I had no idea it was a paid browser back in the day. TIL
>Version 8.5 was released on September 20, 2005. Opera announced that their browser would be available free of charge and without advertisements, although the company still continued to sell support contracts.[37] Enhancements included automatic client-side fixing of web sites that did not render correctly, and a number of security fixes.
Strangely, I don't see how much it cost on Wikipedia and I don't actually remember what it cost. It was like $20, I think.
Back in 2005 I hate to admit it but I was an apple guy at that point. I was all apple installing OS X servers into business and moving them to mac. I've since learned the error of my ways though.
Apple isn't bad, really. I mean, they even have two buttons on their mice now. Macs were also inherently more secure than Windows machines at the time. I no longer keep up, so I have zero idea if that's still true. Shit, in 2005, Windows was barely at the stage of understanding multi-user operating systems.
And there was an Opera for your Mac at the time.
When I retired, I just said fuck the Microsoft ecosystem and switched to Linux. I had no further need for them. I don't dislike them and I appreciate the impact they had on the computer industry (the good aspects). But, I'm happier using Linux. It just fucking works. Security rests with me. Privacy is up to me to decide and enforce. I like that control and, well, simplicity. As an old UNIX user, Linux is a natural fit.
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