With more and more users opting for "alternate browsers", Firefox and Opera have been getting a fair deal of attention. Firefox 1.0 has already been downloaded 10 million times since its release in November. Now Opera has released the much awaited beta version of its next browser for the Windows platform.
Opera was in fact preparing for the 7.60 release, but according to Jon S. von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software, "as work progressed and we kept adding improvements and functionality, it became very evident that we now have a browser that is so powerful, secure, and easy to use that it exceeds the next logical version number and warrants a major release". This suggests a major version jump to 8.0.
The beta version (8.00b1) includes tools like Fit-to-Window-Width, Fit-to-Paper-Width, improved RSS handling, Start Bar for easy access to main features, speech in and output, and automatic update checks - all in a simplified user interface (UI).
"All those who have licensed Opera 7 will, of course, receive free upgrades. The new Opera version has dramatic improvements under the hood, in addition to some very helpful new features to welcome more and more users to take advantage of browsing the Internet in a fast, safe, and customizable way," said Tetzchner.
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