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goalieskates
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goalieskates

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Facebook in talks to buy browser company Opera, says report

CBS News
quote:
Tech blog Pocket-lint says one of its "trusted sources" revealed that Facebook is trying to buy Opera Software, the company behind the Opera Web browser, a sign that the social-networking company might be looking to launch its own browser.

The move would put Facebook in competition with other tech companies in the browser game -- including Yahoo, which recently launched Axis, and Google, which has already released extensions to integrate its social-networking component, Google +, into its browser.

Pocket-lint speculates that a Facebook browser "would allow you keep up to date with your social life from in-built plug-ins and features on the menu bar."
Oh noes. If this happens, Opera gets marked off my "safe browser" list.

caffeinator
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Sounds like FUD to me.

I seriously doubt Opera would go for it. They are proud of their indie nature and with FB's track record, I just don't see it.

Here's a thread: »my.opera.com/community/f ··· =1409562

KoRnGtL15
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KoRnGtL15

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Any thing is possible in this digital era. Money talks. And you know FB will most likely be offering big money for it. Something they could not pass up.

caffeinator
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Hmm, this is disconcerting:
quote:
Citing an unnamed source, Pocket-lint says the social network juggernaut is considering an outright acquisition of the Norwegian software company to accelerate a move onto the battlefields where the browser wars between Microsoft, Google, Mozilla, Apple and since recently Yahoo are being fought.

But not so fast. First of all, we asked Opera Software for an official response on the report, and a spokesperson declined to comment.

Update: Facebook also declined to comment.

One source close to Opera, however, tells us two interesting things:

1) Opera Software management is talking to potential buyers right now.

Currently listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, the company’s leadership is said to consider becoming part of a larger privately-held or public company rather than trying to keep growing the business independently.

2) We’re told that there’s currently a hiring freeze at Opera, which is a surefire sign that something big is about to happen – or at least that Opera wants something big to happen.

We’re trying to get more sources to corroborate these stories, but the above comes from a very solid source. Our source was unable to confirm whether Facebook was one of the potential acquirers, but said it “would make sense”.
»thenextweb.com/insider/2 ··· we-know/

I've used Opera since v1 fit on a single 1.44M floppy and I really can't imagine not using it. It would suck utterly.
nonymous (banned)
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Money talks. Opera seems to be known as a safe alternative to its users. Facebook buying it may kill its current user base. Facebook would probably count on its users quickly making up the loss.

kickass69
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Considering Opera has been considered 'that other browser' than has the least amount of users using it out of any major browser coupled with it being ignored most of the time whenever there's been a story about comparing browsers or polling of which browser people prefer, it was only a matter of time before something like this would happen.

I got nothing against Opera itself but it just seems like they wouldn't last.

jabarnut
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Wow...I sure hope it doesn't turn out that way.
I can't imagine anything much worse in my world of 'browsing', than to see my favorite browser, and the one I have used almost exclusively for a very long time, become associated with (much less be owned by), facebook...something I avoid like the plague. This would be a major bummer.
Opera and Facebook? It doesn't even sound right being used in the same sentence. Unreal.
I thought (and hope), Opera has more class than that. But yes. Sadly, major money usually talks.

carpetshark3
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Opera and Opera mini are big on Mobile.

I hope not. I've used Opera since it was pay-for. Kinda cooled it after they added a lot of crap like Unite and Widgets. Magic Wand was another do without. I use it when FX won't do a site right.

Buddel
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C'mon, guys, tell me this ain't true; it's FUD, isn't it?

rv65
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Rockmelt would be a better fit for Facebook, as it is built around it.
19579823 (banned)
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quote:
Oh noes. If this happens, Opera gets marked off my "safe browser" list.
Just stay with an OLDER COPY of the browser and it should be fine.

regulareader
@bresnan.net

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Dude, I hope you're right about the older versions. I've used opera exclusively for several years now, and I really hate the thought of having to let go of it.

Don't like firefox.

won't use googles junk of any kind.

IE is black listed from my pc. Hate it. The last version they had that I liked was ie6.

there aren't many choices left and this old granny isn't stupid enough to facebook.

peterpanic
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The horror!

If this nightmare comes true, it will be time to kiss Fastmail goodbye after many happy years.
Looks like it's time to find a new email alternative.

PS Fastmail thread here if anyone is interested
»www.emaildiscussions.com ··· &t=64630
Mele20
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Re: Facebook in talks to buy browser company Opera, says report

Ah, f**k! I had Opera as my default browser for two years and then started using Fx again with version 4 a year ago. But I don't like what is coming with Fx in ver 15 I think it is and I still use Opera a lot. This would be a disaster.

I keep getting these messages, from every direction it seems, that maybe it is time for me to not buy a new computer but to just leave computers and the net. I don't know if I could do it...but then I don't find much of value now on the net and this site that has meant so much to me is not what it was before the outage...not at all what it was...maybe that will change but maybe not.

I would really hate to see Opera lost to me and it would be if Facebook acquires it. Unfortunately, I really like Unite (although I don't use it much) but I think Unite would be a major reason Facebook would want Opera. Because of Unite, Opera will fit right into Facebook. UGH.
nonymous (banned)
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said by Mele20:

Ah, f**k! I had Opera as my default browser for two years and then started using Fx again with version 4 a year ago. But I don't like what is coming with Fx in ver 15 I think it is and I still use Opera a lot. This would be a disaster.

I keep getting these messages, from every direction it seems, that maybe it is time for me to not buy a new computer but to just leave computers and the net. I don't know if I could do it...but then I don't find much of value now on the net and this site that has meant so much to me is not what it was before the outage...not at all what it was...maybe that will change but maybe not.

I would really hate to see Opera lost to me and it would be if Facebook acquires it. Unfortunately, I really like Unite (although I don't use it much) but I think Unite would be a major reason Facebook would want Opera. Because of Unite, Opera will fit right into Facebook. UGH.

This site has always been in change. People come and go. The security forum has changed at least a few times with people coming and going.
Plus you must have some other interests or hobbies. I upped my time on other sites with totally different interests than here during the outage.
As long as my online banking is secure and if I cared I could encrypt email I am fine. What I write here is public anyways so if a browser intercepted it who cares.
They mess with encryption and security of banking, purchases etc. then they will have a problem.

carpetshark3
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carpetshark3

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I read an article on Daily Rotation (I think) couple of weeks ago. Opera 12 is dropping Unite, Widgets, and Voice: Not the correct article, but:
»my.opera.com/desktopteam ··· ts-voice

I've hated widgets and magic wand since they were included. 12 is in Alpha, and I'm watching for release.

caffeinator
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caffeinator

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I won't miss those three things at all, but what's wrong with having Wand for passwords? It's worked great for me for years. If you use a Master Password, it's a one-way encryption too.

Heck, I can't think of a browser that doesn't have a PW manager.

jabarnut
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I just can't get over this the more I think about it, and I'm still hoping it doesn't happen. I've been around for a few years..(well, ok, more than a few) , and have seen a lot of changes in the computing world. Some of those changes took me by surprise.
But never in my wildest dreams did I ever think of 'Opera' and 'Facebook' at the same time.
I absolutely *loathe* Facebook, and everything about it. Just the mere mention of the name these days makes me want to kick my cat. (Don't worry, just kidding...but you get the idea). I can't even watch the news, or anything else on TV for that matter, or read a magazine without seeing or hearing: "You can always follow us on Facebook". And we won't even mention the recent stock market news which has made the word even more common everywhere I go.
My oldest daughter had to upload Photos of my new Grandson to a photo-hosting site, because I absolutely refused to join Facebook where everyone else she knew was viewing them.
One thing is for sure. If Facebook were to acquire Opera, I would uninstall it from every machine I own, and I guess it would be back to Firefox full time. I don't really like the way Firefox seems to have evolved over time either. It was once my primary Browser many moons ago. But hey, anything is better than selling out to those Facebook sleazeballs.
Some may think I'm making way too much of a big deal about this. But for me, at least, if it were to come true it really IS a 'big deal'...and a really BAD deal.
Did I mention I don't like Facebook?

StuartMW
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StuartMW

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said by jabarnut:

But hey, anything is better than selling out to those Facebook sleazeballs.

So, and this is just a wild guess, you don't own any of their stock?

Did I mention I don't like Facebook?

I'll take that as a "no"

It makes sense to me that FB would want a customized browser to use with their service whether it is Opera or another. I think FB is trying to ingrain their "brand" in users minds and essentially own them for life.

Remember these guys are trying to make money so the more data, um I mean users, they can capture the better (for them).

To put it simply

PX Eliezer704
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I have e-mail accounts with Opera AND with FastMail.FM which Opera bought a couple of years ago.

If I see Facebook coming in, those accounts will be immediately terminated.

---------------------------------

I firmly believe that Zuckerberg should be punched in the face, repeatedly.

StuartMW
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said by PX Eliezer704:

I firmly believe that Zuckerberg should be punched in the face...

Although I hate the whole idea and purpose of FB I have nothing against the guy personally. He came up with an idea that sheeple love and is profiting from it. People have made millions from all kinds of dumb ideas.

That said he does have the kind of look that you just wanna hit with a bat.

jabarnut
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said by PX Eliezer704:

...
I firmly believe that Zuckerberg should be punched in the face, repeatedly.

Lol! I was thinking the same thing, but figured I ranted enough already.
So, here you go folks...take your best shots. (Just be careful not to damage your computer monitors too badly).


Yeah, you'd always be smiling too, if you had billions of dollars to 'play around' with at his age, while in the process of violating your personal life and privacy.

StuartMW
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StuartMW

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Use a cricket (vs baseball) bat. The flat side leaves more of an impression



Blackbird
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I think the troubling aspect of this acquisition rumor is that it falls into a sadly recurring scenario: large company with many detractors buys smaller company with track record of independence and innovation. When the large company's primary profit source is the acquisition and sale of user data (whether direct or collated) and when the smaller company is involved in making software that has intimate relationships to user privacy, the scenario becomes highly troubling to those who value that privacy.

One of the problems of the evolving Internet is that the perceptions and expectation of "free" software and site content have created an extremely difficult environment for companies to survive within. The choice of revenue-models is bleak at present... and it's hard for a business to recover costs without alienating at least a segment of their users. If the financials as an indie are inadequate, the options are very limited: continue existing as a loss-leader for something more profitable in the corporate empire; go to a sale/subscription model; sell ad-space within the product or site; sell users' data; or sell out to a bigger company. And none of those alternatives are without serious "issues".

I don't know what (if anything) will result from this rumor. I do know that right now Opera is my primary browser, and that if Opera ASA falls into corporate orbit around Facebook (or any similar company whose profit-center is selling user data), my present version of Opera will be my last version of Opera. Whatever model a company chooses for increasing revenue, I will not be part of having my user-data sliced, diced, and sold as their revenue source by the same outfit that makes my browser. Full stop.

PS: the opinions in the thread about this over in Opera's forums are running around 10:1 against such a sale.
PX Eliezer704
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Excellent analysis.

-----------------------

On CNET they noted this:

[How Facebook's Zucked-up IPO just killed the tech bubble.]

»news.cnet.com/8301-1023_ ··· -bubble/

msmisfit
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said by jabarnut:

I just can't get over this the more I think about it, and I'm still hoping it doesn't happen.
I absolutely *loathe* Facebook, and everything about it.

Some may think I'm making way too much of a big deal about this. But for me, at least, if it were to come true it really IS a 'big deal'...and a really BAD deal.
Did I mention I don't like Facebook?

I couldn't agree with you more and really hate to see it. Opera was going to be my backup, since SeaMonkey has become a Firefox emulator, with endless updates/problems.

I will definitely forget about that it if Facebook acquires it. If all the people flocking to MZ's website read what he has said about them, I think they might look for another social network. I'm hoping some of his "dumb" users might learn to value their privacy more one day.
scross
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said by jabarnut:

I absolutely *loathe* Facebook, and everything about it. Just the mere mention of the name these days makes me want to kick my cat. (Don't worry, just kidding...but you get the idea). I can't even watch the news, or anything else on TV for that matter, or read a magazine without seeing or hearing: "You can always follow us on Facebook". And we won't even mention the recent stock market news which has made the word even more common everywhere I go.

I feel exactly the same way. I'm suffering from "Facebook fatigue" - I'm simply sick of hearing about it, seeing the links, and so on. What a lot of people don't realize is that Facebook pays for a lot of this placement - and very handsomely, too (so I've been told by someone who actually takes their money) - or at least has done so extensively in the past. They may have reached a point of critical mass recently where this wasn't as necessary, but it could help explain why their financials aren't quite as impressive as you might otherwise expect.

I don't necessarily believe their membership numbers, either. I don't have a Facebook account but my wife does, so one day I logged on with that and (as a test, and with her permission, of course) tried to track down some of my old classmates from various schools I attended over the years. After a couple of hours of concerted effort, and even with help from my wife, I was only able to find maybe a half-dozen people, and only maybe half of those had any recent activity, if any real activity at all. My wife says her stats are a little better than that but not by much, while my teenage daughter avoids Facebook like the plague, so I have no stats for her. And my own mother - who has recently become a huge Facebook fan - constantly complains about not being able to find people on there - nor their kids, nor their grandkids, nor their other relatives, and so on. Sometimes she gets lucky, though, and she's even been able to find a couple of people who she hasn't spoken to in decades, and who literally live on the other side of the planet now (which thrilled her to no end, but them maybe not so much). The upshot is that if Facebook actually has the kind of active U.S. membership that they claim to have, the all of us should be able to find a lot more people who we know on there.

EUS
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I don't yell often, but: F.U. FACEBOOK, KEEP YOUR PUTRID FINGERS OFF MY BROWSER!
Opera user since ~'00.

jaykaykay
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Strange, but I never thought about Opera being anything but Opera and my choice for my backup browser. Now, with this info, I am kind of sick, as if this sale goes through, that doesn't leave much in the way of what I feel is a really good choice. I am so fully against Facebook in every way, that including Opera as part of their package is immediately a huge turnoff, even for me. Isn't it interesting that for so many, just even the smell of inclusion with Facebook, so many are upset!

regulareader
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I think Opera is missing its marketing calling with this one. There are many people who are both security and privacy conscious these days, who are crying for 'freedom' once again. Opera has an opportunity to BE that one browser that answers that call!

These are the features that can make Opera stand out from among the rest. Otherwise, it's just another copy cat so if Chrome or Fox are the most popular out there, and Opera isn't, then people are likely to drop this one in favor of those because they are already the number one Browsers.

I took a peek at the Opera forums yesterday and there are a lot of Opera users over there who are not happy campers about the possible change. What have they got to fall back on? Chrome? Fox? IE? copycats of those? The interesting thing is, when I looked at the Opera forum topic on the Facebook issue, the thread was locked thereby preventing posts that might offer a useful alternative marketing suggestion.

I think if they looked at a different marketing ploy, they could GAIN users but as it stands, if they go with Facebook, they may gain a few, but they'll loose the base they currently have now. If I were in love with Chrome, or IE, I wouldn't want to change to another browser so why would those users migrate over to Opera? They can already do what they like to do with what they have. What would be the catch?

I just don't think they'll gain much heading in the direction they're heading, and that they stand to gain even more by appealing to a fairly untapped customer base. The "Patriot" types.