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Microsoft Buys Out Opera

cooltechzone.com — At the moment, the deal is almost through with Microsoft and Opera planning on locations for the browser ’s research and development centers throughout the world. One of such locations includes India; other locations at this time are unknown.

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  • omniwired, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0i hope that is not true. Just imagine the best browser (and fastest) on earth on M$ hands. Google should buy it. Or stay as it is now.
  • overclocker, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0It has already been bought; Google lost the battle on this one.
  • omniwired, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0This is the Worst Day in my own Internet history. I been an Opera user since version 4. =( . I dont want another Internet Explorer
  • Malakin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Is this confirmed anywhere?
  • overclocker, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1It wouldn't be an insider article if it was confirmed. Remember that Microsoft and Opera (and even Google) has managed to keep this thing very quiet. This, if I'm not mistaken, is the very first information available on the deal. If you read the article, it points out important things for the reason of acquisition, such as the mobile browser market and innovative features that IE lacks.
  • overclocker, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1BTW, here's an article that somewhat gives an hint on the deal: http://www.infoworld.com/article/05/12/22/HNmicrosoftdeal_1.html?9809798

    Though I'm not sure how 99% of the people who read his blog has worked with the company before.
  • justinp, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I can't decide if this is good or bad. It's good that there is less micro-competition between alternative browsers but it's bad that Opera will probably not be incorporated into IE in any way or even continue as a desktop browser.
  • overclocker, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0Microsoft will use Opera to compete against Firefox, so there's no way MS is killing Opera.
  • schwit, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Would regulators approve of it?
  • EagleY, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0 I heard a while ago that Google was thinking of buying opera. Coincidence? I think not!
  • overclocker, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Why not? There's nothing wrong with it. It's the same old MS thing: "We have money, so we'll buy you and compete against our competitors without having to assign a dedicated team."

    Microsoft do this all the time. Instead of starting from scratch to compete against a company, it either buys them out or buys a smaller company with better (or similarly equipped) technology and then compete by slapping its own brand on it.
  • overclocker, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0EagleY: It's not a coincidence. Google and Microsoft must've been negotiating with Opera for some time, but what's amazing to me is that nothing was leaked. And now we finally heard something right when the deal is about to close. I'm sure we wouldn't have heard anything until Microsoft had competed the deal 100%.
  • ravis31, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0M$ is sure to use some of Opera's features in IE7..
  • theone3, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Umm.. Microsoft probably just bought Opera to stop Google picasa-izing it so they could get the good PR for themselves :)
  • nomad1984, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0so. so. sad T_T
  • MyNightwish, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I think Microsoft bought wants Opera for its mobile browser technologies myself
  • seriypshick, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0Didn't see this one coming.

    Also, what's up with all the companies this year. Adobe buys Macrmedia, Autodesk buys Alias, now Microsoft and Opera. Is it a new fashion?
  • jdrivein, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0ravis: M$ is sure to use some of Opera's features in IE7

    Or just rename opera to IE7.xx ...
  • MyNightwish, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0They've all got money to spare so thought, "|lets by us some companies...."
  • siouxmoux, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0If this story is true There Will one less Alternative Browser to the Evil Blue E!!! I am going to Dump Windoze XP for Linux.
  • mporcheron, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0at the end of the day google already supports the Mozilla Foundation with firefox and has a few deals with them, adding opera to the equation would confuse things and users which one to choose.
  • cesclaveria, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I have a really awkward feeling right now... I am a really big Opera fan I don't hate MS but I hope they dint screw up Opera, Opera has been my main browser for a long time...

    And I hope they are not dropping the Linux version of Opera.
  • xerohour, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1$#*@#*%(#@*^(*@#(^*@(*#%)*(@#(%*!(@*%($*!@%%!@

    That is all.
  • lazza, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1big whoop, google will buy microsoft eventually, then they'll have opera as well.
  • MyNightwish, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0"And I hope they are not dropping the Linux version of Opera"

    OOPS....., didn't think of that
  • yoharryo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0That is one thing that wouldn't overly surprise me, if they dropped Opera's fantastic cross-platform support.
  • MyNightwish, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0At this rate, if everyone keeps buying eachother out, we would really end up with a single evil technology empire
  • elmimmo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1MS wants to be on mobile phones too, and Opera is a big player there. That is what I see MS might want most about Opera (definitely not their desktop browser renderer, however nice it might be; MS is not going to dump IE's engine)
  • dharm, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2i am gonna go ahead and say this news is bs...
    simply cause the site is shady, and dont give any sources...

    but ms should buy opera, its the only way to compete in browser market...
  • robche, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0wow, i was so not expecting that, awesome! MS jsut got a wholee lot better!
  • musenross, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I'm saddened by this news. I've been an avid Opera fan since version 6 of their browser. I was one of the many people who gladly paid their browser registration fee to support them. Now this. I am afraid Microsoft will stop development of Opera and chug some mutant IE7/Opera implemention down our throats. Guess it's time to jump ship, buy an Intel(!!) Mac and run Safari. What has the world come to??? :-(((
  • kACE, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0This was one of the few tech companies we Norwegians could be proud of. And now this?! It's just to sad. :(
  • manfesto, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I very much doubt microsoft will be using much of Opera's technology in IE7 (past what they've already put into the browser, like tabs and whatnot) - they'd have to start the project over if they were to implement Opera's rendering engine. This move is more about eliminating competition before IE7's release, IMHO - buy out the competition and bury it. Not surprising, considering MS's history of buying smaller companies and either killing their product (or its support of other OSs), slapping the MS name on said product, or a combination of the two. This is probably not the best PR move for a giant company already tried for monopolistic practices, though - I'd think the new browser wars are big enough that people may step up and notice.

    But I still see no confirmation of this, save this little blurb and Dvorak's marketwatch article.
  • grayapple, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Microsoft could drop working in IE7, re-brand this and lock it to Microsoft Windows, or cripple the versions for Mac and Linux platforms.
    Hope they bluddy don't, my brother lovers Opera, but if it got a little blue 'e' as it's icon, I'd trash it and think, nothing of it.
  • Dracos, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Is this real, or just yesterday's Dvorak column taken too seriously?
  • manfesto, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0@cesclaveria

    If this is true, dropping Linux support is probably one of the first things Microsoft will do - Sybari Software, GeCAD, SourceSafe. I wouldn't be surprised if there were other examples.
  • AlmostEvil, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Say bye to Opera on Mac, Linux and possibly on windows.

    Microsoft are focusing on IE 7 for windows, I doubt they'll want to be developing two browsers simultaneously. So they'll either base IE 8 on Opera (which would be a welcome final admittance that their mshtml engine is an absolute joke of an engine) or they'll continue using the mshtml engine and cease development of Opera on all pc platforms and continue focusing on the horrible mshtml engine.

    I personally find this hard to believe, I mean.. buying out Opera seems to say "Yeah, erm.. IE sucks".. the only way it seems to make sense is that Google were interested in buying it to MS wanted to get there first.
    If I were in Google i'd do a load of false moves pretending to be interested in buying certain companies in order to get Microsoft to waste money, time and resources.. that way it keeps them guessing and makes them less profitable.
  • chrish, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1If this is true, we need a minutes silence

    And who remembers FoxPro? At one time probably the #1 database. MS bought it and quietly killed it off as it was Access's competition.
  • Dracos, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Furthermore, WHY would MS buy Opera? They've already put too much effort into Avalon and XAML to make use of Opera in Vista without delaying it yet again.
  • EagleY, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I was reading TFA and it did not add anything to what we already know. Still speculations and a rumor. No sources.
  • timewarrior, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0not true
  • d3bruts1d, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Right, like the SEC would approve this one, much less Opera's shareholders which happen to be mainly Opera employees. I think this is nothing more than a ***** post someone made up in order to get traffic.
  • zetsurin, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Ok, Opera goes off my Mac and Windows laptops tonight, to be replaced with Camino and Firefox 1.5 respectively. This kind of thing is making me seriously consider switching to something like Linux which is a lot more of a safer platform with respect to you having the rug swept from under your feet like this!
  • mntpng, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1This smells like just a rumor to me. I'll believe it when or if Opera makes a public announcement.
  • Ptah, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I have read this article on The Inquirer:

    "Opera not up for sale" http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=28388
  • timewarrior, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0In case this is true then Microsoft has revealed this much
    1.It believes Internet explorer a product that Microsoft has pumped billions of dollars into is not good enough.Even though others already know that.
    2.It doesn't want google to acquire anything good or important.
  • portis, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0Another reason why Firefox will reign supreme. :)
  • timewarrior, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0Why does nobody else know about this?
  • Tobey, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0What!? If this is true, Firefox is doomed.

    If you can't beat 'em, buy 'em!
  • treelovinhippie, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0Good thing I don't use Opera then hey :D

    ... so now the obvious choice IS FIREFOX!
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