Opera Unite Democratizes the Cloud

From Opera's Press Release

“Today, we are opening the full potential of the Web for everyone,” said Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera. “Technology moves in distinct cycles. PCs decentralized computing away from large mainframes. Opera Unite now decentralizes and democratizes the cloud. With server capability in the browser, Web developers can create Web applications with profound ease. Consumers have the flexibility to choose private and efficient ways of sharing information. We believe Opera Unite is one of our most significant innovations yet, because it changes forever the fundamental fabric of the Web.”

On Security, Opera states on their FAQs

"At Opera, we take the security of your data very seriously, and we are very proud of our consistently solid reputation for security. Our experience in the Web browser industry enables us to know the risks and design our products to ensure that they are as safe and secure as possible for you to use.

Opera Unite services run in a very secure "sandbox", where only the files or folders you select can be accessed; nothing else on your computer is accessible. Be aware that when you share a folder on your computer, visitors can access all of the content contained in that folder, including sub-folders."

My view

I've often thought of a more peer-based Internet without the need for middleware solutions and giving ourselves access to increased computing capabilities. The biggest concern for me in using Opera is security and some control. For developers I could see it as a breakthrough on how they collaborate. I'll probably give it a try as a browser. Good for Opera in regard to pushing the envelope. One thing we should all see in these new technologies that are coming out. There is an obvious objective to improve the way we collaborate. Look for that to continue to be an objective as more companies are using more professional freelancers, decentralizing personnel, wanting to save time and not duplicate efforts.