Opera Private Tab, Not So Private

Added 03/08/2010: I have tested the latest versions of Opera (10.60) on FreeBSD and Linux, Opera have now resolved this issue and Private Tab is not leaving a cookie record anymore.

Opera 10.5 pre-alpha is available, and I have enjoyed playing with it on a Linux machine. It works very well, but there is one thing which I find odd, the introduction of "private tab" and "private window". When Internet Explorer 8 introduced this concept I was sceptical - how can this be better than a Linux live CD? With Firefox also including this feature, it became inevitable that Opera would have to have it.

What I find strange is that when you close your "private tab" the cookies still remain! Hardly private.

I still believe the Linux live CD to be a better option, even with the drawback that most which include Opera are still on version 9.

ExtremeTracking Recognises Opera 10

Today ExtreneTracking started logging Opera 10 as Opera 10, and not Opera 9. Opera 10 currently identifies itself as Opera 9.8. ExtremeTracking is the first counter to name Opera 10 right, and reinforces my opinion that ExtremeTracking are good at keeping their counter up to date.

I'll have to get plenty of browsing done, because it will take a while for Opera 10 to reach a realistic position on ExtremeTracking results (ExtremeTracking keeps all its historical data, with a new browser having to start from scratch).

StatCounter and Invisible Opera 10

Below is my visit on StatCounter for a web site:

Number of Entries: 1
Entry Page Time: 12th September 2009 12:00:25
Visit Length: 0 seconds
Browser Default Browser 0
OS unknown
Resolution 1152x864


Opera 10 appears as Default Browser 0. Unfortunately, StatCounter has shown a gradual decrease in Opera usage throughout this year. As more Opera users move to version 10 will this decline continue?

Opera 10 identifies itself as Opera 9.8. Alas, StatCounter does not recognise 9.8. The first Opera 10 alphas who identified as 10, until Opera changed id to 9.8 because some counters were not recognizing 10 as a valid browser. StatCounter can recognise the first alphas as Opera 10, but fails to see later versions.

From the above site the Opera use was Opera 10 - 0.8%, Opera 9.6 - 0.8%, but Default Browser achieves 1.8%! Is Opera appearing to lose usage because StatCounter fails to identify Opera 10?

Hopefully, Opera will change its browser id to 10, and StatCounter will start to recognise 9.8 - otherwise any progress Opera makes will be hidden.

Exalead Boost for Konqueror

I like Opera best.....but I'm also fond of Konqueror - although I find the fact Konqueror is only available on KDE detracts from its apeal, as does being identified as Netscape by OneStat. I have now found a way to use Opera on whichever OS you chose, and still boost Konquerors usage at the same time!

I have used Exalead search on and off for a while. I have also noticed that many Konqueror hits come from France. Eventually, the penny dropped tc-gw.exabot.com, using Linux/Konqueror, is the Exalead bot collecting the preview images when you search using Exalead. Thus, browse with Opera, search with Exalead, increases the hit level for both browsers!