you know what they say: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. opera wasn't broken, but they tried to fix it nonetheless. farewell, opera.
the reason opera has always been the most attractive option on the desktop is its rich feature set with many innovative features that didn't require add-on management. having a stable and fast rendering engine is, of course, very important, but without many/most of the opera 12 feature set, it no longer stands out from any other browser and becomes very interchangeable. i sincerely hope you can get the blink version of opera back to the opera that we all liked and used, because the first release unfortunately didn't.
i've already switched to chrome about 18 months ago, but opera has so far remained my second choice browser. if opera can add sufficient features to chrome, i would certainly consider switching back. (it would also help if my my.opera.com account hadn't been silenced for daring to speak up about bugs...)
if i could name one single feature that makes opera essential for me, it is the single-key shortcuts (which were removed as the default many releases ago, but are still available by turning on "one-key shortcuts"). most specifically, the four most important keys in my conceptual model of browser operation are '1'/'2' to move left/right in the tab bar, and 'x'/'z' to move forward/back in a tab's history. i currently have these in chrome via the "keyboard-fu" extension, but this is inadequate for two reasons: it does not apply to chrome-internal pages, and it is processed far too late in the input chain. opera allows me to switch between tabs at any time, regardless of the state of reload, javascript hang, etc., that the individual tabs are in.
please implement opera-style editable keyboard shortcuts, and ensure they are processed as early as possible in the input chain so they work at all times and in all circumstances.
thanks!
>bela<
speed dial, bookmark management, the ability to search without suggesting bookmarks, speed, and elegance are what i have always liked in opera.
i never thought i would miss you, opera.
suck it losers, you still charged for opera after ie went free, and just let ie take over the web. all you did is cry to the eu like a baby.
goodbye
don't simplify the browser, please :)
it breaks my heart. first saab gets its throat cut, and now opera commits suicide.