all of the time? Well, I do use it a lot but Firefox remains my favorite browser for many reasons. The one draw back of Opera is it’s strongest point. Strict page rendering standards. Some web sites are a problem with Opera, mainly because of the large amount of old websites out there that don’t validate properly and are coded sloppy. IE and Firefox are a lot more forgiving than Opera when it comes to displaying web pages.

My favorite function built into Opera is the Speed Dial Feature. Speed dial lets you assign pages and websites to slots that you view often for easier access. Below is a screen shot of speed dial on my Opera browser. If your an Opera user let me know what you love about it!

Don’t be shy about trying Opera, after testing it out for yourself you will see what a great browser Opera is. Maybe it will be your browser of choice. Try it today by downloading it here.