Like many of you, we were very sad to see the recent announcement of My Opera closing down. The user community was such a strong and vital part of Opera, and Opera and My Opera thrived because of you. I spent a lot of time myself reading the comments made by users in forums and in blogs and I continue to do so. The support you gave us at Opera was second to none. Without you there would have been no Opera.
For me, as a co-founder of Opera, I cannot just see the community we built together being ignored and stranded like this. Therefore, some of us got together and created a place for our community, our friends, once again.
As you can see, it’s still very much a work in progress. Things have happened very quickly and we have tried to be quick as well. We wanted to share this with you as soon as possible and let you all know that there will still be a place for us.
We hope you like it and that you will help us improve going forward. You are what makes this community.
Your friend,
Jon
Your company quarterly report is even less trusted source than Haavard’s success stories, as it might not be a subject to comprehensive qualified independent audit, and some numbers are just impossible to accurately verify for auditors, as they are presented to them… by the same people who wrote the report. And motivation of the auditors to investigate real validity of these numbers is not THAT high, as they’re paid… guess what… by the same people who wrote the report. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn these Reports are also drafted by you.
As to the source of my quotes – here it is:
[b]Google | Official Blog[/b]
(http://googleblog.blogspot.ca/2012/06/chrome-apps-google-io-your-web.html)
I’d say more about M2… I believe you are likely influenced a lot withdrawn support for M2, as you’re always eager to justify just about anything bosses asked for regardless how far its stretched from reality. And you seems to have personally contributed to the nonsense given to the Board that “emails are not used anymore” to serve your survival and of people who pay your wages, no matter how far it was from the truth, and how deeply it affected vast majority of dedicated Opera desktop users. So don’t ask for love, its long gone…
I was asking about a source for that quote you attributed to me. That should be fairly obvious from the rest of the paragraph. Again, surely you wouldn’t manufacture any quotes just to attack another member?
Norwegian companies are required by law to be truthful when reporting to their owners and the market. The owners in particular would be pretty angry if they were being lied to. Your country might be a free-for-all, but Norway is very strict when it comes to these things. We’ve had center/left parties running the country for a few years, for example.
I’m flattered that you think I basically control Opera Software ASA, but I’m just a regular employee. Conspiracy theories are fun, though. If blaming me for everything that’s wrong in the world makes you feel better, go for it!
Its interesting, you keep asking for sources, while your ONLY source is Opera’s “Quarterly Report” that can’t be considered an independent source no matter how you stretch it. And you ask to cite your quotes after fully blocking my access to Opera forums. Yes, not only I can’t post from my IP address, I can’t even read stuff – the server sends empty pages every time. That’s how eager you are to reveal the source and encourage customer feedback. 😀
Still I was able to find some stuff, not yet deleted by you:
Haavard: “most desktop users do not use (Opera) email client” (http://oi59.tinypic.com/15i9hsp.jpg). While in another place you admit: “I didn’t look at current usage data for awhile”.
Note the sharp contrast btw you and Jon… He still allows you to post here knowing well, the only stuff you will post is “success stories” to refute truthful user’s feedback about current Opera browser state. In contrast, you block people even from reading other’s opinions on Opera forums, when you know they’re not supporting what is currently delivered by Opera.
And no, I don’t blame solely you for pushing all the changes in Opera browser to the worse. But… years ago you self-appointed to “internal voice” role to brainwash folks about state of your company, its products and directions. For people in such roles often doesn’t matter whom to brainwash: users, partners, customers, shareholders, you name it. Their brainwashing skills are in high demand to target each of the above audiences and more. :p
I can understand your hesitance to post a source for that quote you attributed to me, considering it turned out to be fake. Interestingly, you didn’t post a source for the usage data comment either.
The quote where I point out that most Opera users were not using the e-mail client is real, though, and I haven’t seen any info to the contrary.
By now we are moving quite far away from the original comments that I addressed. It seems you have a lot on your mind. Perhaps you should write a blog post about it instead.
That’s how you’re eager to expose your quotes:
http://oi62.tinypic.com/wivmut.jpg
As to M2 usage, who would post any contrary info if you monopolized access to and publishing of such internal company statistics for outside world consumption? More accurately, you failed to ever publish the internal stats, only your rambling around the stats you claimed to have seen.
And what’s the alternative to M2? Starting a separate awkward memory draining package each time you boot? Or opening a dozen of Gmail pages and keeping jumping btw them each 5 min to check for new mail? Ah sorry, I forget, people don’t use email anymore, so there really is no need for any alternative.
But even teens still use email to talk to outside “adult” world, except for entertainment and sharing woos such as twitting with you etc. You seems to forget, 30% of world population now regularly use internet, and many Opera followers are top professionals, people of various age and social backgrounds. Now targeting Twitter teens as your new fans base? They probably look right in your mouse catching every word – the ideal crowd for brainwashing? 🙂
It looks like anywhere you go, you feel in control like on Opera forums or Twitter rambling to teens. Still trying to tell others what to do even here… Still trying to fool people who lost their main productivity tool, claiming they benefit from it…. 🙁
I wonder if current Opera ASA product state and policies, i.e. replacing a single significant product – feature reach genuine Opera browser – with a new feature scarce skin to another browser Google Chrome may become subject of securities fraud investigation and prosecution, since its purpose may be misleading shareholders on company current state, primary product value and future, while empting its monetary reserves and exploiting no longer existing genuine Opera browser’s brand name to fraudulently borrow more funds as some insiders reported in media despite offering no equivalent product, conducting no similar in scope product development as before to ensure company future, and shifting company focus to unrelated activities. Such dramatic changes in company scope are accompanied by carefully orchestrated disinformation campaign from “inside the trenches” in media and on popular mass web media portals, while the company destroyed any evidence of public outrage, in particular reflected in highly negative long term users feedback on My Opera portal, and blocks long term users from publishing their opinions about the product changes on the new Opera portal to avoid or indefinitely postpone current and prospective shareholders discovery of the potential fraud.
Opera is profitable and has plenty of cash reserves. The price of the Opera share has also risen significantly since the switch to Blink/Chromium.
No one has been blocked from reading the new blogs or forums. That would be impossible to do anyway, as there would be numerous ways to work around it. Old content going back at least a year or a year and a half or so was also imported to the new forum.
If the shares risen as you claim, it was possibly caused in full or part by misleading shareholders and artificially driving demand up by: destroying objective customer feedback, blocking new customer feedback, same company employees posing as customers on Opera forum with ongoing feedback rebuttals, actively misinforming in media current and prospective shareholders about the company current product value, lowering usage trends of certain browser features requiring investment to develop, hiding dramatic downscale in overall product development scope and resulting future prospects, including changes in current and prospective browser customer base, if the browser remains in Opera ASA future plans at all as its main product. This goes back to the same issue of potential securities fraud investigation.
Familiar for years with Opera browser customers say it all – Opera ASA substituted a world class packed with features innovative Opera web browser with a new skin to a different long existing browser – Google Chrome. That’s a drastic shift in product value: from a high value high tech productivity asset with own web surfing acceleration infrastructure for millions of users and shareholders – to almost no real sellable value of a nicer looking skin to another browser brand owned by Google. And with considerable part of highly skilled product development staff gone, and substituted in part with secondary role low skilled support staff that was broadly reported in media. How a technology company may prosper without offering real product assets that hold independent high value distinguishing it from any other tech company on the market? The world is well familiar with certain companies regularly misinforming their clients, government and shareholders about actual state of business, at times leading to a world scale economic crisis.
I’m truly surprised with a sharp contrast in how company founders were fighting for its survival over the years. I remember intense fight with Microsoft software giant for open web and supporting web standards that affected Opera browser survival resulting in international authorities investigation and changes in Microsoft policies. Yet now the company founders & shareholders and public at large keep quiet while watching their most valuable web surfing tool and company human assets washed out, and substituted with something they simply can’t use as a productivity tool obviously sharply lowering company assets value while the company financial reports show fiscal boom, and not demanding from authorities proper securities fraud investigation. We all know even the strictest law does not guarantee compliance, unless law enforcement ensures it works. 🙁
i think its ok, not bad changing some… ! its very ok in fact opening new feelings
Thank you to all people who don’t “give up” !
All I want to say is Thank you Jon , thank you so much for providing us with a new home 🙂
You rock 😀
I used Opera on my phone. I think it was hard world for a small browser nowadays. I hope this project will succeed. I love the feel of pioneering B-)
Great news Jon, and this browser is (will be) Perfect! I love Opera, and after 12, I’ve liked it! This takes me all back again, I’m so happy now 😀
Who would have guessed… ^^
thx for this
You guys rock! I can’t wait until this fabulous browser is out of BETA so I can ditch everything else. This 3rd tech preview is faster and snappier than anything I’ve been used to. Lots of love from me to you all! XXX
Tell you truth honest I miss My Opera… I hope this site features many same things that My Opera offered.
I really enjoyed adding in that blog title website and what it was about. For example ELOFan86 Classic Automobiles.
“Where I talk about American Cars Ford, Chevy, Dodge, GMC, Pontiac & Many Others.”
However if there is one thing I don’t like about this place is that blogs are monitored I would understand why you put that in for many reasons… But for me that is like taking away my freedom somewhat since I came from country where we almost have freedom to do every thing we want or say but that is okay it is going take a while get use to.