Opera 12 goes live

Opera has rolled out its Opera 12 browser for the Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and FreeBSD. This version had been in beta for quite some time and today it has been made open for the users. The major enhancements in the new release are browser themes, Do Not Track privacy, camera support and performance enhancements.

Themes

Themes are one of the interesting additions to Opera 12. It's noteworthy that Opera browsers have been customisable for a while now but it was only offering users an option to change Skins. The Skins feature would enable you to not just change window border transparency but also tab shapes etc. The Norwegian software company feels that the addition of themes will make it easier for the users to customise their browsers. Currently, Opera 12 is offering over hundreds of themes and plans to add to this list.

Camera Support
Opera 12 will allow applications and sites (with your permission) to use your webcam and microphone without relying on plugins. Photo Booth, Polaroid, and FaceKat are the few sites that take advantage of this new feature.

Browsing securely
Security is one of the key concerns for online surfer and the Opera 12 has something new to offer even in this regards. Opera has revamped its security badge and it feels that this move will make it easier for the surfers to understand the security and privacy policies of the sites they visit.

Another addition in this release is the 'Do Not Track' privacy feature. With the help of this feature the users can specify the sites which they don't want to collect any browsing data.

In the new browser, the less used features like Unite, Widgets and Voice have also been given a miss.

Commenting on the roll out, Lars Boilesen, CEO, Opera shares, "You spend hours each day in front of a web browser. Shouldn't those hours be as fun and, occasionally, as productive as possible? We think so, so we made Opera 12 the smartest, fastest and most unique browser available."