Tom Flanagan

OK - I love Firefox but I have to say Opera’s latest browser versions (9.27) is really slick. Not familiar with Opera? Opera started out as a research project in Norway’s telecom company, Telenor, in 1994, and branched out into an independent development company named Opera Software ASA in 1995. It’s free of course and delivered Tab browsing way back in 2000. One of the coolest features is “Speed Dial”. Speed Dial gives you quick access to your favorites when a new tab is opened. Check out this demo:

Opera also has a bunch of tech tools including: Fraud Protection, Widgets, Photo previews and more. Of course, its market share is miniscule in the grand scheme of the Browser Wars. W3Schools has published Opera’s market share at: 1.4% as of April 2008. See monthly statistics here.

With that said, it’s not about market share. If you like Firefox and want to add even further distance from the Microsoft world and yourself, download Opera.

Walk Score is a really cool application that launched in July 2007. Basically, it utilizes the Google Map API to calculate the “walkability” of neighborhoods by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc.

Click here to see it in action - my office location (140 Wickenden Street, Providence, RI).

They have a few products including: Walk Score, a Walk Score blog Widget and Walk Score Real Estate Tile for Real Estate listings.

Here are the Scoring guidelines that are published on the Walk Score site:

• 90 - 100 = Walkers’ Paradise: Most errands can be accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car.
• 70 - 90 = Very Walkable: It’s possible to get by without owning a car.
• 50 - 70 = Some Walkable Locations: Some stores and amenities are within walking distance, but many everyday trips still require a bike, public transportation, or car.
• 25 - 50 = Not Walkable: Only a few destinations are within easy walking range. For most errands, driving or public transportation is a must.
• 0 - 25 = Driving Only: Virtually no neighborhood destinations within walking range. You can walk from your house to your car!

Despite some inaccurate Google Map data, Walk Score is certainly a cool app worthy of any Real Estate site.