New Widget: Latest Snapshots

I just finished writing a new widget that may be helpful to some of you Opera Desktop Team enthusiasts. It reloads the latest builds every 5 minutes by default, but can be configured to any interval.

The widget is very simple, and if you want to test it before it’s available from the Widget repository then you can grab it from my site here.

The current version as of making this post is v1.0, but I’m going to be releasing an update soon to notify you when a newer snapshot build is available and also show in the widget the current build that you are using so it’s easier to reference. 😉

If you have any comments or suggestions please leave them on the widget page here. Enjoy!

Opera Widget update checking script..

I’ve written a small javascript file that will check to see if there is an update of your widget available. You just have to set 5 variables such as the url to your widget in the Opera Gallery, widget name, version, etc.

The script file has a README section in it to explain how it works more. So feel free to check it out and use it all you want! I only ask that you leave the first 3 lines in at all times to credit the author (me). Other than that you are free to customize it.

Download

Blog tag: 5 things I’d like to see in Opera

Recently, I read a post at OperaWatch.com where Daniel has started a new game similar to tag..with Opera. So the game is that you make a list of your top most 5 wishes for the Opera browser. The features or suggestions are to improve Opera in your own opinion. After listing your 5 wishes you should leave at least 5 other friends names that are linked to their blog page. Once linked, they are entered into the game and have to make their own list and tag new friends. So I guess I’ll just jump right in…

  1. [done] -> [link] Developer Tools. I wish for developer tools as my top wish simply because Opera lacks in this area. Other browsers such as Firefox and Safari already have great developer tools. Most people that I know turn to Firebug in Firefox to debug their web sites. Opera really needs to step up and release something amazing asap!
  2. [done] -> [link] Auto-Update. My second wish is for an auto-update system similar to the one that is already present in Firefox. Most people won’t understand that currently the only way to update Opera is to go to the download page and download the entire program over again. This could be handled so much better with an auto-update feature that downloads only small patch files instead of downloading the entire ~6mb file each time. This feature would also include auto-updating of plug-ins to make the stress on the user as little as possible.
  3. [done] -> [link-1 link-2] Extended Widget Capabilities. This wish may not seem like a popular wish, however, many people are begging for extensions and other exact copies from Firefox. I believe in the widgets. The only thing that I feel desperately needs to be improved to them is to allow them to interact with the browser it self and even interact with the OS on a low and safe level. If widgets could interact with the browser itself a lot more then we would have infinite possibilities for new widgets. Widgets really could start to have some of the same capabilities that make extensions such a popular choice today.
  4. [done] -> [link] In-line Spell Check. I know that many people have been begging for this feature for ages. It goes with out saying that this feature would become a success from the start. Also, this is just a suggestion, but a wiki could be started to allow members to contribute dictionaries for various languages etc. so they could be included with the installer program and just compressed.
  5. [done] -> [link] Improved Interface. This last wish is more of an improvement wish rather than a feature request. It took me a while to decide on this wish, but I’d really like to see the interface improved on tons. I know that lots of work is going into the mail client at the moment with Kestrel in mind. The freezing bugs are rumored to be squashed and the interface of the mail client is supposed to be slightly redesigned to make managing your mail much easier. I’d really like to see the rest of Opera improved upon though, including the notes, contacts, info panel (which has been improved already internally), transfers (including Bit Torrent downloads), widgets (some kind of bring all to front or something), windows panel (thumbnail view instead of just list view), a thumbnail view of history pages, thumbnail view for bookmarks, upgraded chat client, possibly even jabber support, better support for reporting fraudulent sites (the login causes many people to avoid reporting), and keep the incredible speed you’re so famous for!
    The five friends that I tag are: haavard, zomg, Remco Lanting, FataL and Nicomen.

Tag, you’re it.

Last updated 2008-12-07

“100% CLEAN” Softpedia award!

For those of you who have not yet used my Google Translator widget for Opera, you’re missing out! Little did I know that when I updated this widget on Monday, July 16, 2007 that it would go under a complete inspection by Softpedia.com. I just received an email notifying my that my widget had be awarded for being 100% CLEAN.

Hello,

Your product “Google Translator Opera Widget 1.4” has been tested by the Softpedia labs and found to be completely clean of adware/spyware components.

We are impressed with the quality of your product and encourage you to keep this high standards in the future.

To assure our visitors that “Google Translator Opera Widget 1.4” is clean, we have granted it with the “100% CLEAN” Softpedia award. Moreover, to let your users know about this certification, you may display this award on your website, on software boxes or inside your product.

More information about your product’s certification and the award is available on this page: http://www.softpedia.com/progClean/Google-Translator-Opera-Widget-Clean-78959.html

Your product review page is located at: http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/Browser-Tweak/Google-Translator-Opera-Widget.shtml

Please feel free to link to us using the URL above. If you choose to link to the award page for your product, you may use the award graphic or a text link such as: “100% CLEAN award granted by Softpedia”

Don’t hesitate to contact us for more information.

Sincerely,
The Softpedia Team

So now I’m awarded with this little badge..

clean

If you’d like to get this widget installed to use with Opera, just go here and click the download button. Please go and vote for my web app today!