3DWars heeft een artikeltje over internet browser wars neer gemikt. Voor de verandering worden hier niet IE en Netscape tegen elkaar afgezet, maar brengt-ie buitenbeentje Opera in de familie. Zelf heb ik Opera een tijdje gebruikt voor nieuws posten en uiteindelijk kwam ik tot de conclusie dat het een instabiele bout browser is, die alleen handig is wanneer je achter een super trage bak met weinig RAM zit. Laat ik ook maar meteen richting zijn conclusie skippen...
So will I change my browser? No, sorry Opera, I like you, but only as a friend. The war may have passed Opera by in the sense that consumers are already used to a certain interface. I found it difficult to use the address bar on the bottom of the screen. I am so used to it being on the top, I was actually frustrated by that (Quick note: the stop button is really small and to the left of the address bar-hard to find. Perhaps Opera may be trying too hard to make itself different, by sacrificing small cosmetic features that IE and Netscape learned from consumers, in order to establish itself as something different). It may be too late for Opera to win consumers who are already satisfied. But never underestimate the power of the consumer to like something that's better. If Opera can outclass the two Goliath's, it will win. But as is, Opera doesn't have a product that will enable it to get more than a foot in the door. It's a start, and I like to see the new guy, because they always bring a fresh perspective to the table. So if Opera comes out with Opera 5.0 for free, you can bet it will make more than a crack in the enemy's armor. But don't expect the competition to sit back and let its years of huge investments go down the drain. If anything, the great browser wars aren't over and the product we get will only improve as the battle turns red-hot.
