The Great Feature Train Robbery

February 24, 2009 · by EspenAO

An article by Dustin Wilson looks at how features implemented in Opera has been implemented in other browsers over the years — claiming to be first:

It’s interesting for me to see over the period of the past few years where browsers which have more users are ripping off features that Opera invented, sometimes over a decade ago. It’s not that they shouldn’t. They should because it makes their browsers more useful. My browser of choice is Opera. I don’t roll any bones about it. I don’t have a superiority complex about my browser of choice; it’s just better than everything else.

What's your take on it? Do you follow or care who's first, or is it more a matter of proper implementation?

Endorse this on Digg!

Readers' comments 13

Left under the original article, as archived.

Tamil24. February 2009, 20:48:11
thetomster24. February 2009, 20:53:53
it's not about who's the first ... only who's best ... for my needs opera's simply the best ... and getting better
Southern Cross24. February 2009, 21:22:43
A feature to me, is like a piece of artwork. You created it. People ripping the artwork off should at least give credit.
EspenAO24. February 2009, 21:35:14
I agree. Give credit to the creators. BAMAToNE submitted this as a news story to digg. Help digg it and make more people aware of the article.
BAMAToNE24. February 2009, 21:37:43
Digg digg digg!

Ugh, I've just gotten surlier and surlier about this all day long.

Surlier, I tell you!
Tamil24. February 2009, 21:45:37
Dugg!
Chas424. February 2009, 23:30:18
Opera is the inovatior

others copy what Opera creates

I see the words digg dugg (sounds like a video game)
zikzakatak25. February 2009, 00:35:29
what about patents on innovations?... fighting thous who lack genius...
ZakMichigan25. February 2009, 02:07:38
Opera is the best, period, and the browsers using features developed by Opera should be forced to give due credit.
tomas.sprlak25. February 2009, 09:31:06
It's great Opera invented all these features as described in the article, that's what makes me a proud user of the browser. And it's a shame others boast being "the most innovative" browser by adding features opera invented.

I think however, that patents in software world just harm competition and innovation. Seeing other browsers implementing Opera's inventions AND polishing them is just good for competition!
GSPandher25. February 2009, 20:18:42
Opera is ahead of d competition
kalagh26. February 2009, 07:58:49
how pathetic. hmph... Opera is still the best choice for those who care about security, speed and customization. Safari has nothing compared to Opera.

but i'm not worried. i'm just waiting to see what Opera 10 brings to us. i'm eagerly waiting...
Coronarius27. February 2009, 19:53:40
I'm currently localizing some Internet Explorer 8 help and support pages plus some promotional material and it kinda scares me how many features they're claiming to be the first to implement. Of course it's somewhat funny in a sad way to see how far behind IE really is.