Today Opera released Opera Unite which is presented by Lawrence Eng, and can be found for Mac OS X, Windows and Linux/Unix. Opera Unite is a web browser that will enable a user to convert the web browser to a server, file share or message, to mention some of the functions that are envisioned. An important fact is that this project is just started and more a vision than a practical service.

Lawrence clearly invites the audience of developers to continue the journey to a fulfilled web browser with the words “Opera provides the platform and you provide the applications—what you create is limited only by your imagination.”

The purpose that is given is to empower the user whom has previously been suppressed by third parties such as large corporations that we according to Opera no longer will need. Third party companies are described in a way that lead my thoughts to a clog in an artery, or simply something that is slowing us down. Confirmed by these words on Operas website:

“How much control over our words, photos, and identities are we giving up by using someone else’s site for our personal information? How dependent have we become?”

Furthermore, Lawrence criticises social networking as Flickr, Myspace and Facebook in the same spirit. I agree fully to the fact that corporations waste huge amounts of time when forcing users to read agreement forms and contracts. If counting all the hours, days or years you spend on reading these agreements, you will realize Opera unite can be a time saver simply by the fact that you only need yourself and your own user agreement for the same experience. Facebook eg. is a service that also use the information you enter in the actual community to personalize advertisements, which is also something one would be able to live without. (Talking of that, I got targeted lesbian dating websites only because I entered that I am interested in women. Never said that interest was in a relationship kind of way. They just assumed. Plus, I am not single.)

Conclusion. Opera is fascinating. I like the concept “KEEPING THE WEB OPEN FOR EVERYONE” which is what Opera is now taking a step closer to. In these days when file sharing is a current commonly discussed and infected matter, it will be great with new opportunities.

For an instructional video, check this out:

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