Opera Unite: Sidestepping The Server
Opera recently unveiled the innovative Opera Unite, which will go live in Opera 10. Opera Unite basically serves as a web server inside of a web browser, allowing users to directly share files and photos, send messages, chat, build networks and even host their own websites from their computers. Opera Unite is aiming to cut out the middleman when it comes to relying on third-party servers.
Opera Unite makes it easy to share files and chat, thanks to an interface reminiscent of widgets and add-ons which simplify the process of direct communication with your intended recipient. This ease of use and almost-direct line of communication is fascinating in a manner similar to that of Google Wave. However, the fact that Opera Unite is this wide open leads one to hope that they can manage to find a way to keep hackers and writers of malicious software from taking advantage of any potential vulnerabilities to be found in the Opera Unite model.
Overall, I definitely recommend checking out Opera Unite, because it’s one of the more innovative browser experiences I’ve come across in recent memory.
For more information on Opera Unite:
http://mashable.com/2009/06/16/opera-unite/
http://dev.opera.com/articles/view/an-introduction-to-opera-unite/
http://unite.opera.com/services/
