Opera Software, founded in 1995, has done so much for the web, yet has received hardly any recognition. They introduced the first browser with tabs, the first browser with gesture support, the first browser with a homepage that lets you quickly jump to your favorite websites, and most importantly they invented Opera Mini. While many of you reading this article live in a country with high speed internet access, both at home and on your phone, as well as enjoy high end smartphones, many people around the world have to get by on a feature phone with a small screen that connects to a network that delivers EDGE on a good day, and GPRS during the rest of the year. For those people, Opera Mini is like a little slice of heaven, giving them access to the repository of information out there on the web by compressing sites up to 90% using remote servers before finally delivering said content to your phone.
Jon S. von Tetzchner, one of Opera’s co-founders, had a fundamental belief that everyone deserves access to the internet and every time we spoke to him at industry events we couldn’t help feed off his enthusiasm for what giving access to the net to millions of people can do to not just the world economy, but culture as well. It’s sad then for us to have to report that he’s leaving the company. This is the letter (acquired by TechCrunch) he sent to Opera employees before leaving the firm:
Dear All,
It is with a heavy heart that I send this message. Next week will be my last at Opera. It has become clear that The Board, Management and I do not share the same values and we do not have the same opinions on how to keep evolving Opera. As a result I have come to an agreement with the Board to end my time at Opera. I feel the Board and Management is more quarterly focused than me. I have always worked to build the company for the future. I believe the foundation we have is very solid to build further upon.
I do believe strongly in Opera as a company, and in all of you working here. Our products actually make a difference for a lot of people in the world, and I wish you all the best of luck moving forward. I will be following the company closely and rooting for you all.
Yours truly,
Jon.
We’re wondering what exactly he wanted to do and where the guys in charge of Opera want to take the company. It wouldn’t surprise us to hear that someone is looking to purchase them, and Jon wouldn’t have it.