Oooh! Opera to be bought by Google ???

What does google need a browser for? Well, other than to keep toying with microsoft..

I guess Google could place another O in it's name if that happens - Gooogle

In some ways I hope it doesn't happen, google would probably try place ads on the browser, scary, could even be like yahoo sites pages.
The more privatly owned (or open source) the better as gives a much fairer playing field

Hm... If google wanted a browser, they would most probably take Firefox's code and modify it.

bja888 wrote: Damn, you had the funnier comment

Yours was supposed to be funny?

It made me smile i could totally see good doing that just to piss microsoft off...

I think it's quite obvious that Google wants to compete with Microsoft and the other big guns. I agree that it would make more sense for them to create their own version of firefox, though.

Either way, I think it could be a really good boost for alternative browsers. Perhaps if an influential company like Google is endorsing them it would make a lot of people consider using them.

Anything that could be a boost to either the Mozilla and Opera folks would be a serious leap forward.

I would LOVE to see one of them take a giant bite out of IE's dominance. A developers dream!!

Oh no, poor O.

I don't want my beloved browser to be bought out by that nasty megacorp-to-be.

There's potential for evil with Google, they're becoming way to all-encompassing for my liking. Nor do they have any regard for Web Standards (just try validating their site).

Microsoft? Google? What's in a name when it describes too much control over what we - as individuals - do?

That's why I wasn't too sure how I felt about it. It would be good exposure for O, for sure, but then it would no longer be O. There would be alot of google-ization of things that might not necessarily be good. Such as falling behind on support for standards, for example.

I was alos thinking that google seems to prefer to develop their own products (as opposed to Yahoo, who prefers to acquire them), so buying an existing browser doesn't fit their existing business model. Customizing Firefox would make more sense that way.

Megan wrote: Customizing Firefox would make more sense that way.

Indeed, but as Megan pointed out, it's all just so much speculation! I might write to Opera and ask them, shall I send an e-mail on behalf of the forum or do you want to do it Megan?

It's worth a try and have we really got anything to lose?

At least they are not taking FF...
Browsing in a browser with relevant ads isnt one of my dreams...

Now here's my worst nightmare:

http://operawatch.blogspot.com/2005/12/dvorak-microsoft-should-buy-opera.html

But rest assured:

Quote: ..there have been offers to buy Opera before by big companies with big budgets and no matter the offer, the CEO has turned them down. "Opera is his baby".

I love O

I wouldn't be surprised. Google is a rapidly growing site that just started from a simple college project. Who would have known that it would become this big. Maybe this could be a change for opera? or a leap for Google being an internet monopoly? Who knows, but they need to work on their adsence more..

Or maybe Microsoft buying up Opera because IE is so crap?