14 DAY TRIAL // Opera Software has released a new (Alpha) version of its free-to-download-and-use web browser, Opera. The new release includes tweaks and fixes, as well as a few improvements. Read on to learn what's been cooking over at the Opera Software labs recently.
According to the changelog for Opera Alpha Build 6231, the developers were able to fix a crash when showing authentication dialogs for feeds, as well as a problem that could make Opera send blank e-mails. Additionally, Opera Software now confirms - “No more progress bar for XMLHttpRequest (i.e. no more constant progress bar at Gmail).”
Improved spelling checker underline, several contentEditable/designMode fixes, deactivated scrollmarker by default, stability improvements and auto-update improvements round up the contents of the latest update to Opera.
In older (but recent) releases, Opera Software improved message composition window context menu, as well as message encoding detection. Mail fixes included loss of mail drafts, if several drafts were open when closing Opera, sending link by mail in plain text format and several bugs in the compose window related to navigation and editing.
NOTE: Opera 10.0 Alpha is an alpha version of Opera: it contains the latest changes, but may also have severe known issues, including crashes and data loss situations. It is advised to use this build only on properly backed-up computers. Users should not install this Alpha version over previous Opera versions. Additionally, this release uses a database format for Opera Mail (and feeds) incompatible with Kestrel. You will not be able to downgrade to a previous version of Opera and use Opera Mail after upgrading to Opera 10.0.
Download Opera 10.0 Alpha Build 6231 / 9.63 Stable Build 5261 (Free)
In other (web browser) news, Apple was able to patch a Safari hole recently discovered by Brian Mastenbrook. The vulnerability was present in Safari's handling of RSS feeds. Apparently, the flaw allowed an attacker to capture a user's personal information, cookies, or even passwords. Apple has addressed this issue with the release of Security Update 2009-001.