

Opera downloads triple after browser ballot screen debut - ilamont
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9165458/Opera_downloads_triple_after_browser_ballot_screen_debut

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SlyShy
Well deservedly so. I use Chrome now, instead of Opera, but I'm using features
that Opera first pioneered.

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asolove
Does this really count as good news? The choice a user makes on the ballot
screen is essentially random. That their downloads triple just says that they
originally had very few downloads.

~~~
alexro
Ins and outs Opera is a very good browser, mine favorite. I think they just
have that bad karma, possibly stuck to them from the ealy days when they used
to display ads on the toolbar.

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pierrefar
This has nothing to do with the fact they released a new version?

And these are just downloads, not necessarily long-term users. I'd rather see
the remaining users in, say, 3 months.

~~~
maggit
Your "new version"-concern is addressed in the third paragraph: _Assev said
the swell of downloads was above and beyond the increase caused by the final
release of Opera 10.5 for Windows yesterday. "We compared the downloads
against previous launches, such as Opera 10.0, 10.10 and 9.5, and the tripling
is above what we would normally expect with a new version launch," he said._

~~~
ryanelkins
Yes - "above and beyond" but still affected by the new release which means
that the ballot didn't cause downloads to triple - to increase, but not to the
extent that the headline makes it seem. They don't even try to explain what
kind of increase above what they would expect they are getting. maybe its
double what they expected, maybe its 5%. The fact that they don't really go
into it makes me a bit suspicious.

~~~
Retric
I think you parsed that incorectly,

    
    
      Normal = X
      Normal after realease = X * Y
      What they saw = (X * Y) * 3
    

PS: The browser choice is on a per country basis, so they can easly seperate
the effect.

~~~
clusterfu_k

      Normal = X
      Normal after realease = X * Y
      What they saw: (X * Y) < (X * 3)

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bentruyman
So they got their wish. They got the EU to enforce a browser ballot to gain
popularity because their marketshare blows. It's funny how Mozilla never
needed to use government to get to the 25% marketshare they have.

~~~
powrtoch
What difference does it make if the EU gives you the boost or if Google does?
Either way it helps take the internet out of IE's hands, lets just be thankful
for that.

Also, woot Opera. I really do feel it could be a dominant browser if given a
chance. It has the best mouse gestures interface, built in torrent support,
excellent dev tools, fastest js engine on the market, superb standards
support, and a very sleek UI. Good to see it get some attention, even if it is
a bit forced.

~~~
bruceboughton
What makes you think it hasn't been given a chance but Chrome/Firefox/Safari
have?

Aside from IE, it's a pretty open market for browsers and thus far Opera
hasn't dominated.

~~~
CoryMathews
False,

Safari comes pre-installed on macs.

Firefox comes pre-installed on linux and was the first open source browser and
was adopted by many for this.

Chrome is advertised all over Googles network of sites telling non tech people
that they will see youtube and other sites better with chome.

Opera is just there and sadly forgotten.

~~~
noarchy
I remember the surprise that I experienced when Opera suddenly appeared on my
Macbook. I had no idea how it happened, until I did some research and
discovered that it gets installed with the Adobe CS.

~~~
CoryMathews
uh... You sure about that? Opera did not install when I installed Abobe CS.

~~~
blasdel
There were ancient versions of the free Opera.app buried inside the app
bundles for several programs in the Adobe Suite at least through CS3. If I
remember correctly, both Help Viewer and Bridge wrap Opera. They hid it from
the user, but not from LaunchServices -- right click on an html file, open
with, and there would be at least one copy of Opera there. Launching it would
reveal it to be from back when the free version had a banner ad in the browser
chrome...

Acrobat Professional had a full copy of MySQL included in its bundle, and
there'd be a mysqld process running whenever it was.

When they switch to WebKit, they'll probably bundle their whole own copy of
that too, probably via their Air runtime.

