14 DAY TRIAL // After offering a steady flow of Release Candidate development snapshots since the start of this week, Opera Software has wrapped up the latest version of its browser. Opera 10.60 Final Build 3445 is now available for download. The Windows, Mac OS X and Linux releases were all synchronized. According to the browser maker, version 10.60 of Opera brings to the table boosted stability and reliability, but also new features and enhanced performance.
In fact, perhaps the most highlighted part of Opera’s evolution to v10.60 is the speed boost that the browser received. Opera Software is touting performance enhancements of up to 50% compared to version 10.50 which was released to the public earlier this year. The 50% performance increase applauded for Opera 10.60 in relation to its predecessor Opera 10.50 is related to what the Norway-based browser maker called key benchmark tests. Specifically, Opera Software is talking about benchmarks such as Webkit Sunspider, which is designed to measure JavaScript speed.
“Combined with its unique Opera Turbo functionality, Opera puts you one step ahead on the Web. Opera Turbo compresses the data going over your connection up to a factor of two or more, for those congested connections at cafés or a mobile connection at the summerhouse,” the company stated.
An important milestone in terms of HTML5 evolution for Opera is related to support for WebM, Google’s open web media project. Opera 10.60 Final is the first browser available to the general public that plays nice with WebM, coming with support for VP8, Google’s HTML5 video codec designed as an alternative to Ogg Theora and H.264.
Opera 10.60 also introduces geolocation capabilities for Opera users, allowing the browser to be aware of the users’ location, provided that customers choose to share such data. Moreover, Opera 10.60 also offers offline applications, a new feature which enables users to run Cloud-based applications even in offline scenarios.
In terms of enhanced security, Opera Software partnered with AVG in order to provide users with anti-fraud systems and phishing protection. On top of this, users of Opera 10.60 in specific geographic regions will be protected against malware by technology from Yandex.
Opera Software enumerated additional enhancements, including:
“- Appcache: Use in-browser applications such as word processors and spreadsheets even without an Internet connection by storing the necessary files locally. - More search: Opera 10.60 includes several search engines for the user to choose for themselves. Opera has added the Bing search engine as one of the choices, in addition to the default Google search. - Search suggestions: With websites such as Wikipedia, get instant search suggestions to complement your search experience. - Improved design: New design features such as an improved Menu button and icon tabs make day-to-day use of Opera even faster and easier. With the Speed Dial, another Opera first, get to your favorite websites with just a single click of the mouse.”
Opera 10.60 Build 3445 Final is available for download here.
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