When America Online last week announced plans to acquire Netscape, some Web devotees wondered where the magic had gone. The browser that broke the mold, it seemed, had been swallowed up.
On Tuesday, Opera Software reached out to those disaffected users with a new version of their upstart Opera Web browser. The latest release, Opera 3.5, includes new support for missing Web features, including Java, and support for advanced Web design features.
"People are looking out for alternatives, and they will be looking to see what we have to offer," said Opera director of marketing Sandra Thorbjornsen.
"They have heard that Opera offers speed -- they've read about it -- but they haven't gotten around to downloading it."
When they do, Thorbjornsen promised, people will see there's something to the buzz. The software made a splash a year ago as a slimmer, customizable alternative to Netscape Communicator and Internet Explorer. It has remained something of a cult hit ever since.
The new version lets users run Java applets such as scrolling stock tickers and news headlines. It also bolsters compliance with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) -- a technology that developers use to unify the appearance of multiple Web pages.
The new version also offers "offline" viewing of previously downloaded Web pages, customization of the browser's toolbar controls, and the ability to upload files to Web sites. A new "Turbo Mode" also optimizes the browser for no-frills, faster browsing.
"The things most of our users have been asking for is CSS and Java," said Opera CEO Jon von Tetzchner.
Opera's Java support comes through the Sun Java plug-in. Users will have to download and install the add-on separately, however.
Tetzchener said that Opera 3.5 supports the features of CSS better than any other browser but admitted that the browser does not yet fully meet the specification.
