Opera Releases Beta Browser for Mac OS X

Opera Software has released the first beta of their Opera 5 for Mac OS X Carbon Web browser (Screenshot). This release brings Mac OS X users the ability to use the keychain -- used by the operating system when securing information -- for storing Web passwords, along with URL auto-complete, a feature introduced in July with the release of Opera for Mac Beta 2. An extra button set is also offered, which is meant to blend in with OS X.

"The development toward a final version for all systems for Mac users is important to us," said Opera Chief Technology Officer, Hakon W. Lie in a statement. "We are very happy to announce that we now can offer the same stability to all our Mac users."

Opera 5 features support for most Web standards, including HTML 4.01, CSS, ECMAScript, and 128-bit encryption. Now included in the toolbar is a search box, which allows direct access to many popular search engines.

Early BetaNews tests have shown the beta to be noticeably faster than other Web browsers available for Mac OS X, including Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Opera 5 will be the fourth browser natively designed for OS X user interface, following IE, OmniWeb, and most recently Mozilla.

Opera 5 for Mac OS X Carbon Beta 1 may be downloaded from opera.com.