Opera Outperforms Again

With the latest builds of Opera, another ability is released to the public, that no other browser allows (this is getting to be a habit, for those not paying attention).

For the Opera user, there  have been many little applets, which Opera calls Widgets. The Widgets are much like the applets originally released in the product that ran on Macs, called Konfabulator. There are almost as many Widgets as there are apps for the iPhone, though not nearly as popular.

The news about this is that with revision 10.10, the Widgets no longer have to be run inside the browser window – the browser does not have to be running, only present on the hard drive.

The gHacks site tells a bit more about this -

The Opera developers have taken a different road than most web browser manufacturers when it comes to add-ons for their web browser. The main difference is that Opera Widgets are running in their own window which often made them more complicated to use especially on user systems with low screen estate. Today, the Opera developers have announced an interesting new option concerning Opera Widgets. The new feature makes it possible to run Opera Widgets on the computer desktop without Opera running.

The Opera web browser still needs to be installed on the computer system but that is the only requirement. Widgets will work even if it is closed (and never opened again).

Opera users who want to test the new functionality need to download the latest Opera labs build (which is the latest Opera 10.10 build) to do so. The download links are provided in the post announcing the new feature over at the Opera website.

Opera Widgets and the SDK to create widgets are available at the Opera Widgets website. Widgets are available for many web services and uses.

Already installed widgets need to be imported to a location on the local hard drive. Opera will open the Widget Import Wizard automatically if it finds installed Opera Widgets. The wizard is later available under File > Import > Import Widgets if the necessity arrives.

When the user wants to do small things with the Widgets it is quick and easy. I  use the Wordpress blog widget, the Dictionary Widget, that allows a user to get to Dictionary .com in a flash, the Twitter Widget, and the Weather Widget, called Kiss the Sky.

Nothing here is going to change the world, but the ease of use, along with the other benefits of Opera make it the browser I rely on, and recommend.

As with the iPhone apps, Opera Widgets keep growing, and chances are you’ll find more than a few useful things (the biggest problem with Widgets is not in the Widgets, but the categorization of them –it’s often very hard to find what you need, unless you dedicate some time to the project).

While you’re waiting for these things to be duplicated in Firefox or Chrome, you might try Opera, and find no need to worry about it from then on.

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Those that know, do. Those that understand, teach. Aristotle

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