Opera on amiga

[Desler]

After having downloaded the newest version of opera (an excellent web browser), I tried to browse around their forum. Since Opera supports many various OS, I was interested in whether an Amiga version could be expectable. I followed this link and it turned out that "There are no plans for an Amiga version. "
After a couple more questions however it was said that IF Opera should be ported to the amiga it would require a pretty solid user base.
Its my opinion that if we ever want anything ported to the amiga then we have get ourself heard. So whether youre on the Aos4, morphos, amithlon, winuae, classic or whatever and if you want Opera ported to your machine, please let yourself be heard here

[Kronos]

"solid user base" = 50000 people who use an OS on a daily basis.

Even the most optimistic wouldn't put the size of the
"community" at over 10000,

[KennyR]

Kronos, QNX has a userbase smaller than that, and there is a port of Opera for it.

I think Opera on the Amiga has a chance. It's not much of a chance, but it's better than none.

[Kronos]

@KennyR

Yes, and now gues who paid for that port ....

Don't see anyone in this market splashing out that amount of $

Both OSes allready have a "house"-browser, partly finaced
by (future) OS-sales.

[Calen]

To have it ported to the official OS and other takes on it would make more sence, bigger user base.  it's comments by one guy in particular on the Opera forums is just plain FUD and will confuse the Opera service department even more.

Opera would be good on the Amiga but as the Amiga user base is so small it is not worth porting software to a few hundred people,
However porting Opera to a excellent operating system called MorphOS would guarantee you high number of users

Cmon, lets get real guys! :roll:

It's time likes this where we should all come together, having this fine browser would benefit us all.

[Desler]

Eventhough we might not make a big impression its better than sitting idle by

[Kronos]

@Desler

I strongly disagree !!

A lot of serious SW-companies will just close their ears after
getting "Amiga is back port now" posts from the zealot for the
last 10 years .....

Better wait until the systems are out and one can give a
realistic of actual users instead of hope&hype.

[Desler]

@Kronos
I can see your point. Under different circumstances it would be mine as well. But: In order to get people interested in the amiga platform there must atleast be a good dev tool, a good office package and a good web browser for the platform. Right now the amiga only got a fairly good dev tool (gcc).
I know that aos4 isnt out yet, but still there is morphos, amithlon, uae and classic and with a little luck aos should get released soon  :-)
So my point is: If this is not near to be the perfect time to harras SW-companies for some of the most basic and critical elements of an OS I dont know when is

[Kronos]

@Desler

>dev-tool  
... mmmmmrrffffuurrr  ;-)

>Office

Papyrus.

Atm you only got two kinds of SW companies:
a) Those who know the market but are still doing stuff.

b) Those you think the market is too small.

New SW will only come from the 1st group for the time being, and
we have to support those until the user-base is big enough for
the 2nd group to rethink.

Every sensible buisness man (or woman) would in no way let his
descions be influenced by the furious few.

"Mail-bombing" (and this is what it feels like for the
companies) can only be counterproductive.

[asian1]

Hello
I had contacted Opera in Norway about porting the latest version of Opera browser to BeOS and AmigaOS / DE. Their response:

1. We had ported Opera 3.62, because Be Inc order and pay for the commercial software.
2. We don't port to BeOS, because Be is already bought by Palm and Palm refused to give financial support for further development of Opera browser for BeOS.
3. In theory, if someone pay for the porting it is possible to port Operat to any OS.

Who will pay Opera (Norway) for porting the browser to AmigaOS / DE?

[downix]

Nice idea, a bit impractical at the time tho.  Opera is in the business to make money.  Making a gratis port to AmigaOS is out of the question.  Most of the platforms Opera is on now is because the founding company paid for the port.  Only Windows, Linux and Macintosh were done gratis, because their markets are large enough that Opera can guarantee enough income to cover the cost of porting.

Then there's the limitations of the operating system itself.  Opera needs key technologies before it will work.  AmigaOS, sorry to say, doesn't have it.  It doesn't have memory protection, nor even a Java engine.  (don't give me the "AOS4 has MP" or anything like that, it's not here yet)

Yes, I've looked into this as well, and it's on the table.  if Hyperion's willing to pay, and can guarantee 500k units shipped, Opera will port it to AOS4.  Same with Genesi.  Still cost them money out of pocket tho.  

[hagar]

When Opera started "project magic" (project to port opera to other operating systems) back in 98/99 amiga was actually one of the target platforms.
If I rembeber correctly the port was dropped because they
didn't have the money to do the port or a team that could do the programming.

Check out Operas old website with the internet archive (www.archive.org) for more information

Project Magic (December 1998)

[Dagon]

I don`t think that OS/2 has a larger "solid user base" than ours. But anyway, lets wait till we have the products and then we can discuss it...

[hagar]

@kronos

"Mail-bombing" (and this is what it feels like for the
companies) can only be counterproductive.

I agree.

Opera has been in contact with the amiga community before (se my first posting in this thread).
It wasn't possible to do a port back in 98/99 and I do not belive that the situation has changed.

[gary_c]

Kronos, QNX has a userbase smaller than that, and there is a port of Opera for it.
I think Opera on the Amiga has a chance. It's not much of a chance, but it's better than none.

QSSL itself paid for the QNX port, and it was done to make Opera available for QNX embedded applications. The QNX desktop is essentially a development platform for embedded systems; it might well be smaller than the Amiga userbase, but Opera wasn't ported for desktop users (developers), but for small-device users whose mobile devices, etc.  run QNX embedded. I'm sure if Hyperion or Amiga, Inc. would like to Pay Opera Software for an Amiga port, then one would be done.

-- gary_c