The answer is - "it is worth it if it is worth it to you."
You can find out if Opera is worth $39 to you by downloaidng it for free and trying it out:
OperaIf it is worth it to you after you try it out, then buy it.
If not - don't.
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I use different browsers on different platforms.
I have not yet found Opera to be worth buying on any platform.
On Macs running MacOS 8.6-9.2.2, I prefer Mozilla 1.3.1, which I am now running as my default browser in MacOS 9.2.2. I understand that at least three different versions of Mozilla 1.3.1 have been ported to MacOS 9.x (Japanese anyone?) - MacOS 9.x is not dead, not by a long shot! Of the available Mozilla 1.3.1 options I have settled on the "WaMCom" port of Mozilla 1.3.1 maintained by Kai Engert, available
here.
Note the much higher VersionTracker user reviews for Mozilla 1.3.1 (WaMCom) than the reviews for a number of other web browsers available for MacOS 9.x. Mozilla 1.3.1 (WaMCom) is more secure than Mozilla 1.2.1 and has various bug-fixes. Faster, better and more secure than IE 5.1.7. Faster and more secure than any of the Netscapes.
If Mozilla 1.3.1 (WaMCom) fails, I go download the latest free version of
iCab and see if that works. If iCab fails, I go download the latest free version of
Opera and see if that works.
If all three browsers fail, I remember that there are over three billion - count 'em on your fingers and toes - THREE BILLION pages on the Web, each vying for your and my attention, the vast majority at which I and any of my three web browsers are fully welcome. So I drop the worthless site and move on to one where the site creators know what they are doing. Hey - their sloppiness is their loss, not mine - it is just their public declaration of incompetence on the web.
If I am feeling kind, I may drop a polite note to the errant Web site about how I am interested in what they have to offer but that they just lost an interested inquirer/customer - precise information as to what I tried that did not work - precise information on how their site is not compliant (iCab generates this information at the click of a button - I just select and paste the information and append it to the end of the email) - encourage them to become compliant with web standards - and I leave my email address and an offer to do what I can to help. Often as not with smaller sites I get a reply within a day or two with thanks telling me that they have changed things and are now working to become web-compliant - would I please test out their site and tell them how they are doing? With larger corporate sites I generally get a "thank you for your interest in our very important site - we are very important but we always listen to the little people - we are happy to state that we are working on these and many other very important matters and plan to have important changes in place on our important web site in ensuing months" (virtual pat on the head).
Not once have I received a nasty reply.
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Linux: I use and recommend Mozilla Firebird 0.7 over straight Mozilla or Netscape.
I don't do Windows.
Regards,
Epaminondas
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<< Future versions of WaMCom Kai Engert
Version: 20030710, 7/13/2003 01:29PM PST
It has been asked whether future versions of WaMCom will be available for Mac OS 9.
Well, it was *relatively* little work to produce a Mozilla 1.3.1 version for Mac Os 9. It was simple, because not much had changed since the official support by the Mozilla community for Mac OS 9 was dropped.
But it would probably be much more work to port Mozilla 1.4, because a lot has changed in Mozilla after 1.3.1.
However, please be aware of the following: The WaMCom 1.3.1 series could be described as a mixture between 1.3 and 1.4. While you do not get the new features from 1.4, you do get the correctness and stability improvements from 1.4. That is, because many of the correctness fixes that were produced for 1.4 originaly, were backported to the 1.3.1 based WaMCom version.
The WaMCom project intends to maintain the 1.3.1 branch, and the current plan is to continue to produce versions for Mac OS 9, because it should be simple to do. You should see future versions of the WaMCom 1.3.1 series that contain more bugfixes.
The WaMCom projects also intends to produce a future WaMCom version that is based on 1.4. However, as of today, it is very likely that versions based on 1.4 will NOT be available for Mac OS 9. >>
