Opera Unite allows direct file sharing between browsers

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Opera has revealed its ‘Opera Unite’ technology, allowing the direct downloading of files between PCs over the internet using the Opera browser, without the need for any servers.

The company rather boldly claims that this technology, "reinvents the web".

Similar technologies have been available before, but required downloading separate software, paying usage fees, or involved a long process of uploading content – limiting the takeup of services.

In effect Opera Unite is said to turn any computer into both a client and server, allowing it to access and share content with computers directly across the web. Opera Unite will work on Windows, Mac and Linux platforms.

However, the web server capability will be bundled into the upcoming Opera 10 browser, which means that you will need it to share files – though you can access the files from any other browser.

Opera chief development officer Christen Krogh said: “The stuff that we make, we’ll make freely available to any consumers. If a developer wants to make a service that is really, really great, and he wants to charge for it – there will be opportunity there to make money from it.”

He also said that there was no limit to the size of files you could share – the only limit was likely to be the amount of bandwidth available to the users sharing files.

Krogh said that Opera Unite was as secure as any web browser running a widget, and that you could protect the content using a password or specify only particular computers could access it.

Opera chief executive Jon Von Tetzchner called the technology ‘web 5.0’, claiming that the next natural step for cloud computing was for computers to share content with each other without the need of a third-party.

You can try out Opera Unite here by downloading the build from Opera labs.

IT PRO has reviewed the Opera 10 beta and interviewed Opera chief executive Jon Von Tetzchner on video here.

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