If you don’t know LastPass, I would describe it as the ultimate free cloud-based password manager and form filler. While hitherto available as a plug-in or extension for other browsers (IE, Firefox, Chrome, and Safari), it has finally come to Opera with the release of the new beta of Opera 11, which (finally) introduces support for extensions.
For me, LastPass has come to be one of those indispensable tools that is one of the first things I install on a new computer (see the LastPass entry in my Freeware Top 30 post).
Now, with support for Opera, I can finally seriously consider using it as my main browser, which is a good thing as Opera is a serious contender for being the best browser, and just may be the fastest browser out there (more info on this below).
I’ve looked at many browser comparison tests, evaluated across multiple factors – see Tom’s Hardware Web Browser Grand Prix (Mar 2010), and Ars Technica’s Windows Browsers Benchmarked (Oct 2010). Both of these tests anoint Google Chrome as having the “best browser” distinction, with Opera coming in at a close second. ( I will say, however, that these test looked at the previous version of Opera v10).
Regardless, first or second, I am delighted to see that Opera now has support for extensions, and that LastPass is working flawlessly on it.
(In other news, LastPass just bought my other favorite cloud services, XMark – a bookmark syncing service).
To download the latest Opera 11 beta go here.
To get the LastPass Opera extension go here.
