23/06/07
Kestrel
Uh oh, the Browser Radar™ has been twitching again. I have high hopes for Kestrel, the codename of Opera 9.5, soon to be available as pre-release weekly builds. Aside from the CSS3 support, the section under ‘Platform integration’ caught my eye (emphasis mine of course):
“To make sure that Opera remains the best choice on your platform, we spend a lot of time making Opera feel more integrated with your platform. Mac users can expect a nice new visual look and feel. Opera for Linux will add a QT4 build, so you can easily adjust the skin to match with desktop. There will also be 64-bit Linux/FreeBSD packages made available.”
I’ve been impressed with Opera abilities since about v8, and especially with 9, but the ‘Opera Standard’ interface looks more Mac-like than the ‘Native Macintosh’ skin to me. I use Opera Mini on my mobiles all the time, but it’s never made the leap to my desktop due to its look and feel. I believe that 9.2 introduced proper system-drawn OS X widgets which is a step forward for sure, but with Leopard on the horizon, Opera feels as if it’s still clinging on to a Jaguar look. Sadly, I’ve never had the time to have a go at making my own skin – the process seemed too daunting.
So, I’m quite looking forward to seeing this ‘nice new visual look and feel’, and hoping that it won’t be a disappointment. If anyone at Opera just happens to be reading this, any chance of posting a few screenshots to sate the curiosity?
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Matt Robin said 329 days ago:
When I saw this article’s name in my Google Reader, my first thought was ‘Why is Jon writing about lager?’
...instead, this makes more sense. So, you usually use Safari on your Mac don’t you? Or is it Camino?
Matt Munsey said 329 days ago:
My partner and I have always argued over each others browser choice (In a loving and friendly manner of course). I have always been a FireFox nut (who isn’t?). He has always favored Opera. He likes the mouse gestures. I prefer having the web developer add-ons. This new browser release has my interest though. Who knows, maybe I will convert.
Marc Santos said 329 days ago:
I was reading about this over at /. the other day—it sounds exciting. I’m a satisfied Safari user, but if Opera’s new CSS capabilities are as good as advertised, then I might make the switch.
Frank 'viperteq' Young said 329 days ago:
Yes, Kestrel definitely looks interesting. The CSS improvements definitely have me salivating, but if they are coming out with a better look for the Mac version, I most definitely will have to try it.
One request though…..the icon for Opera is god-awful ugly. Could you make a replacement icon for it? I know that you and the Mrs. are EXTREMELY busy, but even you must wince every time you look at that icon at launch…..
Dustin Wilson said 328 days ago:
I’ve been an Opera user for ages, even before I started using the Macintosh again. Opera’s been good to us Mac users. They’ve done quite a bit in the past years to learn the Mac way of doing things such as taking special trips to Apple HQ, attending WWDCs, and hiring many Mac developers to help them with their transition.
Kestrel has been a few years of hard work and has been developed alongside the current Opera, Merlin. Opera’s named their browser codenames after the legendary Rolls Royce airplane engine codenames. You can see the post here. The Opera Mac community has been promised this for a long time, and I can’t wait for the weekly. Kestrel is going to be great, but Peregrine is going to be the one to watch out for down the road (probably late this year).
marc nothrop said 328 days ago:
Likewise, I’ve been interested in Opera (and use it on PCs given the chance), but it’s just too uncomfortable, and frankly a bit awkward on the Mac, esp. compared to OmniWeb, Camino, Shiira and even newer versions of Firefox (I always hoped that Opera would at least ‘feel native’ before Firefox!)
It’s kinda sad, but these days the use of our dear old friend Geneva really does look anachronistic; I really hope this new Mac appearance makes use of Lucida Grande and adds a bit of decent padding to UI elements… overall and a bit more fit-and-finish! :)
john said 328 days ago:
I use Opera all the time, however I can’t stand it’s default icon (red O). It looks horribly. I’ve read a post on myopera.com and I still see they haven’t change UI yet :-(
Joost de Valk said 327 days ago:
Hmm damn Jon, I hate to see you miss the best reason you’ve had in ages to link to css3.info :)
Jon Hicks said 327 days ago:
“Hmm damn Jon, I hate to see you miss the best reason you’ve had in ages to link to css3.info :)”
Everyone’s a critic…
Dustin Wilson said 326 days ago:
@marc: Opera’s used Lucida Grande on the Mac for its interface ever since it started development again on the Mac in 2003. There was a bug in the old days where if you started it up sometimes it wouldn’t load all the fonts properly and substitute Geneva for Lucida Grande. A restart of the application would solve the problem.
video said 324 days ago:
thank you man :D