14 DAY TRIAL // Having successfully planted the seeds of the divorce between Windows and Internet Explorer, Opera Software, the makers of the Opera browser, are gearing up to reinvent the web come June 16th, 2009. Following what the Norwegian-based company claims to be 15 years of browser innovation, the web's overhauling is scheduled for June 16th at 9:00 a.m (CEDT). No word from the company as to what reinventing the web wheel involves, but it is not the release of the final version of Opera 10, the successor of the current version 9.6. While failing to offer any official details, Opera Software does offer a few cryptic clues that can be easily put together.
First off, the Opera Freedom page went live at the end of the past week. Hidden inside the page source is the following text: “We start our little story with the invention of the modern day computer. Over the years, the computers grew in numbers, and the next natural step in the evolution was to connect them together. To share things. But as these little networks grew, some computers gained more power than the rest and called themselves servers ...”
In addition, Opera browser designer Jon Hicks revealed via a tweet that "We've put the Internet on a USB stick, so that you can always have a connection wherever you are!" On top of this, the actual Opera Freedom webpage features a visual clue, namely renderings of clouds. Opera will not deliver any official details ahead of June 16th, but the company did confirm that Opera Freedom is related to the introduction of a new technology designed to revamp the fabric of the Internet.
In this context it is not that hard to sum up the details available. Although connected with the Opera browser itself, June 16th will not mark the launch of the gold version of Opera 10, which only debuted into Beta at the start of this month. Instead, it looks more likely that Opera is embracing Cloud computing. The effort seems to be related to decoupling the end users and the browser from the desktop, and from any device for that matter. Opera Freedom is in this regard pointing to the browser maker opening up its datacenters and welcoming users to the Opera Software Cloud.
Of course it's all speculation at this point in time, but the wait is almost over. While the bit with “reinventing the web” needs to indeed be taken with a grain of salt, it is obvious that Opera Software has been cooking a new Cloud-based technology connected to its browser. Well just have to wait and see.
Opera 10 for Windows is available for download here.
Opera 10 for Linux is available for download here.
Opera 10 for Mac OS X is available for download here.