Opera Freedom Secret Revealed: Opera Unite

By | June 16, 2009 | 65 Comments

Opera Freedom Secret RevealedAs predicted by Mike, the latest project by Opera Software is a sharing technology called Opera Unite.

“Opera Unite is a collaborative technology that allows you to share data, such as files or photos, directly from your computer with others, without uploading and sharing them through a central, third-party server. The technology behind Opera Unite uses a compact server inside the Opera desktop browser to share data and services on your computer. There is no need to upload files that you want to share; you remain in control”

For more details, visit unite.opera.com and services pages.

Opera Unite

Download (alpha builds)

Opera Unite

Opera Unite

Opera Unite

Freedom

Opera

[digg-reddit-me]


About (Author Profile)


Vygantas is a former web designer whose projects are used by companies such as AMD, NVIDIA and departed Westood Studios. Being passionate about software, Vygantas began his journalism carrier back in 2007 when he founded FavBrowser.com. Having said that, he is also an adrenaline junkie who enjoys good books, fitness activities and Forex trading.

  • ps

    Yeah, it is something like Direct Connect of late 90′ies, but with web browser access.

    I fail to see any practical implementation.

    And BTW, if Opera guarantees that this is safe, secure etc. then how on Earth they couldnt make Extension API that is just as safe but many times more usefull?

    • DunGeddit

      “Something like Direct Connect” is like saying that your old monochrome screen Nokia phone from the 90s is “something like the iPhone”.

      Extensions are a completely different beast. This is about connecting with other people (and BTW, Unite services can be accessed from any browser). Extensions are about adding features to your browser.

      • ps

        “Extensions are a completely different beast. This is about connecting with other people (and BTW, Unite services can be accessed from any browser). Extensions are about adding features to your browser.”

        Sorry, I confused you.

        I meant that one of the strongest concerns and reason _AGAINST_ Extensions in Opera is security. Sharing files from someone’s computer is a much higher security threat than allowing an extension to replace links on Google results. So why they are using a security as a reason to _NOT_ make extensions, yet they have no problem with highly risky ‘sharing and accessing’ stuff?

        • Flapper

          Extensions have much more access to stuff than Unite services.

          • FFF

            The problem, security wise, is that this turns your computer into a server. Most extensions don’t do that.
            Also; they can access your files just like extensions can, so no difference there.

          • hello

            FFF,

            The server runs in a sandbox.

          • TTT

            Sandboxing isn’t failproof.
            The main problem from a security-centric point of view is, as I said, that you turn your browser into a server. Installing the server plugins themself are just as safe as installing extensions.

    • TTT

      DirectConnect? Nah… it’s more similar to Freenet, except this isn’t anonymous in any way.

      • Flapper

        It isn’t supposed to be anonymous, and Freened doesn’t allow you to use any browser to connect to services. Why are you desperately trying to “prove” something about Unite? Picking a huge number of applications that put together does a fraction of what Unite does doesn’t prove anything. They can’t replace what Unite can do. Not even combined.

        • FFF

          I never said that it’s supposed to be anonymous. I just mentioned that that is the main difference between the two. Well, that and the ease of use I guess.

          The main way to use Freenet is through a browser…
          There are people who use Freenet to serve webpages or at least there were last time I tested it out.
          There are projects to move some stuff over to Freenet, some examples:
          Everything Over Freenet: Apt-get, Mail, News, Chat and DNS
          Freenet Apps: Messaging board, Website insertion, File sharing/insertion, Control through console and (Nearly) Instant Messenger

          Huge number? I’ve only seen two mentioned as being similar so far…

          • Flapper

            Several applications have been mentioned as doing parts of what Unite does. MSN, Skype, random web servers, etc.

          • TTT

            Several applications have been mentioned as doing parts of what Unite does. MSN, Skype, random web servers, etc.

            I have seen Skype and DirectConnect being mentioned by others that might fit your “does a fraction” criteria. Hardly what I call a huge number. MSN were mentioned by someone (along with Yahoo) in a counter message to comment about Skype. Not sure where you see random web servers, are you talking about Opera’s random server or perhaps the Firefox extension?

            I also notice that you conveniently “didn’t see” what I wrote about Freenet in my answer. Though that appears to be your thing, only seeing what can be seen as minor flaws if slanted enough.

          • TTT

            Dang it, forgot to remove the temporary quote -_-
            I blame the reply box being at the bottom of the page.

  • http://www.favbrowser.com Vygantas Lipskas

    Playing with it now, so far, I miss volume controls.

    • DunGeddit

      Make your own Unite service with volume controls then :D

      It’s all basically a web page anyway, so you can probably just edit the source code of the service and change it to your liking.

      • http://www.favbrowser.com Vygantas Lipskas

        I am sure they’re already working on that, so I can relax and be lazy again :-)

      • FFF

        They could probably borrow this if they asked nicely :P
        http://hacks.mozilla.org/2009/06/audio-player-html5/

        Volume control, position slider and playlist are all included.

  • Golden Boy

    Sharing:

    My way:
    Send file via Skype

    Opera way:
    Open Opera
    Add file to unite
    Send unite link via Skype

    How does that make sense?

    • DunGeddit

      Unite doesn’t just send files. It serves any data.

      And besides, with Skype both of you need that app. Unite can be accessed with any browser.

      You can probably drag up dozens of different applications that put together kind of have the ability Unite does. But what’s the point when you can just use Unite, and it will work in any browser as well?

      • Golden Boy

        But how do I send unite link to my friend? Still need IM for that :S

        • http://www.favbrowser.com Vygantas Lipskas

          I am quite sure that this is more than just sharing file with 1 friend ;-)

          • ps

            Then there are more hassle free services, not requiring you to keep your computer always-on. MediaFire, Youtube etc come to mind quite quickly. Skype is preffered way to do small sharing for me, too.

            I really can’t see any practical implementation. It is quite a big effort, quite costly most probably, yet my first reaction was “what are the gains?”. Anyone has real life scenario?

            Same with Mozilla Prism – what is the gain of running Gmail in separate window if I can use my normal Firefox for it?

          • somebody

            I think the whole point is that you dont have to depend on other companies to do something. Your own computer is your web server and others can access your computer directly as if it were a url, instead of through a 3rd party. You dont have to worry about sharing your private details to other companies. your data is on your own computer and can be shared with only those you want to.

          • TTT

            @somebody
            Opera Software is a company, isn’t it? They own the domain you are using to share your stuff too… perhaps there is a way to set up your own domain if you want? Though then they wouldn’t require an account, I guess.

          • Flapper

            @ps: “Then there are more hassle free services, not requiring you to keep your computer always-on.”

            But they don’t give you complete control over you own data.

            @ps: “I really can’t see any practical implementation.”

            Implementation of what? The services that are there now is just a start. And even now, it combines into a package which makes it easier and more convenient to share things directly and without giving up control. You can also create ad hoc social gatherings, and simply send someone a URL to start chatting in real-time.

            .
            .

            @TTT: “Opera Software is a company, isn’t it? They own the domain you are using to share your stuff too…”

            Your ISP owns the IP address you are borrowing from them. And the DNS servers you are using to look up hostnames. No one claimed that your connection would be 100% free. That’s not the point.

            The point is your DATA

          • FFF

            @Flapper
            My answer were directed at the parts where the word “company” is mentioned:
            “I think the whole point is that you dont have to depend on other companies to do something.”
            “You dont have to worry about sharing your private details to other companies.”

      • TTT

        “Files” can be “any data”…

  • C T

    Web will be reinvented when we will get rid of over hyped claims and spam

    • DunGeddit

      Does that mean that you will stop posting? ;)

  • http://www.favbrowser.com Vygantas Lipskas

    “By uploading Content to Opera’s site, you grant Opera an unrestricted, royalty-free, worldwide, irrevocable license to use, reproduce, display, perform, modify, transmit and distribute such material in any manner, including in connection with Opera’s business, and you also agree that Opera is free to use any ideas, concepts, know-how or techniques that you send Opera for any purpose.”

    Does anyone know if it’s for my.opera only or unite as well?

    • DunGeddit

      It says:

      “By uploading Content to Opera’s site”

      You don’t upload content to Opera’s site when using Unite services. Connections are direct, remember? You only upload to Opera when you create an actual service and upload it.

      • http://www.favbrowser.com Vygantas Lipskas

        Ah, yes, need to get used to “share without uploadig” term.

  • Golden Boy
    • ps

      wow :)

    • DunGeddit

      So… where is the chat, music player, etc. service for that?

      Looks like it’s extremely important to you to minimize the impact of Unite, but I think the massive applause all over the web speaks for itself :)

      • TTT

        Those services have to be created, just like how services for this opera thing don’t just pop out of the air when you wish for it.

        • Flapper

          Those services have to be created, just like how services for this opera thing don’t just pop out of the air when you wish for it.

          Who claimed that they “just pop out”? Point is, it’s much easier to create and distribute services.

          • TTT

            How is it easier to register at Opera and download their browser and visiting a special page to install different types of servers, instead of, downloading Firefox, installing the extension and just creating webpages as usual or extract what others have created into a folder?
            The only difference is that you don’t get a domain name owned by Opera automatically.

          • Flapper

            It’s as easy to download Opera as any other application, and once you have downloaded it, the registration is just one step with no confirmation. Several services are preinstalled.

            It takes just as many steps to download Firefox and install the extensions needed there, but then you don’t have services ready for use. You have to write your own web applications or hack someone else’s.

            That you won’t get a domain name is huge. It’s part of what makes it very easy and convenient to send stuff to people. Also, Unite does UPnP. To get anywhere with the Firefox server you will likely have to set up rules manually in your router, etc.

            But seriously, you aren’t really suggesting that getting all these things done with the Firefox server extension is as easy, fast and convenient as with Unite, are you?

  • Pingback: Opera se trae algo entre manos - Foros de CHW

  • nobody

    well..

    i cant say ‘is that it?’ because it is quite feat they’ve achieved – it remained a secret, that tells very well for opera employees (and about company itself, people are willing to obey nda’s, there were no leaks).

    on the other hand – it is.. flawed concept a bit.

    any firefox plugin that automatically uploads a file to a certain hosting site (imageshack/filefront/etc) is better, as it is a thing you do once and forget. opera way requires a party to have its browser online. and if you are online skype or any IM does this better.

    another problem is, that this is an ADDITION to a browser – yet, the browser has some serious compatibility issues, and this is NOT enough for people to come and use opera AND another browser to browse the web. if they had wanted separate application, there are better around.

    there is even less ‘browser’ in ‘opera browser’ than ever. how long will it take for opera to be able to display ‘search hints’ on youtube’ movie page? like all other – OVER the movie (or 2 pieces) not 10 pieces UNDER the flash. opera not being able to render over the flash content gets a little old..

    fix browser first, then develop this unity further. unity is very nice concept, but opera needs its core fixed.

    btw. new skin is wonderfull, it simply is.

    • http://opera.com/ Daniel Hendrycks

      Agreed, when Beta rolled out I was somewhat disappointed. I wondered where all the development time went and this is probably where a lot of it went. I want them to spend more time on the browser than Unite.

      • Flapper

        @Daniel Hendrycks, what if Unite is of extreme strategit importance to Opera as a company? This shows a clear vision by Opera, similar to when Opera started working on mobile browsers back when everyone else just laughed at the idea. And now mobile browsers are Opera’s biggest business.

        Don’t trash the idea until you have actually tried to understand what it is about. I think you will realize that you have just closed your eyes to the amazing potential.

        • Andrew

          Then, I guess, some similar, but free and open-source implementations will appear soon. And they will be (I hope) more secure than any proprietary solution. Also they will be browser-independent (as the idea itself is by the way!)

          After open-source programs suit the idea of being independent of third-party company better. Also people like “sharing” things so creating community for such OSS approach will be easy I think. Opera will not make money on this I believe.

          By the way, will Unite work if I have private IP address?

    • Swenson

      “how long will it take for opera to be able to display ’search hints’ on youtube’ movie page? like all other – OVER the movie (or 2 pieces) not 10 pieces UNDER the flash. opera not being able to render over the flash content gets a little old..”

      Opera may have rendering problems, but that issue is surely an oversight from youtube. Why would Firefox & safari otherwise only show two suggestions while IE shows 10. I am pretty sure the menu is cut at 2 because Firefox or safari does not handle the layering either.

      Hopefully things like Unite will help opera grow marketshare to get above the google browser compatibility radar.

    • Flapper

      @nobody: “on the other hand – it is.. flawed concept a bit.”

      Seems that you are misunderstanding the concept. You are looking at a normal web site and thinking that this is supposed to be like that. That isn’t necessarily the case.

      The “problem” that your computer must be on isn’t necessarily a problem in all contexts.

      @nobody: “any firefox plugin that automatically uploads a file to a certain hosting site (imageshack/filefront/etc) is better, as it is a thing you do once and forget. opera way requires a party to have its browser online. and if you are online skype or any IM does this better.”

      But with the Firefox plugin you lose control over your data, which is exactly what Unite is trying to address.

      And with Skype or some IM client the other person needs to install it and set up an account and all that instead of just opening the link you sent him in his web browser (any browser).

      I think you probably need to read a bit more about Unite and try to understand the vision before passing judgement.

      • nobody

        “Seems that you are misunderstanding the concept. You are looking at a normal web site and thinking that this is supposed to be like that. That isn’t necessarily the case.”

        you are wrong. i can see what is the point behind it, i understand what they are trying to do. yet i still believe, that this concept has very limited number of real life scenarios.

        there arent that many stand alone programs allowing you to ‘colaborate’ (ie. share files, mostly music and videos) – there are various p2p programs, there are IM with ‘send file’ functionality, there are media players with http server capability and few more. all these ‘jobs’ are already taken by various specialised software, tailored exactly to what they are.

        why should i ‘leave a note on the fridge’ if i can use SMS, use skype, use mail, or just plainly shout across the office? all former ways are simplier than using opera’ tool.

        it is sound concept, and looks briliant on paper, but it has only few real life scenarios, and 7 of them are already taken – and at least 2 of these are fillers.

        “But with the Firefox plugin you lose control over your data, which is exactly what Unite is trying to address.”

        given that data goes trough opera proxy servers, i need to give my data to opera, so opera can give it to somebody else. opera unite uses OPERA PROXY SERVERS! have you missed that? in reality, the whole process just changes whom i trust – opera, or any other faceless company. i can not see a gain there.

        “And with Skype or some IM client the other person needs to install it and set up an account and all that instead of just opening the link you sent him in his web browser (any browser).”

        yes, if i send someone a file with skype that person also uses a skype, that is rather obvious.

        same as when i send a link to someone, i already has a way to send him that link. so why not to send a file in the first place? what is easier ‘sending a file with IM program (skype, we all use skype)’ or ‘send a mail with a link to opera unite, so someone can open it in a browser’? i think the first one is easier for both parties.

        i repeat – this is a nice technology, no doubt. but it is just based on multilayered vision fo what people ‘are suposed to need’. i claim, that opera’ vision in this case is miles away from reality. but the market will judge.

        • http://my.opera.com/BleedingHeart/blog/ BleedingHeart

          []same as when i send a link to someone, i already has a way to send him that link. so why not to send a file in the first place? what is easier ’sending a file with IM program (skype, we all use skype)’ or ’send a mail with a link to opera unite, so someone can open it in a browser’? i think the first one is easier for both parties.[]

          I would bet more people have any browser than people have skype itself.

          []why should i ‘leave a note on the fridge’ if i can use SMS, use skype, use mail, or just plainly shout across the office? all former ways are simplier than using opera’ tool.[]

          Anyone with a browser can leave a note, read others notes and simply refresh a page.

          Group SMS is easy yea, but making sure everyone gets the replies in an easy to read, ordered fashion not so much.

          Everyone would need to have skype vs any browser (desktop, mobile, game console etc)

          Mail would work but you still have to deal with threading, ordering etc.

          Shouting. “What did he say?” “Idk something about killing the boss” “I thought he said he going home” “Whatever I’m just gonna ignore him, hope it wasn’t important”

          The apps have a limited use right now, but its a use. I’m sure we’ll see better apps as time goes on though. I’m finding it useful to share a single file with a single person without having to go from digsby to yahoo/msn or having to place them permenatley on someone elses server to do with as they please.

          I would have thought they’d have tied in bittorent as an option for file,music,video sharing/streaming though that seems natural given what’s there.

          It hasn’t and I doubt will reinvent the internet but it will come in handy for some.

        • Flapper

          nobody -

          there arent that many stand alone programs allowing you to ‘colaborate’ (ie. share files, mostly music and videos) – there are various p2p programs, there are IM with ’send file’ functionality, there are media players with http server capability and few more. all these ‘jobs’ are already taken by various specialised software, tailored exactly to what they are.

          Exactly. Lots of different apps to basically not even do everything Unite does, such as only needing a browser to connect.

          why should i ‘leave a note on the fridge’ if i can use SMS, use skype, use mail, or just plainly shout across the office? all former ways are simplier than using opera’ tool.

          You shouldn’t. As they stated, these services are demos/examples.

          it is sound concept, and looks briliant on paper, but it has only few real life scenarios, and 7 of them are already taken

          I can already picture a wide range of useful scenarios. Just wait until people start creating services.

          given that data goes trough opera proxy servers, i need to give my data to opera, so opera can give it to somebody else

          No, the data doesn’t go through the proxy server. At least not for me. At worst, it is simply routed. There’s a direct connection.

          yes, if i send someone a file with skype that person also uses a skype, that is rather obvious.

          Exactly. It requires Skype.

          same as when i send a link to someone, i already has a way to send him that link. so why not to send a file in the first place?

          That you can send a link doesn’t mean that you can send a file.

          i repeat – this is a nice technology, no doubt. but it is just based on multilayered vision fo what people ‘are suposed to need’

          Oh, people do need it. I know I will use it a lot.

          • ps

            “I can already picture a wide range of useful scenarios. Just wait until people start creating services.”

            Can you name just a few out of wide range? I spent some time thinking about it, and still, can’t find a point.

            Complicated task still require complicated solutions – Opera cant provide these, so will not replace them. Easy tasks are so easy that habbit is what matters. If youve used skype for 5yrs to share images with you mates, you are not going to change that. And I repeat, there isn’t that much ‘stuff’ you can actually do with ‘colaborative’ – it is mostly p2p illegal sharing, that is.. illegal. What else is really used? Lots of ideas – like Google localisation service for mobiles – sound nice, but they die very fast, because there is no REAL need for them. Same with Unite. What Opera became now is 451st p2p client of sorts.

            I still would like to see security described in detail, because I do not believe, that Opera, company with no experience in this field (browser experience is irrelevant) can make this safe. If it is unsafe, then welcome to Malwareville, Botnetland.

          • Flapper

            I’m sorry ps, but if you can’t think of any useful scenarios for Unite you have evidently not even tried to learn about what it can do. That means that me trying to educate you is pointless because you have already decided that Unite is useless.

            I don’t know what you mean by “complicated tasks”. Browsing the web with Lynx can be a complicated task. Browsing the web with any modern GUI browser isn’t.

            But I kind of agree with you. Unite look simple on the surface, but it is clearly rather complicated under the hood, with UPnP, proxies, all sorts of different things. Unite is complicated, but that isn’t exposed to the user. To the user, Unite is extremely easy to use.

            I actually sent my sister some large pictures of my daughter earlier today. All I needed to do was to drop the files in a folder and send the link.

            And to my surprise, my sister actually set up Unite herself and had me join her chat room to plan next week’s trip. It was easier to do text chat since she had some links with information and such that I needed to look at. And she is really not an advanced computer user.

            While we were chatting I streamed some audio clips of my daughter talking with the music player. She just started doing it, and my sister is thrilled, and loved the clips.

            Can you imagine the nightmare I would have to go through to do this any other way?

  • TTT

    Here’s a pretty nice writeup on the topic:
    http://factoryjoe.com/blog/2009/06/16/thoughts-on-opera-unite/

    • Flapper

      Looks like a bunch of FUD to me. Chris Messina is apparently part of a competing project as wellk, Diso Project, so maybe that explains where he’s coming from.

      The guy basically admits that the only part of his blog that was relevant was the URL you get:

      but this deficiency — tying you to an “operaunite.com” domain — is primarily where my criticism lies

      And his solution to this is AllPeers which requires that both sides have the client installed, right? And no easy URLs, right? And there’s nothing preventing him from registering a domain and using it for his unite service, right?

      So he basically admits that the whole thing is nonsense.

      And actually, someone at Opera responded to set the record straight:

      http://my.opera.com/Lawmune/blog/2009/06/17/opera-unite-clarifying-the-vision

      Looks like that guy got a lot of things wrong. For example, the proxy is just a fallback. If UPnP works the connection is P2P.

      He also goes on and on and on about open source. How on earth is that even relevant? It isn’t even criticism of Unite.

      He also uses straw men about “decentralization”, while Opera never claimed that none of their servers were involved. The point is that the actual data is under your control. You’ll never control DNS servers and such anyway.

      And it’s quite amusing that he makes a point out of the “echolalic blogger news corps” who just regurgitated Opera’s press release. And now the “echolalic blogger news corps” is just regurgitating his fallacies. You, for example, didn’t even bother to consider that maybe there were more sides to this story. You juts assumed that since he was bashing Unite, he was right. Isn’t that so? ;)

    • Flapper

      Most of the comments here nicely sum up the boldface lies in Chris Messina’s hit piece:

      http://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/8t5dj/great_explanation_of_what_opera_unite_is_and_isnt/

  • nobody

    “Can you imagine the nightmare I would have to go through to do this any other way?”

    well, i can. run skype, job done. it can do exactly what you did, but with dedicated (ie. better) interface and additional features. it is nice that opera can do that, but it is like eating spaghetti with screwriver.

    “I’m sorry ps, but if you can’t think of any useful scenarios for Unite you have evidently not even tried to learn about what it can do. That means that me trying to educate you is pointless because you have already decided that Unite is useless.”

    this is caled ‘a dodge’. i alsow would like to hear what other than obvious (ic,chat,p2p) colaborative things are needed. because if you look closely at the software market, there are very few ‘ideas’ used with this kind of software. file sharing, chat and.. what?

    “But seriously, you aren’t really suggesting that getting all these things done with the Firefox server extension is as easy, fast and convenient as with Unite, are you?”

    no, firefox extension is a bit harder to use. but both are solutions to not existing problems. thats why firefox extension is long forgotten.

    “FFF,

    The server runs in a sandbox.”

    if i call IE ‘sandbox’ will it make it safe? no. it is the same situation – sandbox is a concept, how you execute is what matters. it requires lots of skill (opera has it) and experience (opera doesnt have skill in this field). i really, really wonder what happens if Opera did just one exploitable mistake in their code. 40mln part botnet? first botnet with a logo?

    • Flapper

      Yes, you can run Skype. Or any other application which requires the other party to either install a program, create an account somewhere, or both. Or you can use Opera Unite, which is a simple as sending a web link. I don’t agree that the “dedicated” interface is necessarilh better.

      The future will show what kind of services appear. I’m looking forward to streaming videos and music to my Wii, for example. While I’m out jogging I have complete access to my music collection at home through my mobile browser. Endless possibilities. But what ps was saying was basically that there was nothing useful at all, so this is a bit off-topic.

      Opera has experience. They have been running sites and services, and things like widgets, browser security, etc.

      How would a botnet appear?

      • nobody

        botnet? if there is an exploitable flaw in opera unite, you can silently (the times of destructive malware are over) install/modify software on the user’ computer – this is enough to form a botnet. because if you can infect one opera install, you can infect them all. and given opera unite nature, you have easier access to other opera unite users. it is a VERY dangerous combination of highly risky technology aimed at NOT tech savvy users.

        opera has some experience in security, no doubt, opera has high security ranking not by accident. but each field of security requires different approaches and knowledge. opera is now sailing on waters new to her. this is their first attempt of this kind. and there ARE bugs. no doubt they are, lots of them in fact. i for one, will NEVER use this feature. it is TOO powerfull and can missfire badly.

        remember – you need only one exploitable bug, and this turns into nightmare.

        • Flapper

          Yes, if you have access to the computer you can create botnets. But how is this any more relevant to Unite than everything else?

          As I said, security for this kind of thing isn’t really new to Opera.

          Too powerful? How?

          • nobody

            too powerfull? because it has almost full I/O access to your machine (with user level of rights). it has also always-on udp connection on non-filtered 80 port. most skype-like software use dynamic port or special port from 6… range, that alone makes it easier to filter, monitor and stop if something goes bad.

            secondly, opera unite user knows all users that use the same service – this is a design flaw imho, but it is so now. this allows malware to spread in a targeted maner, not randomly like most malware does. this means MASSIVE speed of infection.

            and thirdly – one IT security does not equal another IT security. opera is now on a completly new ground to itself. opera’ products in this field were never tested by milions etc. there ARE bugs. there ARE security issues.

            im not claiming that this IS dangerous now, but it can missfire, denying it is.. irresponsible imho.

            i repeat, i will not use this. if it was open-sourced and audited by 3rd party – than maybe, but when i dont know what is inside? never, my control over my data means that i will keep it safe. and send it in encrypted 7zip archives by mail/skype..

  • ahcheong

    would the future version of opera support formatting copying?
    what I know is, currently including the opera 10 beta does not support that..

  • nobody

    here we are, about a month after opera unite launch.

    what had happened since then? well.. nothing.

    community around the net couldnt care less. there are SEVERAL questions ‘okay, nice, but what it is needed for?’ or simply ‘huh?’

    you want popularity? then make extension api, there are countless extensions begging for porting, but no, you know ‘better’.. how many unite like ‘miracles’ opera is going to produce to no avail? give people what they want, not try to stuff them with something they dont need. you are not apple.

    people, me included, do not buy ‘but possibilities are endless, just wait and see’.. well, i’ve waited, in 2009yr, in the era of internet month is enough to see if a technology is a flop.

    opera unite is a flop.. it does not solve any real need, only geek’s wet dreams about ‘freedom’ (i.e. depending on opera instead of some other company) and.. i dont know what. what unite is is a flawed multiplatform p2p agent with no basic functions.

    something that isnt needed

    a tip to you opera: want more satisfied users? remove that f.. icon from tray! this one thing makes me uninstall opera after each build, it is unacceptable for it to be there, there is no reason.

    • Grrblt

      Nothing has happened because it is still in beta, genius.

      • nobody

        and what will be the excuse when opera 10 goes final, and still nothing happens? ‘lets wait another year to see how it dominates’? this is typical opera’ miracle waiting

        truth is that there simply are no unexplored uses/niches that unite could fulfill – sharing is with us for many years, and with billion people using it, there is almost everything done. frankly, everything was covered by opera unite default services – pirate-sharing, single channel IM, and remote access to your music.. well, what else?

        what response unite generated around the net? ‘it is not needed, and it certainly isnt revolution’ – to sum it up for you.

    • http://Opera.com/ Daniel Hendrycks

      I do agree about the tray icon. Unite is a very cool thing for people that know how to use it, it won’t change the web but it is a very good feature.

      +1 Extensions

      Quit continuously criticizing things, once is enough.

      I will take the “Kill the Tray Icon” to the desktop wish-list.
      I hate the tray icon also!

  • http://toluwap.muf.mobi Tolu

    How can i browse free with my phone and my laptop tthat i have installed opera on it.
    If you can do this for me i will be very greatful.

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