5 Wishes for Browsers… er Opera
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Modifoo has asked me to comment on what I feel the Opera browser needs to gain market share. Opera is a fantastic browser from Norway that works and renders fantastically. I am especially a fan of the Mobile version that runs on my phone. Opera may not like my response to this - nor will any other browser - but here goes.
5 Wishes for Opera
- Build a data grid component that can be developed utilizing basic HTML and perhaps some advanced CSS. It should have paging, sorting, edit-in-place, etc.
- Build a media player component that supports Quicktime, Windows Media, and Real Audio. Again, allow me to develop to it simply using HTML and CSS. Add streaming capabilities.
- Build an editor component that will output HTML and CSS comparable to any good online editor. Allow users to develop to it, post and retrieve from it via XML-RPC and even FTP.
- Build a charting component that rivals the charts in Excel. Allow binding it to a datagrid seamlessly.
- No where on your home page is there a welcome sign for Developers! Developers will make or break your browser. The ability to leverage a browser to integrate to your solution is the quickest way to get market share.
In short, I’d like to see Opera invent and break the rules of browsers. Safari and the iPhone are doing just this. They aren’t playing by the rules, they are making the rules!
Applications continue to go online and become more and more complex. Browsers supporting basic components that we look to RIA technologies to build, like Flex and AIR, would revolutionize the Software as a Service industry and gain market share significantly.
Get people to work in your browser, Opera. Then they’ll play in it!
I totally agree that Opera has to fiind a different approach than “simply” pleasing the users. That way they get the (maybe) best browsers, but only 5% are actually using it. They need a different approach, and since they don’t have a Microsoft leverage, they have to make up with creativity.
I like your idea about making developers feel welcomed. Very good point.
I’m working on why your comment isn’t displaying… some bug somewhere! Argh!
Doug
Btw, the trackback does not seem to be working - on my “5 wishes” from yours… Could this be related (I guess I just outed myself as a non-programmer?)
Doug, maybe you have some “comment security” plugin that thinks the comment is a cross-site scripting attack?