Apple: You Must Be 17+ To Use Opera 315
An anonymous reader writes "From the techspot article: 'This week, the Opera web browser became the first non-native browser made available in Apple's Mac App Store. While Apple approved the browser, it still managed to hurt its competitor by putting this ridiculous label on it: "You must be at least 17 years old to download this app." Opera has reacted in good humor. "I'm very concerned," Jan Standal, VP of Desktop Products for Opera Software, said in a statement. "Seventeen is very young, and I am not sure if, at that age, people are ready to use such an application. It's very fast, you know, and it has a lot of features. I think the download requirement should be at least 18."'"
inevitable (Score:3, Funny)
I'm 12 and what is this?
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You're 12. Have you heard of Domingo, Carreras or Pavarotti? Didn't think so. Opera's not for you. Go back to America's Got Talent.
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Re:inevitable (Score:4, Funny)
I'm 12 and what is this?
Opera is an application for accessing adult things on the Internet like cogent arguments and reasoned thoughts. Not the usual Mac-versus-PC drivel that you Apple fanbois enjoy. Get off my lawn.
(Written on a Mac so I could be uber-snarky and cool.)
Re:inevitable (Score:4, Funny)
When mommy and daddy love each other very much, sometimes they use other browers.
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No big deal (Score:2, Informative)
The app allows you to access mature content. Apple does this across the board. - j
Then Safari should have the same warning! (Score:2, Insightful)
The app allows you to access mature content. Apple does this across the board. - j
Then Safari should show a warning at some point too.
I usually like Apple stuff, but this move on Apple's part is just pathetic.
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The app allows you to access mature content. Apple does this across the board. - j
Then Safari should show a warning at some point too.
But Safari is installed by default, and a vital part of your iThingy. It's different. Really.
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It's not actually different, Apple just wants you to think it's different.
Re:Then Safari should have the same warning! (Score:4, Informative)
Safari respects Apple's Parental Control system. Opera does not. Therefore, Safari does not require a warning since parents can lock it down if they choose, Opera cannot be locked down using any Apple controls so Apple has to warn parents that it falls outside of the "safe zone" and can be used to access porn no matter what Parental Controls are set for the iDevice.
Re:Then Safari should have the same warning! (Score:4, Insightful)
Safari can really restrict access to all porn over the Internet? As opposed to every single other filtering mechanism that has ever existed? And on a phone nonetheless?
Re:Then Safari should have the same warning! (Score:4, Informative)
I'm not saying the Parental Controls work. We all know they don't really work. The problem is that Safari is subject to them, and Opera bypasses them, therefore Apple cannot even claim a good-faith effort to protect the chilluns from seeing sausage and meatballs or melons and bush on Opera.
It's a legal disclaimer.
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There's an option in the parental controls to disable/password-protect Safari/Youtube etc altogether. With Opera/Atomic/iCab/etc you get a single dialog that you snicker at while tapping "ok," after which there's no restrictions. So in that sense, Apple locks their own apps down tighter than Opera.
This is a pretty silly story.
Re:Then Safari should have the same warning! (Score:4, Insightful)
The OS has built-in parental controls that apply to Safari. And to the Mac App Store. Had Opera not been given a 17+ rating, a parent could have set restrictions on Safari, set the Mac App Store not to allow installation of apps allowing access to adult content... and little Johnny could have still installed Opera and gotten himself unrestricted web access.
The idea that this is some plot by Apple to undermine Opera is absurd. Apple gives the same 17+ rating to any app that allows access to sufficiently unrestricted Internet content, including things like Wikipedia apps, which last time I checked Apple wasn't competing with.
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The 17+ rat
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Re:No big deal (Score:4, Interesting)
Speaking of which, where is all the dirty dirty Android pr0n Steve Jobs promised me? The best I can find on the Android Market is some Kama Sutra DB with stick figures.
Re:No big deal (Score:5, Interesting)
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Back in the real world, all the dozens of Safari-based Web browsers in the App Store have always had the same designation. This is not a new policy and has nothing to do with Opera being a competitor; it's part of the parental control system. It's not as if the designation makes a difference to anyone who doesn't have parental controls enabled.
How do the Android parental controls handle issues like this?
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Really (Score:4, Funny)
And right around the time when those kids turn of-age, the other browsers will finally be implementing all of those features
Illegal in many places (Score:5, Funny)
Last night couple of teenagers approached me near a liquor store and asked me if they could use my Opera.
FUD? (Score:4, Informative)
Seems FUD, I downloaded other Safari-based browsers and they give a warning since you can get to adult content via the browser. I'm over 17, but I just had to say "OK" in the message box to proceed, Seems pretty reasonable...
Re:FUD? (Score:4, Insightful)
Why then don't I need to be 17 to get myself an iPod and use Safari which presents the same exact risks?
Re:FUD? (Score:5, Informative)
Because Apple's implementation of Safari respects Apple's Parental Controls, so if your parents bought you one they could (if they wanted to) lock you own of porn by using well-documented settings on the device.
Opera and many other browsers do not respect those controls, therefore Apple cannot prevent you from seeing porn, and they have to let Mom and Dad know that so they don't run afoul of the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) and get in trouble.
It's all about how us adults like to fool ourselves that we can somehow protect you from things that occur in nature. So stop looking at porn and go watch a violent kiddie cartoon like a good little boy.
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Any claim that the Parental Controls have any impact on the ability of the software
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Agreed - the age restriction is not the issue in all of this.
The issue is that Apple can decide that they will allow the Opera browser, because Opera doesn't bug them to much and has agreed to play by their rules. Now, if Google tried to submit Chrome, or if someone created a browser that did something Apple didn't like, that would be rejected without explanation.
In other words, Apple reserves the right to play any games they want in who they accept and reject.
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When was the last time you saw a kid walking in with a stack of bills, slap them down on the counter, and ask for an iOS device? It's not exactly a huge issue, since most purchases of iOS devices use credit cards, which means that they're in late high school or college when they make the purchase...or else that they have their parent's card and, presumably, permission for and awareness of the purchase.
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if you read the EULA's when you activate your device i do believe there are some age restrictions in there too.
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Selling crack, and running over schoolkids with your car?
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Opera is so cool (Score:5, Insightful)
After reading this, I just want to go shake Jan Standal's hand. It's not often you see a a suit invert a rival's rhetoric against them so pointedly and humorously. Usually it's all serious business, especially, you know, with the internet.
Re:Opera is so cool (Score:5, Interesting)
He's Norwegian. Norwegian leaders frequently aren't suits, but work the floor, is on first name with everyone regardless of rank, and pretty much get a whole lot more respect than the typical American boss.
(Yes, there are exceptions both ways)
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Depends heavily on the size of the company. Opera however is fairly small.
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Depends heavily on the size of the company. Opera however is fairly small.
Does 757 employees (end of Q4, 2009), count as "fairly small"? Well, I suppose it does next Apple's 49,500 employees worldwide...
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Bawww, someone disparaged my 30 layers of bureaucracy, he must be a terrorist!
Re:Opera is so cool (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm American. What was your point, again?
Re:Opera is so cool (Score:5, Funny)
Parental Controls (Score:5, Informative)
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I'd assume so. Opera Mini (which appears to be the version Opera is selling) has a major selling point in that all page requests go through Opera's own proxies. Opera's proxies do a lot of the heavy lifting (Javascript, etc) and present the web page as a compressed image-and-text to the phone, meaning you use a LOT less of your monthly allotment of data and a LOT less processing power on your phone to render the web pages.
The downside is that, simply put, your phone is only connecting to Opera's proxies (
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How does the parental control check the content coming from Opera's proxy server? The entire reason why Opera Mini is so fast, is that all traffic passes through Opera's servers that clean, compress and otherwise preprocess it.
Seriously disappointing (Score:2, Offtopic)
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Opera on iOS is a serious disappointment, to the point where it's hard to take them seriously as a software development company.
We're talking about sex in this thread (well, lack of it anyway). Not software. Please try to stay on topic.
non-story (Score:5, Informative)
All apps that have unfettered access to the Internet have the 17+ nag screen. Browsers, RSS readers... This isn't a story, this is Apple bashing.
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Apple deserve bashing for this. And it is a story; it shows the absurdity of their policies.
Re:non-story (Score:5, Informative)
Apple has created an environment they can claim is kid-safe. They have a Safari browser that you can enable parental controls on, and (in theory) keep your kids away from looking at melons and sausages and keep them looking at cartoon violence like God intended.
Opera is not "hooked in" to that control. Opera Mini runs proxy servers direct back to Opera and all content is routed through there (to save you on bandwidth and phone battery when rendering complex sites). Apple cannot be made aware of what sites your kids might be accessing, and cannot keep them away from porn and other sites you might find undesirable for them to see.
Therefore, since Opera is not subject to the Apple Parental Control system and can be used to view porn even if Parental Controls are turned on, it has to be marked as such or Apple gets kicked out of the COPA Cabana (*).
(*) The most boring spot north of Havana.
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Wish I had mod points.
If the finger should be pointed anywhere, it's at the over litigious society that we live in. I'm sure on some level Apple is cringing that they actually have to do this to cover their asses.
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Who said anything about Opera Mini? Opera Mini is a different product than Opera.
Opera Mini doesn't run on OS X, and this is about Opera on the AppStore for OS X, not Opera Mini on iTunes Store for iOS.
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How is it absurd? As others have said, Safari taps into the Parental Controls, allowing parents to lock out unfettered access to the Internet, but third-party apps can't do that. That said, parents, I believe, can restrict the purchase of apps that are 17+, which would prevent a means of circumventing the Safari lockout by their children. If you bought your own iOS device and used it for yourself, Apple wouldn't ever check to see that you're 17+ before selling you the app. The only time this would ever come
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Without this software on your iDevice, you can't get adult material on the iPhone if parental locks are on. With it on, you can. What's to see here?
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More importantly –all applications that have unfettered access to the internet, but ignore the parental control mechanism built into the OS.
So as soon as you forbid it (Score:5, Insightful)
The more 17- kids will want it. Doing something forbidden is always more fun! But the kids will get bored of it soon, and say, "What was the big deal about this app?"
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And then they figure that since Opera was ok, the other apps were overhyped as well. Before you know it, they have cracked their iPhone and are at an alternative app store, having unprotected downloads and sharing files filled with viruses.
Opera, the gateway app.
Was hoping for a good alternative... (Score:2)
I just tried it. The warning doesn't bother me. Just a cover-your-butt type of thing since you can get to naughty sites with it. I was disappointed, though, to see it was far less cool that regular Opera. Also, visually unappealing. Went to Slashdot, front page items were off the edge, had to move back and forth because it doesn't seem to allow pinch/zoom? Hopefully they will polish it up a bit.
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On the Wii (Score:3)
The browser for the Wii is Opera-based.... I wonder if the "videogames are evil' people will jump on this?
Really? (Score:4, Funny)
Opera only for 17+? Great, now that it's taboo a bunch of kids are going to get a fetish for fat ladies singing.
This week? (Score:3)
I just checked my iTune receipts, I got opera on May 08th 2010.
"Opera Mini Web browser v5.0.1, Seller:
Opera Software ASA (17+)"
I am in Canada so perhaps it was blocked by At&t?
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haha Mac store not app store my bad
Keep your comments tempered (Score:2)
I understand the Apple hate mongers want to come out and destroy Apple as a control freak, and the Apple fanboys want to rush out screaming defending Apple that this isn't there fault and Opera is still easy to download.
Well your both right, to a certain extent, and the truth is somewhere in the middle.
It is true that 99% of iOS apps probably don't even have parental controls turned on, so such a warning is little more than an afront to many people's delicate sensibilities about censor ship, but it's not go
Not really a big deal... (Score:3)
Honestly folks. According to their store rules, any app that hits the open unfiltered internet gets slapped with a 17+. This even includes Wikipedia browsers and such. This is just like the ESRB putting a "Online experience may change" sticker. As others have pointed out, Safari isn't hit by this because Safari can be disabled in the parental controls section on both MacOS X accounts and iOS devices.
Now beyond that, lets be honest. If a parent knows what Opera is and wants it installed, then they'll install it. And if the kid has access to install things themselves then they'll click OK and go on with their lives. The age rating is there for certain individuals who want that information and control over their devices, everyone else can quite happily ignore it and move on. It's not law. They don't check your ID before each launch. It's not some giant conspiracy.
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Actually, that just highlights how ridiculous this is. Opera is simply not big enough to be a threat to Safari's market share, warning label or not. However, they've now managed to make themselves look like assholes to thousands of people who would never have downloaded the app anyway.
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Nope. But it will sure as shit limit the expansion of the target market. I'd consider an iPhone except for all the shit that Apple has pulled, as well as the deep tying of it to iTunes which is a flaming pile of shit.
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Nobody in Apple's target market gives a shit about this. "Oh, I'd really like an iPhone, but they were mean and made Opera cry!"
True, Apple isn't going to lose any device customers over this. They very well may continue to hurt themselves with regard to developer participation though. At this point I would never consider relying on Apple as the target platform for mobile software. I would target my software for Android, since I know it's not going to get banned for arbitrary reasons, and consider Apple's platforms as no more than a secondary market. If Apple decided to block my software I would still have a market to sell it in.
Re:This is embarrassing for Apple (Score:5, Informative)
You do realise that TFA is about the Mac App Store right? Not the iOS App Store!
You can still get Opera the old fashioned way.
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Actually, that just highlights how ridiculous this is. Opera is simply not big enough to be a threat to Safari's market share, warning label or not. However, they've now managed to make themselves look like assholes to thousands of people who would never have downloaded the app anyway.
And I might just download it now, just to tweak Apple's nose.
Re:This is embarrassing for Apple (Score:4, Insightful)
Actually, mobile Opera is possibly the best browser on the market. It's much more lightweight then competition, at least as good, and has some very promising features that competition lacks. While it's possible that fanboy crowd wouldn't switch to a competing product, those who aren't fanboys likely will.
Hell, one of the reasons why "omg symbian browser sucks" argument is pointless from end user POV is because both opera and opera mini on that platform work wonderfully.
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Well I don't have Apple stock....can't speak for the other two people who have found the world's best browser by far.
You mean IE, right? /runs
Re:This is embarrassing for Apple (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:I wonder what will Apple fanbois will say (Score:5, Insightful)
if i say, at this point, that Apple has become a rather villainous, control whore.
Nonsense.
They always were control whores.
Not always (Score:4, Informative)
But for most of their life.
Basically I'd say there were two Apples: The Woz Apple and the Jobs Apple.
Initially Apple was the Woz Apple. He made all the products, Jobs was his marketing guy. Apple was very much about just making cool hardware then. In fact rather than being a premium company, they were an economy company. You got an Apple because it cost less than an IBM, and you could mess with it more. If you've ever seen Woz interviewed, you know where it came from.
However in the early 80s, around when the original Mac launched, the company started to shift to become the Jobs Apple. Woz was away because of his aircraft accident, and when he returned he came back as just a designer, and left not too long after.
At that point Apple started to be all about control. Their products were the sort of thing you used their way. They dictated your experience to you. It was an extremely locked down "doesn't play well with others" platform. However it was really small, so nobody really noticed. Few people got Macs, those that did tended to be rather rabid fanboys so nobody noticed how Apple was actually far worse than most when it came to locking down their platform.
When Jobs was forced out, Apple looked at opening up more but of course we all know how poorly that went. When he came back, the company swung back to being in control stronger than ever. However now, because of their massive consumer electronics division, people are noticing what they do. Apple is becoming more common so more people are noticing how locked down they are.
What's more, they are getting in to more areas, so they have more to control. When they were just a computer and OS company, there wasn't so much, but now they are in to application distribution, consumer electronics, and so on. Means their lock-in can stretch much farther.
But ya, they've had this mentality ever since the mid to early 80s. People just didn't notice so much or gave them a pass because they were "so small" or "not Microsoft."
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Re:I wonder what will Apple fanbois will say (Score:5, Insightful)
And this is the whole point.
1. There are parental controls in iOS. Including for Safari. Thus no need for a warning.
2. Opera ignores these parental controls.
3. Apple gives a warning because of #2.
There is no one-sided-ness. No overt control for a competitor. Just trying to be more consistent - parental control or warning. And ironically, after being tarred and feathered for being one sided, when they're more consistent, there's even more whinging.
In the bigger picture, most kids are given sex-ed at around 10...America thinks they have to wait 7 more years for better pictures.
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Try coming up with a coherent argument. And preferably against what I actually said.
Now go away, or I shall taunt you a second time.
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sorry, for the second reply, but I must respond to your sig.
"Webkit: You can thank Konqueror browser’s KHTML software for being open when using the browser on your phone."
Apple took the code and 4 years latter, named the project webkit.
I wonder how open it would be if it didn't have to be open as part of the license?
I am not implying the 'stole it' or didn't have the right, or that they where wrong in anyway. Only they aren't the people to thank for it. I mean, they like to talk like they invented it,
Re:I wonder what will Apple fanbois will say (Score:5, Funny)
Hush, don't tell the hipsters. They still think that using Apple is a symbol of individuality, creativity, and rebellion. Just look at how many douchebags you can find on YouTube looking into their MacBook cameras ranting about the evils of capitalism.
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now thats a sweet paradox...
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This is where I start to object to the overuse of "whore". You can't be a "control whore", because then you would be selling your authority to whomever would pay.
Also, please show more respect to whores by not comparing them to Apple's business practices.
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Apple crackdown on sexy apps last year.
and yet Playboy and Sports Illustrated Swimwear were allowed to carry on?
Don't tell me they aren't paying for it 30% of app's sales is paying for it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/technology/23apps.html [nytimes.com]
Sounds like whoring your authority to me...
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You can't be a "control whore", because then you would be selling your authority to whomever would pay.
You are absolutely correct. By that argument, we could reasonably call Apple the "Control Pimp". It has a whole bunch of apps in its stable (App Store) and it charges you money to use one of them. It can restrict use of an app and even kill an app off if it's not bringing in enough money.
Cuz Apple gots to get PAID.
[insert picture of Steve Jobs macking with a grill, 10 pounds of gold chains and rings, an
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This is where I start to object to the overuse of "whore". You can't be a "control whore", because then you would be selling your authority to whomever would pay.
Also known as "Congress"
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It is corporate policy, and rather public corporate policy. Any app that lets you get to the wide open internet, and does not have some sort of parental controls built in, needs to be 17+, because the wide-open internet has all sorts of stuff in it. Safari does support parental controls, so it doesn't need the label.
This isn't something new just for Opera. ForumRunner has the same rating, because it lets you access all sorts of forums.
From http://developer.apple.com/news/ios/pdf/parental_controls.pdf [apple.com]
If yo
villainous, control whore? (Score:2)
As far as this age requirement, that is BS. They are just covering their legal ass. Noting more nothing less.
They don't want to get sued by some parent due to something their child did/viewed.
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Yes, because clicking 'OK' is beyond belief.
Lying is a sin! They're leading you into Satan's lap!
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It makes sense for Apple to do this. Opera crashes fairly often and younger kids may not know how to handle it. It requires a certain amount of experience to handle these situations and recognize that some applications are just poorly written.
WTF? Apple is now the "crash police"? Whoaaaaa there kid, we've had a report from someone that their brother's girlfriend's cousin heard about this application crashing. If that happens you will be completely and utterly alone, unable to do anything unless you double-click to start the program again. You better consent to downloading this.
Of course, a professional company like Opera, who essentially makes a single product and has made it cross-platform for a decade, has many more crash problems than the
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It sounds stupid (given that most of us on /. make money by writing software) but it left a sour taste in my mouth.
And are you really that myopic that you are unable to realize that the software has changed a lot since you've last tried it (assuming the last time you tried it was when it had ads), and that maybe you should give it another shot to see how it goes?
I mean, yeah, if Sony came out with the wonder-hardware that did exactly what I wanted, I would be leery. But if they got up and explicitly said that this has no malware, DRM, etc, and other people say the same, I may at least give it a try. I wouldn't want to
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