Thread: opera unite

Opera introduced their Unite platform which was supposed to reinvent the Web. As it was unveiled, the idea of a Web server residing inside the browser took center stage in so many ways. But Opera Unite is not only about the inclusion of a Web Server and it comes with 5 other service for the moment (with more in the pipeline). Since this concept has never been explored in other browsers, we were very excited about the way it will work and how useful it will be in everyday Web browsing, even though it is in Alpha stage right now.

Users will need to install the Unite version of Opera 10 to start using all the services. You can access it through the Panels view situated on the left by clicking on the Unite logo. It will prompt you to enter an Opera ID (if you don't have one you can easily create one), you'll also be asked to give your computer a name. After you have logged in, it will display the six components available for you to access - File Sharing, Fridge (environment for sharing notes with your friends), Media Player, Photo Sharing, The Lounge (chat service), and Web Server. The contents that are hosted on Opera Unite are not locked down only for the Opera browser but can be viewed from any of the newer browsers like Firefox or Internet Explorer (but it couldn't load up on Safari 4 during our test).

The first thing we noticed about it is that it is very easy to use with its intuitive interface and the helpful hints that are provided for some of the components. The first time you open a service by double-clicking on it, you will be asked to specify the particular folders or contents on your PC that you want to upload except for The Lounge and Fridge component. The first caveat we found was that you can share or upload multiple folders - only one folder can be shared at a time.