7.60 Preview 1 for Windows Released
Release Notes
1.Gmail should be working much better than in 7.5x (but not perfect yet). However, we are waiting on changes that need to be done be Google
Major New Features
New start-up options
One of the first things you will notice when you start Opera is the ability to select whether to use Opera as an Internet suite or as a browser only. The latter option disables Opera Mail, which can be enabled again via Preferences > Programs and paths. The first-time setup dialog also allows you to easily disable the personal bar and panel selector to increase your page viewing area.
Speech-enabled browsing
You may have noticed the increased size of the install file. This release comes with a set of voice libraries that enable the user to control Opera by speaking commands to it. Opera now supports XHTML+Voice 1.2 and the CSS3 speech module (properties new to CSS3 are prefixed by "-xv-"). With the default setup, you can navigate pages, have selected text read to you, and control parts of the browser. Select some text, hold down Scroll lock, and say "speak" or visit the IBM Multimodal demo page for a demo. More information about using voice can be found in the help files by issuing the command "voice help" or in the Opera with Voice tutorial. Join the discussions about this new feature in #voice on irc.opera.com.
Voice functions only work on Windows 2000 and XP.
In-line error pages
Opera 7.60 features in-line error pages, allowing you to continue to work if a page loading in the background gives an HTTP error. The error pages include helpful tips to troubleshoot possible problems and stay out of your way until you are ready to deal with them.
Medium-Screen Rendering
Not everyone has huge monitors or lots of free workspace. That is one of the reasons we created Medium-Screen Rendering (MSR), available by selecting "Fit to width" from the "View" menu. MSR reformats pages so they fit better on smaller screens. The end result is a page that is very close to the original design, but that should not require horizontal scrolling.
Important Changes
New support for specifications, including:
CSS3 speech module (properties new to CSS3 are prefixed by "-xv-")
XHTML+Voice 1.2
XMLHttpRequest, XMLSerializer, and DOMParser (interoperable with existing implementations)
DOM 3 Load & Save
TLS 1.1 (experimental)
TLS ServerName Extensions (experimental)
Transparent background (wmode) support for plug-ins
Display & Rendering (Presto)
Stability improvements
Numerous bug fixes for HTML, XML, CSS, DOM, and ECMAScript
Added "Fit to width" (MSR) rendering mode
Upgraded "Small screen" rendering mode to include more of the page's styling
Fixed handling of nested floats
Several fixes related to bidirectional text support
Fixed problem where images would stop displaying after using Opera for an extended period of time
Added more aggressive error recovery for some HTTP pipeline problems
Opera Chat
Fixed problem connecting to IRC for accounts with more than one server
Added "ban" and "kick with reason" commands
Opera Mail (M2)
Better handling of multiple e-mail addresses for contacts
Major improvements in support for various newsfeed formats
Improved consistency of newsfeed checking
New "Mark thread as read" command
Silently respect a news server's maximum connection count
Fixed updating when toggling "Mark messages as filtered"
Better indexing of words for searching
Printing
Fixed problem where form element status was forgotten when toggling print preview
Fixed text overlap caused by zooming in print preview
Fixed problem where the footer overwrote itself when printing
User Interface
Added new options to the first-time setup dialog
Implemented in-line error pages
Fixed problem selecting the first letter in a selection with the mouse
Enabled text selection in certain (e.g. Javascript alert()) dialogs
SO NOW LETZ SEE HOW FIREFOX 1 and IE7 beats dat.
Download 7.60 Preview 1 for Windows from here