14 DAY TRIAL // A new Build of Opera 10.50 has been released and is now available for download, for all users that want to get a taste of what the successor of v10.0 will bring to the table. Opera Software is hard at work pushing the next iteration of the Opera browser on the way to the first fully-fledged Alpha version. While the Alpha development milestone is yet to be reached, the Norway-based browser maker is one step closer, with the launch of Opera 10.50 pre-Alpha Build 3206 at the end of the past week. According to Huib Kleinhout, Opera Desktop Team manager, Opera 10.50 pre-Alpha Build 3206 brings to the table a variety of improvements and stability enhancements.
“Also this snapshot includes a major update of Presto with over a hundred of bug fixes and improvements. And to make it even better we expect to release more new milestones next week that will fix most of the regressions in 10.5. Who knows, there might be a new feature [this] week too,” Kleinhout explained.
Early adopters already familiar with past releases of Opera 10.50 pre-Alpha will notice that Opera Software has resolved a variety of issues associated with the browser. At the same time, Opera 10.50 pre-Alpha Build 3206 introduces new functionality, including support for the TLS Renegotiation Information Extension.
“This recent update in the TLS/SSL specification addresses a severe security vulnerability in the protocols. The Presto update also includes improved support for web fonts, including fixes for support of font-weight and font-style. The scope protocol has been updated which makes improvements in Dragonfly possible,” Kleinhout added.
It is important to note that Opera 10.50 pre-Alpha Build 3206 is a very early development release of the next version of Opera. Users that are not familiar with the hassles and the risks associated with running pre-release, testing software, should avoid this release. “Apart from stability updates in Opera's rendering engine, a number of frequently reported bugs in the user interface have been fixed. In particular the autocompletion dropdown of the addressfield has gotten some attention. The visual styling of it has been improved and enhanced, and several quirks in it have been fixed,” Kleinhout said.
The latest release of Opera 10.50 pre-Alpha is available for download here.
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