Opera Software unveiled today the new Opera build with a technology called Opera Unite. I updated the package in openSUSE Factory Non-OSS repository, so you can try it out. Factory package can be installed on older openSUSE releases too, because they are not built against particular libraries.

You are probably wondering what exactly is Unite? Simply put, it is a cloud architecture, where cloud nodes are computers of the individual users or more specifically Opera instances running on them. More marketing-friendly citation from Unite FAQ says:

Opera Unite is a form of collaboration technology that allows you to share data such as files or photos with other users, directly from your computer . You can also communicate directly with others by hosting chat sessions or posting notes. The technology behind Opera Unite uses a compact server inside the Opera desktop browser to share data and services. With Opera Unite, there is no need to waste time uploading content you want to share. You share the content directly from your computer rather than loading it and sharing it through a third-party server.

Folks at Opera also created this instruction video to help you get started. Even more information can be found in an introduction from developers and Unite User Guide.

If you want to know how this technology works under the hood or you are willing to create plug-ins (or so called Unite Services) I recommend reading Developer’s Primer.

That’s it! Go ahead and try it out! Also let me know what you think of it in your comments …