Opera Sold
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blackbird71 last edited byWell, that is unfortunate. I suspect I'll be called a variety of names for my feelings on the matter but I simply cannot place my trust in software produced under Chinese control. I've been with Opera since 2000 but I guess this means it's time to look elsewhere.
With anything, trust must be earned before I will grant it. The trust questions raised when the development of something as intimate as one's web browser moves under control of a business centered beneath a repressive, censorial political regime must necessarily extinguish the trust level previously earned by the browser's makers. With the passage of time and after broad marketplace and analytical evaluation, that trust may indeed be re-earned, but until then, I believe as you do that trust must be withdrawn. I feel great compassion for Opera and its developers who had no part in this, but are simply being carried along with the flow. But until I am convinced that its further efforts are absolutely unimpeded or 'politically' uninfluenced by the new owners' regime, I will have no trust in its future browser designs. I am indeed sorry.
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blackbird71 last edited by
So as of today, is the Opera sale to the Chinese company going to happen?
Given that the necessary number of shareholders have approved the deal, that part is now history - Opera and its stockholders have agreed to be bought by the Chinese consortium. All that would block it now would be a disapproval by either the Norwegian or Chinese government. As to when those approvals (or disapprovals) might occur depends on the time required to prepare any application-submittal and the bureaucratic latency of both governments' review processes. For a lot of reasons, it's idle to speculate on the odds of approval or disapproval and how long the decisions will both take, although because there's no 'sensitive' software technology involved, things may go easier and faster than otherwise.
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opermo last edited by
...that part is now history - Opera and its stockholders have agreed to be bought by the Chinese consortium. All that would block it now would be a disapproval by either the Norwegian or Chinese government.
So assuming all of the approvals are given, when can we expect for it to actually happen and Opera to come under the control of the Chinese company?
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opermo last edited by
Will it be public knowledge when it actually happens?
Also, what other browser still supports Vista (aside from Firefox)? Unfortunately Vivaldi doesn't (from version 1.1).
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blackbird71 last edited by
...
Also, what other browser still supports Vista (aside from Firefox)? Unfortunately Vivaldi doesn't (from version 1.1).Slimjet still does, but the Slimjet Developer's Blog (
http://www.slimjet.com/blog/regarding-support-for-windows-xp-and-32-bit-linux/), 13 March 2016 states: "We will continue to support XP & Vista for the Slimjet project until the Chrome team injects too much code incompatible with XP and Vista into the Chromium project."This is going to become a general issue with any chromium-based browser still supporting XP and Vista, unless the developers are willing to either remain with an older and increasingly insecure chromium version or else fork their own modified chromium engine. Remove chromium browsers from the mix and one is left with few alternatives beyond Gecko (Firefox) variants. Slimjet support for Vista may perhaps last longer than XP support because of Vista's similarity to Win7, resulting in lesser chromium deprecation impact.
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opermo last edited by
And the Chromium browser itself supports Vista? And, does anyone know where the download button is on their website?
Also, will we know a date (or approximate period) when control of Opera gets transferred to the new owners?
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leocg Moderator Volunteer last edited by
Will it be public knowledge when it actually happens?
Most probably.
And the Chromium browser itself supports Vista?
Nope, Chromium based browsers stopped supporting XP and Vista exactly because Chromium ended support for those OSs.
Also, will we know a date (or approximate period) when control of Opera gets transferred to the new owners?
As i said, as soon as the regulators approve the acquisition.
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opermo last edited by
Chromium based browsers stopped supporting XP and Vista exactly because Chromium ended support for those OSs.
But they don't have to drop it if they don't wan to, just as Slimjet didn't.
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blackbird71 last edited by
Chromium based browsers stopped supporting XP and Vista exactly because Chromium ended support for those OSs.
But they don't have to drop it if they don't wan to, just as Slimjet didn't.
Nobody 'has' to do anything, they do what they choose to do and thus must deal with whatever costs are associated with doing it. Chromium code contained unique elements for XP, and that is now deprecated - meaning it's being removed from chromium code as various code blocks are worked on for various reasons. That means things will break if the code is run on XP - perhaps major, perhaps minor things. As to what breaks in which emerging chromium version, it's hard to say. Rather than risk promising compatibility that suddenly breaks, many chromium-based browser makers simply avoid installing new versions into XP systems. And Slimjet has not guaranteed XP support forever, merely 'for now'. Whether that means they're testing in depth for XP breakage and either patching what they can or sticking with an older chromium engine version for XP users that still works, I don't know. But there's a cost in doing whatever it is they're doing, and that's a cost that other chromium-based browser providers may elect to not incur.
Vista is a similar story, but with lower immediate impact. Its similarities to Win7 mean that much of its functionality will still be covered in chromium code that works for Win7, but that is no guarantee that some unique issues somewhere down the way won't impact browser usage with Vista suddenly or in some particular area. And of course, when Win7 eventually goes unsupported by MS, that means deprecation of Win7 will occur in chromium, and any residual compatibility with Vista will certainly evaporate then as well.
The key point is that it's problematic to guarantee OS-compatibility of an evolving browser with an operating system that is no longer supported by its maker. 'No support' means there's nobody at the OS maker for the browser makers to call for answers regarding issues that arise when trying to properly interface to an unsupported OS. So either the browser maker must abandon unsupported OS's, test each browser version extensively with the specific unsupported OS each time chromium is updated, write special workarounds for issues that are found to arise, or simply fork the browser to use the last known-compatible chromium version for that unsupported OS until its no longer safe to do so because of growing unpatched chromium issues. All of these choices raise their own issues for a browser maker, and all but the first choice adds cost/risk to the process. Not all makers are willing to do that for the ever-shrinking user market represented by an obsolete OS.
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opermo last edited by
The key point is that it's problematic to guarantee OS-compatibility of an evolving browser with an operating system that is no longer supported by its maker.
Except that Vista is still supported by MS till April 2017 (which is why I'm still using it).
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canadagoose4ever last edited by
April 17/2017 is just ten months away. Then what? Update your OS to a more modern system. I struggle to understand users who insist upon using older systems unless cost is a factor.
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Deleted User last edited by
"an affair to remember" :idea:
"canadagoose ... People are expressing their opinions as they see fit.
It's not up to you to determine which comments are "silly" or foolish.
If someone is using XP and it fulfills their needs, that's their choice, not yours"
I beg license to use these words as if were mine. What about go to page 1 and take a new view ?
:idea: :idea:
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A Former User last edited by
I recently had to work with a PC with Windows XP, I hadn't the permission to upgrade it, but I could change the browser because Chrome now has this banner saying its support will end soon.
I tried the latest version of Firefox and worked well.
Idk how much it will take to Mozilla to stop working on Windows XP, but right now it seems like the better choice.
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canadagoose4ever last edited by
"an affair to remember"
"canadagoose ... People are expressing their opinions as they see fit.
It's not up to you to determine which comments are "silly" or foolish.
If someone is using XP and it fulfills their needs, that's their choice, not yours"
I beg license to use these words as if were mine. What about go to page 1 and take a new view ?Nor is it up to you to tell me what I can and cannot post. I also am expressing "my" opinion and I stand by it. Unless it is a financial restriction, remaining with an old, unsupported OS like XP is foolishness plain and simple. Someone using such an outdated, insecure system is a threat to himself as well as others. He needs to upgrade it or pull the plug.
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opermo last edited by
unsupported OS like XP is foolishness plain and simple.
Vista is still supported (even if only has less than a year left).
If MS hasn't dropped it yet, no one else should. -
A Former User last edited by
unsupported OS like XP is foolishness plain and simple.
Vista is still supported (even if only has less than a year left).
If MS hasn't dropped it yet, no one else should.Yes everyone should support ~10 year old system with 1.4% market share. /y
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canadagoose4ever last edited by
unsupported OS like XP is foolishness plain and simple.
Vista is still supported (even if only has less than a year left).
If MS hasn't dropped it yet, no one else should.Companies can do whatever they please. You're not paying for the browser but using it as a free offering from Opera. Either update your OS or find another browser. But you're going to discover that your dated OS will be an increasing disadvantage to you going forward.
