The very smart folks over at Opera Software have released a new version of their critically-acclaimed web browser, called Opera Unite. Designed to blur the client/server lines, this version acts both as a web browser and a file sharing, social networking platform. How does that work? Essentially Opera Unite comes with six services to start: File Sharing, Fridge, Media Player, Photo Sharing, The Lounge, and Web Server. Each one of these services will run locally on your computer, however they also register with operaunite.com so that they are accessible anywhere via the web. So, for example, let’s assume that you have a user name of JohnDoe. Then if you started a web server on your “home” computer, it would be accessible via home.johndoe.operaunite.com. Other services, such as file sharing, are accessed in a similar manner.
Fridge, one of the components of Unite, is an interesting concept. Accessed via computer.username.operaunite.com/fridge, it is designed to be a place whereby friends can place a virtual note on your “fridge”. You’re then notified in real-time that a note has been placed on your fridge. If you have the other party’s fridge open, you could have a bit of a chat that way, although it would certainly be more awkward than any conventional messaging system. Which of course brings us to The Lounge…
The Lounge is a decentralized messaging system whereby you can invite other Unite users and friends on any platform to chat in real-time. The interface is elementary although it’s certainly functional enough so as not to feel inferior to MSN or other messaging systems. Coupled with the fact that you’ll have fewer privacy worries as you’re removing the third-party servers (although I strongly doubt MSN actually checks any chat logs, but they could), and you have an interesting way to communicate online.
To be quite honest, as cool as it is having a browser and powerful servers all in one application, I’m still trying to figure out the practical benefit of it. To keep your servers running, you need Opera running. And even though it’s cool to invite people to chat on your private chatroom, once again, does it really serve any purpose that supersedes MSN or Yahoo Messenger? Same idea with the file sharing or web server. Given that most residential internet connections have slow upload speeds, is there really any benefit to using this web server over a free hosting service? Or using this file sharing as opposed to one of the plentiful file hosting services around?
I see it more as a cool new developer’s toy than anything. Web development, for example, just got a whole lot easier as now I could chat with the client, show him the web site and send him the files, all in real-time, from pretty much one location. Previously I’d have to host it somewhere else, contact him via some other medium, make the changes/modifications, contact again, and then find some way to send it to him. This significantly consolidates web development.
As for daily practical use by the average user, I don’t see an awful lot. The browser is awesome but as for the unique “Unite” functionality, I don’t see this as revolutionizing our experience. It’s definitely worth the download but the server functionality is more of a “toy” than a valuable add-on, IMHO.
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Tags: Bit Of A Chat, Browser Opera, Chat Logs, Client Server, Computer Username, Home Computer, Johndoe, Messaging System, Messaging Systems, Networking Platform, Opera Software, Party Servers, Player Photo, Privacy Worries, Server Lines, Smart Folks, Social Networking, Virtual Note, Web Browser, Web Server
Think I’ll be sticking to Chrome; fast, effective and pretty wonderful. On those chat elements, particularly ‘fridge’ and ‘lounge’; have you seen Google’s “Wave”. There’s something that looks a little more revolutionary.
As for Opera, I tried downloading it yesterday (not Unite, just plain old Opera) and Chrome told me it was going to take up to seventeen hours for some reason. Is it really as massive as that? I navigated to a page where I could download Apple’s Safari in the mean time and that took a matter of seconds. In fact, I’ve got almost all of the major browsers on this machine currently. Firefox, Chrome and Safari were quick and simple downloads; why should Opera be any different and is it worth the wait?
All this said, I’m not going to be downloading Unite; I do some web development as a hobby but have no clients to serve so, as you’ve pointed out, it seems relatively useless. At least at the consumer level, they’re never going to get enough support to make the chat features worthwhile.