Opera web browser hasn't been updated for Linux since version 12.16 (about a year ago) - until today, when the Opera desktop team announced that they released Opera 24 for Linux on the Developer stream:
"Many of us at Opera use Linux as our primary platform. It’s great to be able to try out the newest developments of Opera on Linux once again".
"Adding Linux to our browser line fulfills an important part of Opera’s vision to shape an open, connected world. We want everyone to have fast and safe access to the web. Adding Linux opens up that possibility to more machines running the open-source operating system".
For those who haven't kept an eye on the Opera development, it's worth mentioning that the web browser now uses the Blink engine. With this Linux development release, you'll be able to experience features like:
- Discover (shows news and other articles in various categories, somewhat like Stumbleupon);
- Stash (Stash captures a searchable list of your exploration of the internet. If you find yourself wanting to save a page for reading later, Stash can help. Stash records the location, meta data, and a screenshot of the page, then places these into a list entry that can be searched by keyword and/or scanned by screenshot);
- the latest extensions and themes;
- vastly improved Speed Dial and Opera Turbo.
It's also worth mentioning that an article posted about a week ago on the Opera Desktop blog mentions that Pepper Flash is coming to Opera 24. In my test, Opera is already using Pepper Flash from the Chrome installation directory:
In Ubuntu, you can install Pepper Flash by installing Google Chrome or:
- use the official Pepper Flash installer available in the Ubuntu 14.04 (and newer) repositories;
- in Ubuntu versions older than 14.04, use a PPA.
Download Opera 24 for Linux (Ubuntu 64bit)
Note that this is a development release so you may encounter issues! In my test (Ubuntu 14.04 64bit with Unity), I've found a few annoyances - for instance, Opera 24 for Linux doesn't use native window decorations, even though it looks like it does: the theme is always Ambiance, no matter what GTK/window theme you set and the buttons are on the right under Unity. Also, it's pretty difficult to resize the window. I've only been using it for about half an hour, so there might be other issues too.
The latest Opera 24 for Linux is tested on Ubuntu (64bit only) with Unity and GNOME Shell and while it may work on other platforms, that's not guaranteed for now.
Arch Linux users can install Opera 24 Developer via AUR.
Thanks to muhasturk for the tip!
