Opera and XP help!

[Monica]

I have a few problems with Opera 7.50 Beta...First of all I downloaded the 15MB Java version and the Java is corrupt or something, it said it couldn't update, and I've installed Java before but it won't work at all on XP because the files seem corrupted. WHY couldn't XP just come with Java?!

Also, I can't stream any embedded music with Opera but I can with IE, and that has something to do with Windows Media being what most streamers use. Is there any way to fix this? Thanks! :)

[vegeta1215]

I always get my java from Sun (http://java.sun.com/products/plugin/), and download Opera without java. I read a lot of things about people having problems with java in Opera (esp on Linux), but I've never had a problem.

I don't stream music or anything with Opera, so I'm not sure how its setup initially, but you can go into the preferences and choose what program opens certain file types (Preferences->File Types), so Opera can pass those music files or whatever right into Windows Media Player or any other program.

Still, I'd wait till the final verison of Opera 7.5 comes out. I'm leary of using beta software.

[AtmaWeapon]

http://www.mozilla.org

Use superior Firefox.

LOL I feel like a Linux zealot.

[vegeta1215]

Firefox is great too, but I only like it over Mozilla because of it's speed. Mozilla beats it in all other categories. Firefox does have a simpler interface with fewer options, and that may be great for most, but not me. Surfing the web is what I use my computer the most for, so I need lots of control in my browser :D

[AtmaWeapon]

I like Firefox because every version has a different name and I have a short attention span so

[Monica]

I actually tried Firefox before Opera but I didn't like having to install all the good extentions seperately, it was too confusing. I uninstalled Opera, I guess I'll wait for a final release. :)

[AtmaWeapon]

I tried Opera before Firefox but I didn't like having to pay or face an ad banner. I was also not fond of the fact that many menu items like "View Source" did absolutely nothing. I guess I'll just put up with the great difficulty of clicking a link, then a "Yes" button, and restarting Firebird to install extentions.

Oh, I mean:

Firefox is better because it is open source. This means you can do what you want with it. There are literally hundreds of extentions to perform almost any task! Why, for some functionality (mouse gestures), there are even 4 or 5 extentions to choose from! Truly this browser functions in the spirit of Linux and ergo is better.

[vegeta1215]

Since when did you become such a big open source and Linux advocate? :surprise:

I'm all for OSS, it's great and almost all of the software that I use is open source, but Opera's too good to stop using just because it's not open source. One thing I was really surprised about, is that Opera has a really great community (http://my.opera.com) and the moderators/staff of the forums are very active in answering questions and hearing ideas and opinions.

[Monica]

I guess I'll just put up with the great difficulty of clicking a link, then a "Yes" button, and restarting Firebird to install extentions.

There were like a million extentions and I had to keep asking WB what most of them were. I trust a browser more when all that is built in. :)

[AtmaWeapon]

Since when did you become such a big open source and Linux advocate? :surprise:

I'm all for OSS, it's great and almost all of the software that I use is open source, but Opera's too good to stop using just because it's not open source. One thing I was really surprised about, is that Opera has a really great community (http://my.opera.com) and the moderators/staff of the forums are very active in answering questions and hearing ideas and opinions.

Well OK so I have to explain myself. I have no real beef with OSS. I don't love it, I don't hate it. In fact, I just remembered I wanted to download OOo and I'm going to try it and see how it works before I reinstall MS Office on my freshly formatted system. HOLY SMOKES I AM GETTING 400+ KB/S DOWNLOAD OMG I AM IN HEAVEN OK back on topic.

Anyway, I am PMing you the full text of what I want to say. It was really turning into a rant and this is not the thread. I like the idea of OSS in general, but I don't like the "shut up or fix it yourself" attitude that some of its supporters have.

Basically, working in the IS department of a major company has taught me that every program has its purpose, like a tool. Some tools are almost what you need, but need tweaking. This is where OSS has promise, but you generally have to be skillful enough to have written the program in the first place to make any serious modifications. I still use Avant Browser at home, but on my resource-deprived office computer I am running Firefox because it is noticably faster. On my laptop, I prefer Avant because I am familiar with it and it allows me to access the IE-centric pages my University uses. On this machine, I see no performance gain while in Firefox. So I could install it, but I'd have to switch to IE every now and then to access certain pages. I don't like having to use two different programs to accomplish the same task. I tried Opera, but it loaded slow and I didn't like its default skin, and I am not going to search for a skin I like when testing a program unless there are just a lot of cool beans features that no other program can provide.

So I'm kind of a software athiest right now. I do not make sacrifices to Microsoft, but neither do I worship a penguin, demon, or shiny piece of fruit. Each has its purpose.

Oh and since the Opera community is so nice, do you think one of them will tell me how to get the ad banner to go away without paying ;)

[vegeta1215]

Oh and since the Opera community is so nice, do you think one of them will tell me how to get the ad banner to go away without paying ;)

This is just a guess, but if you asked that on the Opera forums, the staff would probably close your thread, lol. (the only thing you can do besides paying for Opera is to get a crack for it) The banner doesn't really bother me. Besides, I would only gain a few millimeters of space by paying for Opera.

I never tried Open Office on Windows, but I've been pleased with it on Linux. It used to be pretty slow, but it has gotten much faster since version 1.1 (speed is relative though - I only have a Pentium III 450 MHz, so something that is slow for me is probably not an issure for those with newer machines) If you just want a word processor, check out AbiWord (http://www.abisource.com/). It's an open source word processor that is very lean and very small (under 5 megs I think)

[Menokh]

Abiword can have issues with certain more complex .doc files. If those are important to you use Open Office. Here's a hint, if Open Office is slow, I believe the Windows version comes with a quick launch feature that if used preloads some of the program on each boot, making it load much faster.

I wonder, is there a quick launch utility for OO.o for KDE? I could use one.

[vegeta1215]

I wonder, is there a quick launch utility for OO.o for KDE? I could use one.

Haven't tried it, but here's what I found after a quick search:
http://segfaultskde.berlios.de/index.php?content=oooqs

EDIT: In regards to AbiWord, they just released a new version not too long ago, so it may have improved MS Word doc file handling. Whether it does or not, it's still a great program to write brand new files with.

For some reason I haven't been able to access their site in the past few days. Must be down or something.