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Opera browser sold to a Chinese consortium for $600M

engadget.com

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Re: Opera browser sold to a Chinese consortium for $600M

#51

Post by makecheck »

I really wish promising technology couldn’t be seriously damaged simply by being “bought”. Perhaps there should be a law that says something like: fine, you can buy this but you must permanently open-source a snapshot of that product from 2 years ago (ensuring some legacy regardless of your actions).

Yes, Opera might be fine. It might even end up better. If history tells us anything though, new management can cause a lot of problems. The term “consortium” doesn’t exactly scream “experts at moving technology forward”. One of the companies where I worked was bought by a “consortium”, and I saw some very…interesting decisions made back then.

Opera wasn’t special because of a dollar figure; it was special because of its attitude toward technology. If a consortium values return over anything else, they risk alienating too many of the people that made Opera successful.

Re: Opera browser sold to a Chinese consortium for $600M

#52

Post by 794CD01 »

makecheck wrote: post #51

I really wish promising technology couldn’t be seriously damaged simply by being “bought”. Perhaps there should be a law that says something like: fine, you can buy this but you must permanently open-source a snapshot of that product from 2 years ago (ensuring some legacy regardless of your actions). Yes, Opera might be fine. It might even end up better. If history tells us anything though, new management can cause a…

Their attitude has proven to be largely unsuccessful. Why should they be obligated to preserve it?

Re: Opera browser sold to a Chinese consortium for $600M

#53

Post by Wingman4l7 »

lucb1e wrote: post #50
Fej wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem isn't necessarily the companies, it's that the government is in league with the companies and/or outright owns and runs them, so people are concerned about the Chinese government having their data. I am too, and I imagine most people here are as well.

Probably an unpopular opinion here, but for that matter, should I trust the American government? I'm not one of its citizens and deemed fine to spy on by American laws.

The American government has, historically, been more reluctant to disappear citizens whose viewpoints it disagrees with.

Re: Opera browser sold to a Chinese consortium for $600M

#55

Post by lucb1e »

Wingman4l7 wrote: post #53
lucb1e wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably an unpopular opinion here, but for that matter, should I trust the American government? I'm not one of its citizens and deemed fine to spy on by American laws.

The American government has, historically, been more reluctant to disappear citizens whose viewpoints it disagrees with.

Good point, though I'm not physically in China either.

Re: Opera browser sold to a Chinese consortium for $600M

#56

Post by [deleted] »

jacek wrote: post #10

I really like using Opera on Linux. It is the only full featured browser that has good, scalable UI and touch input support. And builtin adblocking + "battery saver mode" (developer version only) are really good additions. However, I do not trust Chinese companies with my data, I will need to switch to Firefox soon.

[deleted]

Re: Opera browser sold to a Chinese consortium for $600M

#58

Post by dezzeus »

Those controversies of Qihoo 360 (stated in Wikipedia for both the society and the product of "360 Secure Browser") and Haier (for their partnership in the mobile platform) can't lead to anything good for Opera (browser).

Also, the presence of a "consortium" for which I haven't read any other relevant name sound like a way to cover the direct acquisition…

What I can see here is: - A Chinese company trying to both comfortably beat their (Chinese) competition while gaining (out of PRC) customers for their "services" (which will likely be integrated within the browser); Which is fine, except for their "controversies". - An executive team (at Opera), that seams pretty all about finance and economics, trying to make the most (money) from an offer in a market (the web browsers one) that is (at least, I think so) hard to remunerate. Obviously those shareholders will be happy; but are those shareholders really involved into the product that they own, or they are just silent speculators who made an investment for the sole purpose of profit when they realized the company's potential of being acquired ?

I'm also disappointed because I used to like the effort that Opera has put into their own browser in the latest months; the same effort that convinced me to adopt their browser (beta version) instead of Chrome and advocate them.

P.S.: Obviously, those are just my thoughts after having read the article; I hope for a more detailed statement from Opera…

Re: Opera browser sold to a Chinese consortium for $600M

#59

Post by SturgeonsLaw »

CyberShadow wrote: post #31
jacek wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just found this: https://vivaldi.net/en-US/teamblog/121-snapshot-1-3-501-6-cu... ! (dev version). It allows full customization with CSS! That's great!

A little-known fact, but you can customize the Firefox UI with CSS too: http://kb.mozillazine.org/UserChrome.css My Firefox currently looks like this: https://dump.thecybershadow.net/0177f0cecdf6ad3b65158858a210...

Wow, that looks very cool. I'd also be interested in seeing the CSS behind that if you don't mind sharing?

Re: Opera browser sold to a Chinese consortium for $600M

#60

Post by Mithaldu »

dezzeus wrote: post #58

Those controversies of Qihoo 360 (stated in Wikipedia for both the society and the product of "360 Secure Browser") and Haier (for their partnership in the mobile platform) can't lead to anything good for Opera (browser). Also, the presence of a "consortium" for which I haven't read any other relevant name sound like a way to cover the direct acquisition… What I can see here is: - A Chinese company trying to both com…

> Obviously those shareholders will be happy; but are those shareholders really involved into the product that they own

The shareholders are ecstatic with joy. The browser has been nothing but an advertising front for what is factually an advertising company for years now.

The fact that you actually saw the abomination that was Opera 15 and beyond in a positive light, instead of the truth of abandoning browser development in favor of a token Chrome fork, speaks volumes to this strategy having worked for them.

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