Opera turns your computer to server

We keep hearing internet pundits predict how the internet browser that handy application which lets you browse your favorite websites is slowly going to become the center of all your work. The internet browser is rapidly moving away from just being a software that let you browse the web. And it has just been given another fillip.

Opera may not be as popular as Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox, but the Opera browser has forged a reputation for being one of the most innovative in the world. It was the first to come up with tabbed browsing – the option to open multiple websites in the same window – and also on efot he pioneers in synchronising bookmarks on the desktop browser and mobile phone browser. And now, with its latest version, 10.10, Opera has once again added  a new dimension to browsing, by including a server in the browser itself.

If that sounds like Greek to you, then here is simple version – with the new Opera browser, you can share pictures, music, documents and just about any file with the people you want. You can do it without having to upload any file to a website or attach it to an e-mail. That’s right, no more twiddling your thumbs while you wait for your pictures to get uploaded to Facebook or Flickr or Picassa; or sauntering off to brew some coffee while your detailed multimedia presentation gets attached to your e-mail over a broadband connection that tends to struggle more often than not. You do not need to even compress or zip up heavy files, all you need to do to share information is click a few buttons.

Making all this magic happen is a part of the Opera browser called Opera Unite. Cutting out the fancy server jargon, it lets you specify which files on your computer – documents, music, video – you would like to share it with your friends. Once you do this, it generates a URL. Now, all tha remains to be done to make sure your friends to view the file – just send them the URL and ask them to enter it in their browser. That’s it – they will bea bel to see the content you wish to share. The concept is as simple as browsing the internet – when you enter the URL of a website you are taken to the server that hosts the website, so that you can see it. Opera unite actually turns your computer into the server – so when a user enters the URL you sendd him or her, they are actually looking at the files on your computer itself. You can even play music on your computer and let your friends hear it on theirs. No uploading or downloading involved.

Of course, this does raise the specter of security issues – after all, people are looking at information on your computer. Well, there is a password option that ensures that only those users who enter the correct password can access the information you wish to share. Discretion is, however, advised.

There are those who will sneer at this feature, pointing out that this is very similar to peer-to-peer (P2P) computing where two computers connect to each other and exchange information, and can therefore be done from just about any browser like the Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox. While this is indeed true, the fact is that none of the browsers out there have a server installed within them, which really simplifies the task for the user, who has no additional software or plugins to download. All one needs to do is grab Opera 10.10 from www.opera.com and signup for a My Opera account. Opera 10.10 costs nothing, in best browser tradition.

There are other features worth a mention in the browser, such as Turbo browsing option that lets you download pages faster and Visual Tabs, that let you drag the handles below the tabs to get snapshots of the web page you are browsing, but it is Opera Unite that we see changing web browsing as we know it.

Decade’s Top 10 Internet Moments

- Online video revolution in 2006 that led to a boom in homemade and professional content on the internet and helped reshape everything from pop culture to politics.

- Facebook opens to non-collage students and twitter takes off in 2006

- The iPhone debuts in 2007 and smartphones go from a luxury item to a necessity with an app for just about every aspect of modern life.

- American presidential campaign in 2008 in which the internet changed every facet of the way campaigns are run. Obama camp managed campaigns on web effectively.

- Iranian election protest in 2009 when twitter proved vital in organizing demonstrations and also as a platform for expressing dissent.

- Wikipedia, the free opensource encyclopaedia, launches in 2001 and today boasts more than 14 million articles in 271 different languages and bringing strangers together on projects.

- Napster shutdown in 2001, opening the file-sharing floodgates.

- Google AdWords launched in 2000 allowing advertisers to target their customers with laser-sharp precision.

- Craigslist, the free classifieds site, expands outside San Francisco in 2000, reshaping the way advertisements are placed.

Javascript libraries

Lots of Javascript libraries and frameworks have come up. It has been made to make the life of developer really easy. Here is the list of all available Javascript frameworks, http://www.javascriptlibraries.com/

But, I have got a very big question to ask, “are these framework making the life of Developer really easy?”

With the increase in the speed and number of the javascript framework, its getting difficult for the developers to decide which framework is to be used where.

Here, http://mootools.net/slickspeed/, you can test the speed/validity selector test for some of the major frameworks available.

You can get comparison matrix for most of the Javascript framework here,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_JavaScript_frameworks

The following guidelines might help you to decide which framework you should go for,

What are your project requirements?

The first and most important question you need to ask yourself is what are your project requirements? Is this a Web site or application that requires AJAX, robust support for handling events, or how about a library of effects? How much functionality do you need out-of-the-box, and what level of experience will be required by other programmers and designers to support this framework? If you have few requirements, you could find success with an extremely lightweight, modular library. Also you need check if your project requires effects, AJAX, graphics, tools etc

Does the framework supports all the browsers?

Once you know your audience, and your project requirements, you need to consider whether or not your JavaScript framework supports all the needed browsers. Most frameworks do, but there are often some exceptions in the fine print — typically with Safari on the Mac. If you are building an internal Web application for an Intranet, you might only be required to support a limited set of browsers.

How mature is the framework?

More than anything, the maturity of a framework demonstrates a commitment to longevity, as well as a solid foundation. A mature framework will no longer be in beta, and will have been through a full release cycle. There should be a growing, if not thriving community, and depending on the open-source license, a mature framework might also support a Subversion or CVS version repository. Any bug fixes can be rolled into a build without a public release, which is a huge plus.

How often are updates publicly released?

If you find that the community questions or complains about the release cycle, then that could be a warning sign. Long delays and bloated releases are also a sure sign that you will not enjoy supporting the framework on future projects. Alternatively, too many public releases could indicate instability, or a lack of focus.

How friendly is the documentation?

A major differentiators between JavaScript frameworks today is documentation. This not only includes official documentation for the API, but also includes books, tutorials, and blogs. The worst documentation is the sort that is only focused on syntax. Look for a framework that includes examples with each method and property, and that is updated to meet the needs of the community. Documentation is simple to research, and it can be a lifesaver when dealing with tight deadlines.

Is there an active community?

An active community does not guarantee a quality framework, but it does help a framework evolve. The character of the community is also an excellent gage of the type of help you might receive in the future when caught in a bind. Are there forums, or a Google Group? Are experienced users willing and able to lend a helping hand, or will they send you elsewhere for assistance? Are developers creating extensions, or contributing to the core framework? All of these are important questions.

Are benchmark tests performed regularly?

Benchmark tests are often questionable when determining the quality of workmanship put into a framework, but they do demonstrate a developer’s willingness to adopt some quality assurance best practices. Even a modest gain in speed, or a decrease in download size during a release cycle can be seen as a positive improvement.

How extensible is the framework?

Extensibility is typically a requirement of experienced programmers, and is rarely a request of designers. Plugin support is definitely a plus for any JavaScript framework, but developers usually just want to know — how difficult will it be to troubleshoot the core library? Layers of functionality provided by an active community do give a framework uniqueness, but this is a beneficial byproduct, and not often a necessity.

Do you like the API style?

This is an important, but complicated question that is answered for most developers only after using several JavaScript frameworks on numerous projects. Complaints about frameworks like Yahoo! UI are generally in regards to the style with which the API has been designed. Terseness, as well as chainability, are two very important features that should not be overlooked. Remember, you can grow irritated quickly because of cumbersome implementation details.