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Facebook May Buy Opera Software, Still Totally Not Planning to Expand Into Mobile

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News Posted: Sat, May 26 2012 12:52 PM
Despite denials from the highest echelons of Facebook, it sure looks like the social media giant is planning (plotting?) to expand its empire beyond newsfeeds, ads, and “likes”, perhaps to a dedicated Facebook phone and/or a mobile operating system to compete against iOS, Android, and Windows Phone.

Facebook has been busy, scooping up patents, acquiring companies, opening an app “center”, and most recently building a dedicated camera app. If the competition doesn’t see something big coming, images of Tony Stark building a prototype Iron Man suit in a cave under the noses of his captors comes to mind.


"Don't mind us, nothing to see here!"

The latest Facebook acquisition rumor concerns Opera Software, whose desktop and mobile browsers have plenty of ardent fans but have been hovering around a percent or two of the browser market share for some time. According to Pocket-lint, a trusted source has informed them that Facebook is interested in buying Opera.

By all accounts, the Opera browsers are quality products, and combined with Facebook’s user base of nearly a billion people, it could find a huge and happy audience very quickly. Assuming Facebook acquires Opera’s talent along with its intellectual property, the sky’s the limit in terms of what they could come up with; it wouldn’t be too large a step toward building a mobile OS with a dedicated Web browser and app store.
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mhenriday replied on Sun, May 27 2012 7:29 AM

As a long-time Opera user - it's not my default browser, but I do use it frequently - I can only say No, No, a thousand times No ! Keep Mr Zuckerberg & Co's clammy little hands away from this quality browser !...

Henri

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djscotec replied on Sun, May 27 2012 10:00 AM

I prefer Chrome so i could care less about Facebook buying opera, besides that im hoping Google+ takes off even more to really give the world a different experience. change is good remember. Sorry i wont support a Facebook phone. its not that necessary, my nexus does above and beyond my expectations considering the short period of time with smartphones in existence. I have tried opera from portableapps though.. just doesnt connect like chrome does on ICS

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realneil replied on Sun, May 27 2012 4:09 PM

mhenriday:
I can only say No, No, a thousand times No ! Keep Mr Zuckerberg & Co's clammy little hands away from this quality browser !...

Agreed, they have no idea what personal privacy is until someone rams it down their throats. If they're not 'called out' on their misdeeds then they just do what they want to.

Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.

(Mark Twain)

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Tigger4046 replied on Mon, May 28 2012 2:52 AM

If Facebooks buys out Opera, will they keep Unite to enhance its own services? 192 have signed - Save Opera Unite & Widgets! http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/openoperaunited/

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Tigger4046 replied on Thu, May 31 2012 12:31 AM

OpenOperaUnited: Preserve Opera! Our fight has changed, we need your help. So far "204" have joined our efforts, but we need more signatures to show Opera to not allow Facebook to take over. Much more is at stake then anyone can imagine.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/openoperaunited/

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