Google Service Drops Support for Opera • Hacker News Board

Re: Google Service Drops Support for Opera

#21

Post by tomjen3 » Tue, Jul 03, 2012, 7:28 PM UTC

azakai wrote: post #17

alexlitov wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While Google has the resources to support Opera, it's not financially prudent to dedicate them to support a browser that barely has any market share.

> While Google has the resources to support Opera, it's not financially prudent to dedicate them to support a browser that barely has any market share. Really? How much do you think it costs to make Blogger work on Opera?

Including testing, support, development, translation into various languages, overhead, meetings when fixes conflicts?

I would shoot at an average of 100k per feature. Plus more in the future to keep the support when they add new features.

Re: Google Service Drops Support for Opera

#22

Post by el_presidente » Tue, Jul 03, 2012, 7:28 PM UTC

ta12121 wrote: post #13

Xcelerate wrote: post #5

This whole "supporting browsers" thing should be gone, and very soon. There are specifications that browser makers should follow, and if they are all supporting those specifications, then they well be well-supported. The only differentiator between page rendering among browsers should really be speed. (I believe Opera is actually one of the browsers that adheres most closely to the specs.)

LOL Opera is the browser that adheres to the specifications most closely, and yet it is the least usable. Why? Because web developers don't test with it. Specs are irrelevant. Testing is relevant, and testing is caused by marketshare.

Yeah, Google's reverse image search is unusable with Opera... unless you change the user agent string and tell Google you're using Firefox.

Then they whine about how Facebook and Apple are trying to destroy the open web.

Re: Google Service Drops Support for Opera

#23

Post by mbrubeck » Tue, Jul 03, 2012, 7:29 PM UTC

tomjen3 wrote: post #16

hugh4life wrote: post #12

"The reason I felt it important to pass on this news to non-Opera users is that I’m wondering if Google are going to stop at Opera? I get the sense that this could be the thin end of a wedge, and that Opera may not be the only browser which ends up getting the cold shoulder." I doubt Google will give a cold shoulder to browsers with actual market share. I'm glad Opera exists to keep a check on the other browser maker…

Agreed. I don't get why people like it so much. Something must be wrong with it to only have so few users -- it has been around for more than two years now, I think.

I'm not sure if this is a joke or not. Opera has been around for over fifteen years -- longer than Firefox, Safari, or Chrome. It's been around as long as Internet Explorer. But their main revenue source is mobile, where they have been the #1 browser vendor for a long time. Opera accounts for over 20% of mobile browser page views worldwide. The desktop market is less of a focus for Opera than for other vendors.

Even so, while Opera accounts for only about 1% of desktop browser page views in the US, it's about 4% of desktop page views in Europe, and much much higher within certain countries (around 9% in Poland and 20% in Russia, for example). Market share depends highly on geography, and it's much harder for a global company to ignore any of the major browsers.

Desktop map: http://gs.statcounter.com/#browser-ww-monthly-201206-201206-...

Mobile map: http://gs.statcounter.com/#mobile_browser-ww-monthly-201206-...

Re: Google Service Drops Support for Opera

#24

Post by jfaucett » Tue, Jul 03, 2012, 7:30 PM UTC

google is frankly starting to enrage me, they are seeming to become more and more a company with only one obvious goal - own the internet. They have made some good products ( the chrome developer tools are great ), but I'm sick of them just blowing over anyone or anything that stands in their seeming quest towards a complete monopoly ( the google books settlement is a good example ). What happen to the good ol days where google at least seemed open and supportive of the internet, its community, and innovation?

Re: Google Service Drops Support for Opera

#25

Post by jonknee » Tue, Jul 03, 2012, 7:32 PM UTC

Yarnage wrote: post #8

I love Opera; it's incredibly fast (until the past few years Opera was king of the JavaScript speed) and very standards compliant. I hope this doesn't become a trend.

As long as it's standards compliant, it shouldn't be too bad of an experience.

Re: Google Service Drops Support for Opera

#26

Post by azakai » Tue, Jul 03, 2012, 7:37 PM UTC

tomjen3 wrote: post #21

azakai wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> While Google has the resources to support Opera, it's not financially prudent to dedicate them to support a browser that barely has any market share. Really? How much do you think it costs to make Blogger work on Opera?

Including testing, support, development, translation into various languages, overhead, meetings when fixes conflicts? I would shoot at an average of 100k per feature. Plus more in the future to keep the support when they add new features.

What do you call a "feature"? How many features does Blogger have in your definition?

Re: Google Service Drops Support for Opera

#27

Post by sp332 » Tue, Jul 03, 2012, 7:38 PM UTC

tomjen3 wrote: post #16

hugh4life wrote: post #12

"The reason I felt it important to pass on this news to non-Opera users is that I’m wondering if Google are going to stop at Opera? I get the sense that this could be the thin end of a wedge, and that Opera may not be the only browser which ends up getting the cold shoulder." I doubt Google will give a cold shoulder to browsers with actual market share. I'm glad Opera exists to keep a check on the other browser maker…

Agreed. I don't get why people like it so much. Something must be wrong with it to only have so few users -- it has been around for more than two years now, I think.

Nothing is wrong with Opera. It's not missing any major features. In fact it is competitive with the major web browsers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_web_browsers including HTML5 support, accessibility, security, and speed. Many of the features that other browsers need extensions for (like image blocking, tab management, or "new tab" pages) are installed by default.

Re: Google Service Drops Support for Opera

#28

Post by bulibuta » Tue, Jul 03, 2012, 7:38 PM UTC

I see a lot of posts here make fun of opera.

Just a gentle reminder: they are the ones that invented tabs among other things.

Re: Google Service Drops Support for Opera

#29

Post by recoiledsnake » Tue, Jul 03, 2012, 7:40 PM UTC

manojlds wrote: post #4

As a long time Opera user, I have always seen Google treat Opera badly. When Google+ came, I didn't realise there was the notifications bar until I logged into Chrome. It never came on Opera.

Wow that's a very good point. I heard people talking about the bar but never saw it myself because I always use Opera. Ironically, they hurt themselves a little because G+ needs all the help it can.

Re: Google Service Drops Support for Opera

#30

Post by sp332 » Tue, Jul 03, 2012, 7:42 PM UTC

cleverjake wrote: post #6

"they are making Opera untenable" I disagree. Opera's desktop marketshare is making Opera untenable. Even though Google is a major corporation, I doubt they can afford to spend the time fixing issues in a browser that gets lower single digit uses. Its not economically viable. No one will argue that Opera is a better browser than IE8, but IE8's marketshare dictates it should be supported. Google is no more forcing use…

Their mobile browser accounts for 20%+ of all mobile traffic, which together with their desktop browser usage is about 300,000,000 active users (that's the population of the entire United States). So it would make sense for Google to support them.