Opera Mini Browser On PowerPC

[Dronecatcher]

This is largely a rehash of the work of @Amethyst1 here who discovered the java emulator/player of sergiolopes but what I've done is slimmed down the required files and rewritten the script, preconfigured the settings and made a launch-able applet.
So, what you have is an instance of Opera Mini running under java, although this is largely a curio just for amusement, it does have some real advantages in that, because the browser runs through Opera's proxy server, it strips out heavy code and circumnavigates the security failings of Safari 4 on Tiger. As such it can reach Facebook and Twitter which no longer work on Safari 4 or the mini browsers that derive from it.

To install, unzip the archive and put the OperaEMU folder into Applications (it won't work anywhere else), double click the "DOUBLE_CLICK_ME" script - this must be done first as it installs the configured settings, then drag OperaEMU to the dock to make a shortcut.
Launch OperaEMU (click start in the middle of the window) and then use as you would on a mobile device.

Screenshots below from my iBook G3:

 

[z970]

Excellent!!

Have you encountered any problem sites so far?

How is the resource usage on your G3?

 

[Dronecatcher]

Excellent!!

Have you encountered any problem sites so far?

How is the resource usage on your G3?

I haven't given it a thorough testing as it isn't meant to be a serious browser replacement but imitating a feature phone it will run into limitations, Soundcloud for example doesn't work.
Performance wise, I've yet to see it peak higher than 80% CPU when browsing, it generally peaks around 60% then drops below 20% - similar to Safari 4 on my iBook.
It navigates Youtube fine but fails on playback - it can't find anything to pass the video file to.

 

[Amethyst1]

Thanks for wrapping up my little discovery in a nice package - and for using a Nokia E61i in its icon This should work on Jaguar and Panther as well.

 

[Dronecatcher]

Thanks for wrapping up my little discovery in a nice package - and for using a Nokia E61i in its icon This should work on Jaguar and Panther as well.

It was the talk about Nokias yesterday that prompted me

 

[Appleuser201]

It was the talk about Nokias yesterday that prompted me

And maybe even soon we will have a way to watch YouTube with it. Could this browser POSSIBLY be ported to OS 9?

 

[Amethyst1]

And maybe even soon we will have a way to watch YouTube with it. Could this browser POSSIBLY be ported to OS 9?

It requires Java, so the underlying OS isn't that important. I couldn't get it to run with the Macintosh Runtime Environment forJava 2.2.6 on OS 9 tho.

 

[Appleuser201]

It requires Java, so the underlying OS isn't that important. I couldn't get it to run with the Macintosh Runtime Environment forJava 2.2.6 on OS 9 tho.

Maybe with some hard work and contributions from everyone we will have a truly modern browser for OS9.
Clasilla is long dead, time to start fresh.

 

[vddrnnr]

Hi all,

One silly question, can't we just point a regular browser to Opera mini's "proxy" ?
And impersonate Opera's user agent?

Best regards,
voidRunner

 

[Dronecatcher]

Hi all,

One silly question, can't we just point a regular browser to Opera mini's "proxy" ?
And impersonate Opera's user agent?

Best regards,
voidRunner

Would be worth a try - first hurdle, trying to find the url for their proxy...


EDIT: Just tried an IP found online with a the Opera Mini UA but it just times out connecting.

Seems there's a reason for that:
"A page is compressed, then delivered to the phone in a markup language called Opera Binary Markup Language (OBML), which Opera Mini can interpret".

 

[z970]

Maybe with some hard work and contributions from everyone we will have a truly modern browser for OS9.
Clasilla is long dead, time to start fresh.

For what it's worth, both Classilla 9.3 and Opera Mini 8 are from 2014...

 

[Dronecatcher]

For what it's worth, both Classilla 9.3 and Opera Mini 8 are from 2014...

According to Wiki, although no longer developed, Opera Mini Java version is still maintained.

 

[z970]

According to Wiki, although no longer developed, Opera Mini Java version is still maintained.

"Maintained" in what context if it's no longer developed, and the last available version is from five years ago?

 

[Dronecatcher]

"Maintained" in what context if it's no longer developed, and the last available version is from five years ago?

I'm guessing in the fact that their proxy servers still "talk" to Opera Mini and process and return pages. With that setup the feature creep of the web is always dealt with by their servers, the phone app doesn't necessarily have to evolve.

 

[Appleuser201]

I'm guessing in the fact that their proxy servers still "talk" to Opera Mini and process and return pages. With that setup the feature creep of the web is always dealt with by their servers, the phone app doesn't necessarily have to evolve.

The latest version of classilla is from 2014, however it is based off a much older browser and is really more at the web standards of 2009 when it was first released. Opera mini, is more at the web standards of 2013.

 

[swamprock]

The browser works pretty well, except I get large colored blocks rather than images. I messed with the settings a bit, but there's no change.

Cool stuff in any event. I posted this using the browser. Nice work!

 

[Amethyst1]

The browser works pretty well, except I get large colored blocks rather than images. I messed with the settings a bit, but there's no change.

Is your Opera window set to a 3:4 (e.g. 480x640) aspect ratio? If it isn't, give it a try. If it's very large, you can also try making it smaller.

 

[Dronecatcher]

Is your Opera window set to a 3:4 (e.g. 480x640) aspect ratio? If it isn't, give it a try. If it's very large, you can also try making it smaller.

I've preconfigured the settings to open as a 480x640 and tested on 3 machines without seeing the coloured blocks glitch.

The browser works pretty well, except I get large colored blocks rather than images.

Did you install the prefs first - "DOUBLE_CLICK_ME"?

 

[vddrnnr]

Hi all,

Yesterday I remembered that Opera 10.x had an option called turbo.
I think it's the same thing as Opera Mini's turbo as it uses a "proxy" server with
server names like xxxx.opera-mini.net.
I found several addresses but the browser kept saying it could not connect although
I could do a telnet to the server and get an answer.

I think it might be the user agent being passed that blocks the requestsd on the server.
Can you post the user agent so I can give it a try?

Best regards,
voidRunner

 

[Dronecatcher]

Can you post the user agent so I can give it a try?

I don't think it's just the user agent - as above, the Opera servers translate web pages into OBML that only Opera Mini can read but here's a screengrab of the UA anyway:

[automerge]1574160885[/automerge]

Opera mini, is more at the web standards of 2013.

It doesn't work like that, Opera Mini is reading a translated version of web pages - the servers are totally compliant with the web standards now - Opera Mini can have been made years ago but it will still function the same.

 

[swamprock]

I've preconfigured the settings to open as a 480x640 and tested on 3 machines without seeing the coloured blocks glitch.



Did you install the prefs first - "DOUBLE_CLICK_ME"?

Yes I did, but you explained why it was happening in your reply to @Amethyst1 about the window size. I resized the window before starting the browser. Setting it back to 480x600 fixed it.

 

[Appleuser201]

I don't think it's just the user agent - as above, the Opera servers translate web pages into OBML that only Opera Mini can read but here's a screengrab of the UA anyway:

View attachment 878006
[automerge]1574160885[/automerge]


It doesn't work like that, Opera Mini is reading a translated version of web pages - the servers are totally compliant with the web standards now - Opera Mini can have been made years ago but it will still function the same.

Your saying that opera mini is in fact up to current web standards more or less due to it communitcating with opera servers?

 

[Dronecatcher]

Your saying that opera mini is in fact up to current web standards more or less due to it communitcating with opera servers?

Yes, only in as much as it can access pages that don't have sophisticated, feature rich layouts - the Opera server has to strip code out.

 

[Amethyst1]

Your saying that opera mini is in fact up to current web standards more or less due to it communitcating with opera servers?

Basically, yes. The user agent shows it presenting itself with the old Presto layout engine used until Opera 12.18 though, and e.g. the mobile eBay site throws an 'unsupported browser' error message, or at least it did when I last tried it. However, I'm not sure if that also means it's (only) as capable/standard-compliant (to use your term) as Opera 12.1x is.

Also, as much of a curiosity it may seem to be, this is pretty much the only option for a modern browser on Jaguar and Panther.

 

[z970]

Also, as much of a curiosity it may seem to be, this is pretty much the only option for a modern browser on Jaguar and Panther.

And for that, we rejoice.