Opera 10.52 Beta 2 for Mac!

April 15, 2010 · by ekg

Hi all,

My name is Erika and I’ve worked at Opera since 2005 which I guess makes me a veteran by Opera standards.

I just joined the Desktop Team as a tester a few days ago. So I can’t take much credit for this great release, but here it is. We proudly present Opera 10.52 Beta 2 for Mac OS 10.4 and newer!

A lot of work has gone in to improving stability and fixing issues related to scrolling. And then there’s of course the general polishing. The final version is closing in... In the meantime, enjoy the Beta 2.

Highlights

Generally improved scrolling with added support for scrolling with momentum
Support for VoiceOver screen-access
Faster domain name lookup on Mac OS 10.6
Support for Mac OS 10.4 and greater on Intel and PPC

Known Issues

Some standalone widgets may misbehave on PPC
Some ECMAScript stability problems on PPC

Changelog
The full change log for Beta 2 can be found here, and screenshots here.

Download
Both Intel and PowerPC is available at
http://www.opera.com/browser/download/?ver=10.52b2

Readers' comments

Comments left by My Opera members under the original post: the first 50, as archived.

Zotlan15. April 2010, 09:27
Generally improved scrolling with added support for scrolling with momentum

Will this, and support for multitouch, make it to other platforms as well or is it Mac only?
Pfelelep15. April 2010, 09:45
welcome Erika, nice to meet you there. Thanks for the release
Tri M. Nguyen15. April 2010, 09:51
Can anyone confirm crash on db.no (Norwegian online newspaper). Latest Beta crashes every time I try to load that page, or a link to an article on that page.

On Beta2 for mac, using Mac OS X 10.6.3 with all latest updates.
jfwild15. April 2010, 09:54
printing (+print preview) is still very buggy
(e.g. printdialog appears sometimes behind opera window/another space)
ααяση15. April 2010, 10:04
@Tri M. Nguyen

yep i confirm, maybe JavaScript issues ...
Daniel Aleksandersen15. April 2010, 10:14
Originally posted by Zotlan:

Originally posted by ekg:
Generally improved scrolling with added support for scrolling with momentum
Will this, and support for multitouch, make it to other platforms as well or is it Mac only?
These are Mac platform features that only works with supported hardware including the Apple Magic Mouse and MacBook glass trackpads.
Zotlan15. April 2010, 10:40
Originally posted by danaleks:

These are Mac platform features that only works with supported hardware including the Apple Magic Mouse and MacBook glass trackpads.

I'm fairly sure i've seen other laptops with multi-touch touchpads. Momentum scrolling should be possible on any touchpad unless i completely misunderstand the feature.
Tim15. April 2010, 10:50
Thanks for the release and great work that's gone into it so far! Well done to all.

Unfortunately I'm still getting the Spaces issue and cut-off text in buttons

10.6.3 / 8330
hobe15. April 2010, 11:00
Does this mean, we'll se a Linux beta in the next days (actually 2 days...)?
sinnfrei15. April 2010, 11:43
Unfortunately Opera still can't fully display this page (Mac OS X Manual Pages):
http://developer.apple.com/mac/library/documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/index.html#//apple_ref/doc/framework/manpages2

And it crashes when using BetterTouchTool for resizing/moving the window
Daniel James Hendrycks15. April 2010, 11:46
How is this in terms of stability for some of you users?

(Also, I'm sure Mac users would love it if the progress bar was inside the address bar like Safari 3 http://www.geekzone.co.nz/images/news/safari3.jpg )
weng15. April 2010, 12:05
Nice work! But why is the scrolling still so damn fast?! If I touch the scroll wheel lightly of my mighty mouse, I'm already at the bottom of the page. Does anyone have the same problem?

Where do I have to post this to get it fixed.
porneL15. April 2010, 12:16
I'm using build 8330 and scrolling sucks as always.

It's choppy - jumps in multiples of about 10 pixels (both MacBook trackpad and Magic Mouse). Safari scrolls by 1 pixel.

There is momentum, but due to jumps it's jerky and doesn't feel like momentum at all. It's more like input lag. You really have to have pixel-precise scrolling like Safari and other Cocoa apps.

And Cmd+Mousewheel still does have momentum, but shouldn't. When I want to zoom only a little bit, Opera keeps zooming further. Again, in OS X there's no such problem with Control+Mousewheel.
Oleg Bozhenko15. April 2010, 12:21
I use external monitor with my macbook pro.
When Opera 10.52b2 runs on primary screen everything is ok:
http://files.mrgall.com/stuff/opera_test_1_screen_1.jpg (primary)
http://files.mrgall.com/stuff/opera_test_1_screen_2.jpg (secondary)
When it runs on secondary screen address bar menu opens on primary screen:
http://files.mrgall.com/stuff/opera_test_2_screen_1.jpg (primary)
http://files.mrgall.com/stuff/opera_test_2_screen_2.jpg (secondary)
Opera 10.10 works ok on secondary screen.
Daniel James Hendrycks15. April 2010, 12:25
Originally posted by sinnfrei:

Unfortunately Opera still can't fully display this page (Mac OS X Manual Pages):

http://developer.apple.com/mac/library/documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/index.html#//apple_ref/doc/framework/manpages2

Confirmed on Win7
senbey15. April 2010, 12:32
Thank you for beta2!

Unfortunately I have web form problem when write in Japanese.sometimes garbling.
OSX10.6.3
Petrus15. April 2010, 12:34
Originally posted by TriMN:

Tri M. Nguyen 15. April 2010, 10:51

Can anyone confirm crash on db.no (Norwegian online newspaper). Latest Beta crashes every time I try to load that page, or a link to an article on that page.
On Beta2 for mac, using Mac OS X 10.6.3 with all latest updates.

I've had this problem before too, and found out that it's an ad on db.no that creates the problem. Blocking *specificclick.net* makes it go away.
Frans15. April 2010, 13:33
Originally posted by Zotlan:

I'm fairly sure i've seen other laptops with multi-touch touchpads. Momentum scrolling should be possible on any touchpad unless i completely misunderstand the feature.

I was at Saturn (dunno if they're available where you live, but they're like Mediamarkt) the other day and like half of the currently available laptops seem to have the feature. It's nowhere near as smooth as on an Apple platform though, but I don't know if that's because of hardware or software (i.e. Win 7). I find X features like circular scrolling hard to miss while using a non-Linux laptop and frankly I wouldn't be surprised if I could utilize the same hardware much more efficiently in Ubuntu.
"Ernie"15. April 2010, 13:48
This Mac Intel build on OsX 10.6.3 V1.1 with all updates, iMac core i7.

Still won't load videos here:
http://www1.nrk.no/nett-tv/
Silverlight enabeled.

Scrolling is jerky on the top half of a page, smooth but fast on the bottom half!?

P.J.Berg
Daniel Aleksandersen15. April 2010, 14:08
Originally posted by BergRace:

Scrolling is jerky on the top half of a page, smooth but fast on the bottom half!?
The plugin is on the top part of the page. Just pointing out the connection.
Originally posted by BergRace:

Still won't load videos here: Silverlight enabeled.
http://www1.nrk.no/nett-tv/
Known issue.
Boulfrite15. April 2010, 14:19
Great Guys (and girls) !
You really did a great work !!

But ... I still have problem with spaces (opera window seems to be over spaces and follows every 'space' I use), some buggy displays (password manager, RSS in opera mail - It seems that there is a buggy area on the left part of the window where the text and background are not refreshing correctly) and problem with websites that need HTTP authentification (sometimes - didn't found any correlation point - , I can't focus the login overlay to enter my infos).
petos51515. April 2010, 14:33
DSK-293368

Spaces bug report I filed a week ago…. this bug destroys Opera’s usability to anyone who counts on spaces to get work done.

Im going back to Safari till this is fixed…. it might be slower but at least it stays where I put it…

10.6.3 Opera 10.5.2 Beta2
Daniel Aleksandersen15. April 2010, 14:48
Remember to tell all your Mac friends about the Beta.
MaLiBu6815. April 2010, 15:06
Originally posted by DanielHendrycks:

How is this in terms of stability for some of you users?
(Also, I'm sure Mac users would love it if the progress bar was inside the address bar like Safari 3 http://www.geekzone.co.nz/images/news/safari3.jpg )
I agree besides Opera mini on the iphone has this...

By the way the first bookmark folder put on the personal toolbar still disapears after a relaunch...
mabdul15. April 2010, 15:27
this function is already in opera a really long time!
go to the settings option where to change the skin / theme and then on the tab for the toolbars. the is a separate drop down menu for 4 different kinds of "loading": in the addressbar, in the statusbar or others!
Daniele15. April 2010, 15:31
Great work guys, but i was expecting some UI/skin refinements for this beta 2... well I'll wait for the next snapshot
Maxim Grossu15. April 2010, 15:40
One more thing opera should remember: should send more information in use agent, like "Mac OS X 10.6.3", not just "Mac OS X". It's useful for statistics.
Daniele15. April 2010, 16:02
http://www.pokemon.co.jp/bw/index.html

Clicking on CLICK doesn't produce anything... 10.6.3
Kamalesh15. April 2010, 16:10
Originally posted by TriMN:

Can anyone confirm crash on db.no

Can not confirm; it seems to freeze for about 10 seconds with a beachball, while loading the page, but it loads fine eventually.
(OSX v10.6.3)
venture3715. April 2010, 16:22
Is it possible to fix opera so that when it's launched by clicking on a url in another app, it actually loads the page?
MaLiBu6815. April 2010, 16:35
Originally posted by mabdul:

this function is already in opera a really long time!

go to the settings option where to change the skin / theme and then on the tab for the toolbars. the is a separate drop down menu for 4 different kinds of "loading": in the addressbar, in the statusbar or others!

However the behavior and the quantity of information is totally different.
Kamalesh15. April 2010, 16:43
Originally posted by darklink88:

http://www.pokemon.co.jp/bw/index.html

Clicking on CLICK doesn't produce anything... 10.6.3

Works fine here in OSX 10.6.3...all-Flash site on OSX, color me *shocked* it causes headaches.
Daniele15. April 2010, 16:44
I made a test on peacekeepr and... omg developers, you made it! opera is faster than safari!
Safari: 4053
Opera: 4243
Kamalesh15. April 2010, 16:52
Originally posted by sinnfrei:

Unfortunately Opera still can't fully display this page (Mac OS X Manual Pages):

http://developer.apple.com/mac/library/documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/index.html#//apple_ref/doc/framework/manpages2

No problems here in v10.6.3. Did you do a clean install in OSX?
pjock15. April 2010, 17:02
I'd really love to see the option disabling smooth scrolling come back; It's driving me insane! If it's still there, has it been moved? I'm afraid I can't find it.
Olli15. April 2010, 17:06
Originally posted by sinnfrei:

Unfortunately Opera still can't fully display this page (Mac OS X Manual Pages):

http://developer.apple.com/mac/library/documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/index.html#//apple_ref/doc/framework/manpages2

Confirmed on 10.6.3

When scrolling on a page before it is completely loaded it goes back to top after having loaded completely. And crashing on many sites (yeah, also on this blog:( ) ..3 builds before Opera was more stable:down:
Scrolling is nice, but I'm still not able to resize youtube-videos. Dunno if this has somethin to do with Flash 10.1 RC, but on FF and Safari it's working excellent...
Tri M. Nguyen15. April 2010, 17:17
Originally posted by sinnfrei:

Unfortunately Opera still can't fully display this page (Mac OS X Manual Pages):

http://developer.apple.com/mac/library/documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/index.html#//apple_ref/doc/framework/manpages2

Confirmed on 10.6.3 too

@Kamalesh I did clean install(like deleting all prefs) of this beta2
Charlie Clark15. April 2010, 17:29
Okay, I have to take back yesterday's criticism about Mail being unloved - "reply to list" has landed for Mailman lists! :-) Unfortunately Opera still doesn't filter when to: is the list and cc: is to me but it's a definite improvement and "reply to list" isn't possible. Wonder what else has made it in? Identities, perchance?

I can add my name to those who suffer with the scrolling - I have a Wacom touch which is technically multi-touch but not fully supported by Opera 10-5.

Some general redraw issues particularly form buttons but also Opera's own tabs. Print preview wants to print immediately and doesn't respond to cancel. Cannot delete spam by right-mouse click. Bug report will inbound. Alt + Tab's list of windows is barely legible.

But in general I love the snappiness of the Mac integration. Some of the exposé gimmics could really make sense in Opera - alt + tab could work really well with open window thumbnails, ctrl + tab could animate left and right. Just some ideas.

Oh, and the German translation of "Add Comment" is borked. "Kommentar hinzufügen", perhaps?
Tim15. April 2010, 17:35
Also, when you close all tabs and then reopen you can't use cmd+t, you have to right click on the Dock icon and 'New Tab' but this still opens two tabs, anyone else get this?
Daniel Aleksandersen15. April 2010, 17:51
Originally posted by pjock:

I'd really love to see the option disabling smooth scrolling come back; It's driving me insane! If it's still there, has it been moved? I'm afraid I can't find it.
It has always been available from opera:config#scrolling

I can assure all of you that many of the bugs reported in the above comments already have been fixed. We just didn’t find the time to get them into the Beta. But luckily, final isn’t far away. Stay tuned.
Daniele15. April 2010, 18:09
Originally posted by danaleks:

I can assure all of you that many of the bugs reported in the above comments already have been fixed. We just didn’t find the time to get them into the Beta. But luckily, final isn’t far away. Stay tuned.
theradex15. April 2010, 18:20
Still don't see any UI improvements...

And hey, nice scrolling (finally...)
Tanel15. April 2010, 18:29
Ok, gonna try to set it as my primary browser and see what happens. Running smoothly so far, except for some scrolling issues stated here before.

I noticed something UI wise: in the panels, the overall look is already quite Mac'ish (except for the panel icons menu), but everything seems a bit clustered, on top of each other. When compared to the sidebar in Finder, for example. Maybe decreasing the font size and adding some white space would do the trick.
Dustin Wilson15. April 2010, 18:54
@Macallan: PPC Builds do exist for beta 2. Their sniffer has a bug in it, not feeding PPC users the universal build. You can get it here:

~~http://www.opera.com/browser/download/?ver=10.52b2~~

ftp://ftp.opera.com/pub/opera/mac/1052b2/
Daniele15. April 2010, 19:10
Originally posted by Olli91:

So I'll say it again: this new build/snapshot/release is still far from perfect
That's why it is a beta
Macallan15. April 2010, 19:15
Originally posted by Dustin Wilson:

PPC Builds do exist for beta 2. Their sniffer has a bug in it, not feeding PPC users the universal build.
I've been bitching about that a few times but nobody ever listened :/
Thanks for the link!
Daniel Aleksandersen15. April 2010, 19:23
Originally posted by Macallan:

I've been bitching about that a few times but nobody ever listened :/
We’re always listening. But actually getting things resolved is another matter. We do apologize for giving some of you a hard time finding the download.

Yes, the Beta 2 is available for both Intel and PPC. That is why the list of known issues list PPC problems.
Dustin Wilson15. April 2010, 19:39
MEH! I copied the wrong location. Here's the proper download location, Macallan.

ftp://ftp.opera.com/pub/opera/mac/1052b2/
Tmelon15. April 2010, 20:16
My problem is solved! Finally! The scrolling still seems a bit off though.
Macallan15. April 2010, 20:42
Originally posted by danaleks:

We’re always listening. But actually getting things resolved is another matter. We do apologize for giving some of you a hard time finding the download.
The same problem existed until quite recently with the main download site - it would hand me the intel-only package even though my user agent clearly says PPC. Should be trivial to fix.

Umm, never mind - someone replaced the button on the download page for the beta with one that says 'universal' - thanks