Less is more, at least when more isn't good enough.

While Netscape and Microsoft compete to give away the most, and most bloated, Web browsers, a little company in Norway has taken this rephrasing of Frank Lloyd Wright's dictum to heart. Opera Software was founded in Oslo in 1994. Developers Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner and Geir Ivarsøy wanted to create a browser for all computer users -- including those with older machines and those with physical disabilities. The result was Opera, a small, fast browser that, contrary to the current trend, they expect to sell at a profit.

Let's clarify an issue clouded by the legal battles over Microsoft's dubious business practice of forcing its Internet Explorer on everyone. You have a choice of which browser to use, regardless of what comes installed on your system, or what your Internet service provider supplies. You can have two, three or more browsers on your desktop, regardless of the operating system you use. Today Opera runs on all flavors of Windows and OS/2. Native Mac and OS/2 versions of Opera are in the works, and other platforms are being considered.

One negative aspect of the browser behemoth battles is their attempt to influence Web designers to make their pages "best viewed" with one or the other browser. This proprietary trend is contrary to the original and traditional openness of the Internet and the Web. If Opera succeeds, it may give pause to prospective Web-dominators, and let everyone get on with the task of making the Web more useful, accessible and enjoyable.

Opera is certainly smaller than its competitors - it took me only 10 minutes to download the 1.2mb installation file. Its developers say it will run well even on older 386 PCs with only 8mb of memory (and eventually on older Macs as well). Opera makes the Web navigable entirely with the keyboard, if you prefer or need to - a boon to thousands of visually or physically handicapped people who may find other interfaces difficult or impossible.

A nice feature is Opera's automatically opening new windows for selected links. For example, you can quickly select 10 stories on a news site and have each in its own window, for reading offline at your convenience. Opera fetches multiple documents and images simultaneously. Pages load quickly and you can browse in another window instead of waiting. Multiple downloads are also possible at the same time. All this can be done with other browsers, but Opera does it more easily and (subjectively) faster. You can start up with several windows, including the same setup as when you last exited. Each window can be customized, with or without graphics, and have its own home page. The next version of Opera, expected by May, will support Java.

Written from scratch, Opera is not based on the code of Mosaic or any other browser. Another refreshing difference from the competition is that the Opera home page confidently offers downloads of Netscape and IE as well as its own product.

Try a night at the Opera and compare for yourself. The show isn't over till this slim lady sings.

• Next column

• Previous column

• Links, Searches & Stuff

• Contents

• Introduction

• Home