Opera releases Beta browser for Linux

Norwegian web browser developer Opera has released version 7.10 Beta of its product for both Linux and Windows.

New features for users include the introduction of the FastForward and Rewind buttons, which predict where a user will want to surf to next, and a slideshow feature to show photo images on a page.

The first Opera release since 6.12 for Linux, it is something of a milestone for the company and appears to have been well received apart from some gripes about the interface.

"I love the browser," said one user on the Opera forums. "But I don't like the interface one bit."

Other features include Notes, which allows users to jot down a note in conjunction with a web page, drag the note to an email to send it to others, or simply store notes for future reference.

Version 7.10 also has a cookie manager and features which are completely new to Linux, such as a password manager and built-in mail client.

The browser boasts improved standards support for DOM level 2 and CSS2, HTML 4.01 and complete WML 1.3 and 2.0 support, as well as small screen rendering to see what pages look like on mobile devices.