Ubuntu, the popular Linux distro, now includes Opera 9
Published July 6th, 2006 1:17 PM EDT By Daniel GoldmanThe popular Linux distribution, Ubuntu, now includes Opera 9 as an available download.
The Opera browser will be available in the Ubuntu Add / Remove Programs section.
According to statistics from DistroWatch, Ubuntu is the most popular Linux distribution. Ubuntu is also very popular at Opera with its employees, including with its CTO Håkon Wium Lie (Read our interview with him), in fact Opera employees loved it so much that they use to order free CDs and hand them out.
Here is a list of Linux distributions that already distribute the Opera desktop browser:
- Arabian Linux (Opera)
- Arch
- Buffalo Linux
- Gentoo
- Linspire
- Lunar Linux
- Lycoris (now Mandriva)
- Mandriva
- MCNLive
- Mustang
- Red Flag
- SUSE
- Puppy
- Feather
- RR4
- AUSTRUMI
- Turbo Linux
- Xandros
- Vector linux (deluxe)
Hopefully, now that Opera is ad-free, more OS distributions would be open to including the Opera browser. My real hope is for a major PC manufacturer, such as Sony, HP, and Dell, to make this big step.
We’ve seen Opera’s mobile browser being included by default on many phones and devices. Just a few days ago, Opera announced that their mobile browser would be the default one on the Sharp W-ZERO3, which made it the first phone to come with Opera Mobile for Pocket PC pre-installed.
It’s an excellent start. Now it’s the PC manufacturer’s turn.
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using
This is awsome
using
So is it there of is it the default browser ?
Isn’t Firefox also Distributed with it (Ubuntu) ?
using
“So is it there of is it the default browser ?
Isn’t Firefox also Distributed with it (Ubuntu) ?”
Ubuntu’s default browser is Firefox, as it is integrated into the OS like IE (although not in exactly the same way). You can install Opera as a seperate browser much like on Windows.
using
Uh… that’s news to me. It seems like it ought to be quite easy to install any Linux distribution, with any desktop environment, without Firefox, but installing Windows without IE takes serious effort.
Are you thinking of the Gnome file manager’s origins as a fork of Gecko? If so, the programs diverged a long time ago. (To be honest, I’m not sure Nautilus even includes any Gecko code anymore.)
Admittedly I’ve done very little with Ubuntu, but you can certainly install Mandriva, Fedora Core, or SuSE without Firefox and have a fully functional system, though I believe it’s the default browser for all three. Though come to think of it, Konqueror might be the default if you run KDE, since Konqueror really is integrated into the desktop environment.
using
Firefox is not integrated into the OS like IE.
However, the logical choice as the default browser in Ubuntu probably is Firefox. It is a GTK application, whereas Opera is Qt; so Firefox fits in with the rest of the theme. I don’t think there are any Qt applications installed on Ubuntu by default, which means it doesn’t have to ship with the Qt libraries.
On Kubuntu (Qt based), Firefox is not installed by default; in its place is Konqueror. Again, I can’t see Opera becoming the default there either, since Konqueror is ingrained deeply into the desktop environment (but unlike IE, is quite decent).
Unless, of course, Opera and Canonical sign an awesome deal.
using
Of course, the biggest reason that Opera couldn’t be included by default, let alone set as the default browser, is that it’s not open-source. I’m not sure about the exact licensing issues involved, but I know that the Kororaa distro got into trouble for including proprietary video drivers.
using
More coverage for Opera that is great! With the automagical installer included in Ubuntu 6.06 installing Opera was fast and simple. Now we don’t even need to go on Opera’s website. Our web just go simpler (now all I have to do is install Ubuntu again
)
using
Even better, if Ubuntu keeps up with updates, this should take care of the automatic update issue for Ubuntu users.
using
Firefoxe is the default browser that comes with Ubuntu on all versions as far as I know. I am running Breezy badger on my Aptiva and Dapper drake on my Dell GX150 and that is what comes up. You can if you want to to install Opera if you want to there is no one bending your arm in installin Opera. It is an option. Just like some of the other software that you can install.
using
Typo: Ubunto
using
This is great. I hope someday fedora is going to add opera in the repos.
using
To install Opera 9 in Ubuntu, you can add the following line to ur /etc/apt/sources.list
deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu dapper-commercial main
HTH.
using
Not likely. Fedora has a strict policy of only including free/open source software. That’s free as in liberty, not free as in a free lunch. Several useful and/or popular things are excluded from Fedora Core by this policy, like NVIDIA video drivers, Flash, Sun’s Java runtime, and so on. (They also don’t include things that are encumbered by patents, like MP3 playback, NTFS filesystem access, or DVD players.) That goes for anything officially Fedora, including Fedora Core and Fedora Extras.
However, there’s nothing to stop a third-party repository like rpm.livna.org (which specializes in software that’s free but not Free, if you get the drift), or FreshRPMs, or RPMForge, from adding Opera. Those would be the places to lobby for inclusion.
using
Daniel Goldman wrote:
> Hopefully, now that Opera is ad-free, more OS distributions would be open to including the Opera browser.
The real problem for including it with Ubuntu wasn’t the ads (if it was, it would have been available shortly after Opera dropped them) but rather Opera’s license.
In fact, Opera isn’t technically even hosted on Ubuntu’s servers (its hosted on Canonical’s servers; Canonical is in charge of the Ubuntu project BTW) beause the Opera license does not allow redistribution of the binary without permission (which Canonical obviously got though
but Ubuntu’s repositories (software libraries, if you will) are mirrored all over.
> My real hope is for a major PC manufacturer, such as Sony, HP, and Dell, to make this big step.
I think you’re much more likely to see Opera preinstalled on Windows than on another OS
Ryan wrote:
> Ubuntu’s default browser is Firefox, as it is integrated into the OS like IE (although not in exactly the same way). You can install Opera as a seperate browser much like on Windows.
Just to clarify how this works for those not familiar with Ubuntu, the Ubuntu team considers the various categories of software people need (e.g. web browser, e-mail client, word processor, etc.) and picks a single program in each category to install by default. That program *must* be FOSS (free and open source software).
While you can uninstall default software very easily (unlike with IE in Windows), it is not recommended because of technical reasons related to upgrading (it removes the ubuntu-desktop package).
Opera is not in the default repositories so you must check a box in Add/Remove Applications to allow it, or add a single line to the file that instructs Ubuntu where to look for software.
exclipy wrote:
> I can’t see Opera becoming the default [in Ubuntu or Kubuntu] Unless, of course, Opera and Canonical sign an awesome deal.
This will never happen for the simple reason that Opera is not FOSS. I don’t think that Ubuntu would switch to Opera even if it was FOSS for the simple reason that Firefox has the largest market share (consider that there is a vocal minority of Ubuntu users who would love to have the Epiphany web browser made default in Ubuntu)
That being said, it wasn’t hard to install Opera before and its even easier now
While I don’t use Opera in Ubuntu much (mostly just to play with it when I do) its very nice to see cross-platform apps as they make transitioning away from Windows that much easier ^_-
using
** First i’m sorry formy bad in English
1. When i open Achive (Single File in HDD)
and read my file by Opera9.1
it hang when i zoom to BIG BIG BIG
because font is to small
(1280×800 My reso NoteBook)
2. i think….
i want to save web page as Achive (Single File)
a window which have many tab in 1 file(Example… have 10 tab but in one window opera).
if Opera have… i think it Perfect for me
because it easy to view group for my work (in Archive format Single file)
i think u understand my Bad in English Language
Thank You for Best Web Browser……