Opera and Web 2.0
As an Opera desktop edition user, I am part of a browsing minority.
I started using Opera years ago, back when they still had banner ads to support their desktop offering. Some friends recommended it to me as a browsing alternative, if I recall correctly. I was getting sick of IE, and all the Netscape users I knew were either holier-than-thou about their quirky browser or said it wasn’t really all that great. Don’t recall anybody mentioning Firefox at that time. I tried Opera out, but I didn’t quite “get” it back then, so I stopped using it. IE was just going to have to be good enough, and I didn’t feel like configuring something just to surf the web.
Time went by and I got sick of Internet Explorer and its unwelcome antics, so I went and got Opera again, thinking it was worth another try. It had improved massively, and as I figured out the features I got really comfortable using it. Everything worked, everything displayed right, I had tabs, I had mail, I had RSS, I had IRC. Life was good.
Well, the tech being used on the web has accelerated rather quickly, particularly where java, flash, and creative CSS are concerned. As these cutting and/or bleeding edge techniques were adopted, I started having trouble. Flickr was basically unusable. A few others had some really agitating quirks, too. My enjoyable IE alternative was becoming a liability.
Also, Pet Peeve time: If you run a website, do not tell me I am using the wrong browser, do not refuse me your content because you assume my browser will not display it. That is the absolute fastest way to send a visitor packing. That would be like going to the grocery store and getting yelled at by the produce guy for bringing your own shopping bags. Usability testing means making sure YOUR site works. Complicated sites may not work in all browsers. If your functionality demands things be done a certain way, and it won’t work in all browsers, then do the testing and find a non-insulting way to inform your clients of how to get the most out of your site. It’s very bad business to decide who gets to view your site and how. I’d rather surf a site that displays a little funky in Opera then show up and be told that I’m not allowed to view the site until I change browsers.
As new releases of Opera come out, the challenges do lessen. Yet with the latest update to WordPress, I am faced with a rather irritating challenge. The “Add Media” tool is now a (very slow) AJAX-type pop up window, rather than the on page form used in previous versions. It absolutely will not work in the most current version of Opera. I have to use Opera 9.5b (aka Kestrel) or Firefox to make it work. (Haven’t bothered testing in IE 6, and IE 7 is out of the question because I won’t upgrade.) I have yet to find a simplified plugin or fix for this issue, so for the time being if I wish to use images or embed any other kind of files, I’ll just have to use another browser. I prefer not to, it’s just a simple matter of convenience.
So I feel inclined to ask, what are your browsing habits? Do you use more than one browser on a regular basis? (Note: Usability testing in multiple browsers doesn’t necessarily count, unless you do it all day.) Do you run across sites that tell you that you’re doing it wrong, and don’t come back until you get one of the browsers we bothered to test? Do you ever run across sites that just plain don’t work?
Possibly most importantly, What is the responsibility split between content developers and browser developers for making sure that web technologies work for internet users?
I personally feel like it’s 70/30. The browser developers have a responsibility to build a platform which will support the latest approved standards. The content developers have a responsibility to utilize those standards to develop what gets displayed in that browser. It stands to reason that if something is coded correctly, it will display correctly. (I realize that’s not always the case, but generally, it is true.) If someone wants to employ bleeding edge code, hacks for cross-browser compatibility, or just generally be sloppy, they shouldn’t expect people to conform to the browser in which it happens to work best. At this time I know this site needs many improvements in this regard, something which irks me every time I go to post, because I know what I should be doing is a code audit. (Incidentally, I am still seeking willing contributors, if you’d like to help me keep the good times rolling while I take care of such matters.)
Weigh in, web denizens! Your voices shape the tomorrow of our future, or the future of our tomorrow, or the flatulence of our tomatoes or something like that!
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Giania said,
April 23, 2008 @ 7:26 pm
Now I am testing with the correct image address
Christine said,
April 24, 2008 @ 11:09 am
I use Firefox about 90% of the time, and IE 10%. I never use Safari anymore (and haven’t used 3.0 at all so I don’t know how it has improved over Safari 2.0).
I use IE that 10% of the time for work–I’m lucky enough to have Firefox at work, but FTP sites don’t work in Firefox the way they do in IE (and the way I need them to work), and neither does one of our online products–though this is going to change soon, and then I’ll use Firefox about 93% of the time versus 7% for IE. I’ve tried using the IE tabs within Firefox, and an FTP plug-in, but they don’t work as cleanly as just using IE. Which is obnoxious, but since IE is the only browser that supports FTP, I guess I can’t complain too much.
Thomas Ford said,
April 24, 2008 @ 3:24 pm
Hi Giania,
We’re glad to have you in the minority. We just released our new beta, which should improve even more on site compatibility. I personally don’t run into problems that often, unless the site blocks Opera. But even those blocking pages seem to be disappearing as more and more developers just choose to code according to standards.
But you’re right - it is definitely a two-way street between browser companies and developers. To that end, we’ll soon have some first-rate tools out (http://dragonfly.opera.com) that should help developers easily debug sites for all browsers.
Thanks for posting and thanks for sticking with us.
Thomas Ford
Opera
Giania said,
April 24, 2008 @ 5:31 pm
Thomas -
Thank you very much! I’ve really enjoyed using Opera, and fully intend to in the future. Playing with the Kestral Beta so far has revealed a lot of really promising improvements.
Thanks for the dev tools link, I’ve signed up and can’t wait to find out more.
I have to say that finding sites which “block” Opera users are few and far between, but there are enough sites with the presumption to prevent certain browsers (typically rejecting Safari and Opera, and any text-only browsers) that it’s worth noting.
I’m hoping that within the next year that such practices will be almost totally abolished, and I think 9.5 will be a huge step towards bringing Opera desktop into the public eye on both the development and user end.
Time will tell!
Cheers,
~G
DrLaunch said,
April 25, 2008 @ 4:53 pm
Way cool to have an Opera employee comment on your blog, Giania. :D
I’m very pleased with my browsing habits at the moment. And I feel pretty much like a good citizen of the web for using these browsers in the following order.
Opera 9.5b2 90% - Makes me a Bugatti Veyron on the web. I want a state of the art web now. At least I’ll be ready for it if I use a state of the art browser.
Safari 3 5% - If a site don’t work in Opera, I’ll try in Safari. Besides; it’s fast and minimalistic. And aproximately as supportive of web standards as Opera. Which means it will be able to use state of the art web applications now.
Firefox 3% - If the site doesn’t work in Safari I’ll try in Firefox. It’s a bit quirky when it comes to web standards but still supports a lot of the upcoming web standards.
Internet Explorer 2% - The last resort. Only used in extreme and rare cases. Its poor support for web standards combined with a old monopoly means it keeps the web from undergoing a revolution in functionality in my humble but informed opinion.