How I run Opera Mini on desktop/laptop

[nic007]

These are instructions to run the very popular mobile browser, Opera Mini, on your machine. The browser is very fast because the data is compressed by Opera's proxy servers and you will also save on data usage (generally a savings of about 80%). The browser opens the mobile versions of web pages by default (if available) but has no problems displaying desktop versions. The browser is excellent for general browsing but does not allow media streaming.

Requirements: Java Runtime Environment (JRE), Microemulator java applicaton, Opera Mini java application

Method:
1. If you don't already have JRE, download and install it or mount an SFS version. There are pet and sfs versions available for Puppy. Any version compatible with your distribution should work.
2. Once you have JRE installed, download the emulator and browser from here https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_n4nl ... sp=sharing
Unzip the RAR file to / (one level up from /root). You should now have a microemulator folder which contains everything you need.
3. Download the attached script.
4. Run the abovementioned script, it should open microemulator. On first run you should see the image (emulation) of a mobile phone. Click on microemulator's options, choose "select device" and then choose "resizable device". Supply your screen size and save. Sometimes this does not work as it should. So after setting the screen size, right-click on microemulator in your taskbar, choose "maximize" and then close microemulator.
5. Run the script again. You should now have the maximized screen correctly set. Click on "start" to run the browser. This will result in a quick "install" procedure which will take you to an Opera page. Read the terms if you want to and click "accept" at the bottom. You should now have the browser active and in use. In the future you just need to run the script and click on start to start the browser.
6. To enable downloads you have to edit the configuration file. In /root find the .microemulator folder, open it, right click and open as text the config2.xml file. Look for NAME="fsRoot" and stipulate the location of your parent download directory in the value section just before NAME="fsRoot" eg. VALUE="/mnt/sda1". Save your changes.
7. The browser has all sorts of options like changing the picture quality of images, etc.
8. Have fun

[TyroBGinner]

You had mentioned this idea in a recent message sequence that I inititated. It is too bad that your message here has received so little interest. I think it is a great idea and a useful addition to linux implementations. Thanks a lot for putting a detailed procedure out here. I will be trying it in the near future as I continue looking into the most efficient distros/browsers for old hardware and limited data quotas.

[nic007]

Thanks, TyroBGinner

This has been my default browser for the last 5 years. I used to connect to the internet via 3G mobile (and still do sometimes) and that data is expensive. That is one of the main reasons I started to use it...and of course the speed is great. Besides, running Opera Mini on something other than a mobile device is a bit of a "secret" and not well-known.

[mmmrr]

thanks for the clear exposition of a good idea.

how can i find out if i already have jre installed?

will any version number of jre do the job?

i'm running quirky 614 on old, low-end laptops.
quirky is good on the old compus.
opera has been my browser
of choice since opera 5, or earlier.
i'm keen to try opera mini on my setup.

cheers, mm

[nic007]

thanks for the clear exposition of a good idea.

how can i find out if i already have jre installed?

will any version number of jre do the job?

i'm running quirky 614 on old, low-end laptops.
quirky is good on the old compus.
opera has been my browser
of choice since opera 5, or earlier.
i'm keen to try opera mini on my setup.

cheers, mm

Hi, Java is not standard issue with Puppy so you probably don't have it if you haven't installed it. It normally installs to /opt so you can check there or just run something like java -help in terminal and see if there is anything. Any version compatible with your Puppy should do. Quirky is an experimental "fork" of the mainstream Puppies which I have never used so don't know if you will have problems running the available JRE pets/sfs on it.

[mmmrr]

thanks nic007

nothing /opt
bash says command not found
when java -version is entered

so all i can find are jre*sfs files
the instructions for making a full instal of an .sfs
[because quirky is full install only] keep returning
that the target is not a directory :

# cp -a --remove-destination ./* /mnt/sda2/
cp: target `/mnt/sda2/' is not a directory
# cp -a --remove-destination ./* /sda2/
cp: target `/sda2/' is not a directory
# cp -a --remove-destination ./* /sda2
cp: target `/sda2' is not a directory
# cp -a --remove-destination ./* /sda2/opt
cp: target `/sda2/opt' is not a directory

so i decided to try an sfs2pet utility.
it failed, probably because i forgot to
click on the sfs to unmount it after
clicking to mount it as part of some
earlier failed procedure. when the .sfs
is not unmounted it makes problems.

i'll have to reboot and hope that clears
the entry in /mnt. it won't delete as it
sfs it refers to is write-protected.

i looked at a build sctript for jre
wondering about compiling in quirky
but i have no experience in that line
so decided to whack around in sfs/pet
land for a while.

suggestions welcome, cheers, mm

[nic007]

Unfortunately, I am unfamiliar with the workings of Quirky and also just work with frugal installs. SFS-addons aren't installed but are loaded. Generally you will specify in the bootloader configuration if it should be loaded at boot. I suggest posting a topic in the user section of this forum asking how to install JRE or use SFS files with Quirky and which compilation to use. A Quirky user should help you out.

[rg66]

I haven't tried Quirky but see if you have unsquashfs and dir2pet.

From command line:

Code: Select all

# which unsquashfs
/usr/bin/unsquashfs

# which dir2pet   
/usr/bin/dir2pet

If they are present then:

Code: Select all

unsquashfs -d /choosepath/nameofsfs /path/nameofsfs.sfs

cd /chosenpath
dir2pet nameofsfs

[mmmrr]

thanks for the useful replies, which i read after posting
these words: i'll look for unsquashfs/dir2pet and report.
for now:

i got jre installed, opera-mini runs, sort of...

==========
http://www.smokey01.com/gjuhasz/packages/

jre-1.8u65-i586.sfs 07-Nov-2015 17:14 58M

===========

http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=81316

Direct Download
sfs2pet-20121001.pet (853 B)

MD5
md5sum.txt

posted by TheAsterisk!

=============

the sfs2pet when started shows 'open *** sfs'
i made the mistake of thing i was being asked
to open ***sfs. no. the notice means 'opening
***sfs, please wait'. that is what the notice should
say.

the notice goes away, without any sign of progress,
after sometime a seeming unrelated form appears
asking for info for the package database. on my third
run i realised the form was for the 'jre***pet being
created by the sfs2pet utility, was part of puppy's
internal workings and if read carefully was self-explanatory.

then the form went away. after quite some time another
window popped up to say 'task complete' in short order
operamini was running.

@nic007, hi, neat stuff, thanks. but re downloads:

you say, in /root/.microemulator, open as text: config2.xml, then

''Look for NAME="fsRoot" and stipulate the location of your parent download directory in the value section just before NAME="fsRoot" eg. VALUE="/mnt/sda1". Save your changes.''


here is the only place of NAMES in my config1xml

<system-property VALUE="MIDP-2.0" NAME="microedition.profiles"/>
<system-property VALUE="CLDC-1.0" NAME="microedition.configuration"/>
<system-property VALUE="true" NAME="avetana.forceNativeLibrary"/>

where is NAME = fsRoot ???

============

also where to set larger fonts for operamini ?

cheers, mm

[mmmrr]

thanks rg66
found unsuashfs and dir2pet already aboard.
created a pet using the code you offered.
was going to remove pet made as described
and replace it with the pet made in house
--just to see if the process worked--
cheers, mm

[nic007]

Hi, mmmrr

Attached find a copy of my config2.xml file. Copy the extensions section to your config2.xml file and stipulate the drive you want to use for downloads (don't stipulate a folder or subfolder here). There are only two settings for fonts, medium and large (which isn't much larger). You will find settings when clicking on the red OPERA icon at the bottom. A few pointers if you haven't figured it out yet: you can use your keyboard for typing but need to use the popup keyboard to enter digits, etc. Pressing 2 on your keyboard equals "page up" and 8 equals "page down".

[mmmrr]

the built-in-to quirky commands
'unsquashfs' and 'dir2pet' did the job.
using puppy package manager,
i removed the previous pet, rebooted,
tried the operamini emulator--failed--
installed pet made using built in commands.
tried emulator again, this time it worked.

[mmmrr]

hi nic007

apologies for this delayed reply: although the thread now
shows yr config file post, it was not displayed when i posted
the entry which now displays after yours. in addition, the
spam sensor on my receiving email account, [gmail] decided
that stuff from this forum was spam, which had not happened
before...

anyway, thanks for the copy of yr config file. i copied the section
you suggested into my config file and set to my partition. when i tried
to download i got 'download failed'

i just realised that i didn't reboot so i'll try that. cheers, mm

[mmmrr]

hi nic007,
reboot failed to make download work.
actually, althoygh it's v fast, opera mini
is not hugely faster than opera 12.16 on
this ancient, low-end machine. i learned
from the exercise of getting mini running.
that was good, thanks.

because of font and other interface issues
i don't think mini would be more than a curio for me,
i'm willing to try to work through the download
issue if you wish to but it's not necessary.
thanks again for the learning curve.
cheers, mm

[nic007]

hi nic007,
reboot failed to make download work.
actually, althoygh it's v fast, opera mini
is not hugely faster than opera 12.16 on
this ancient, low-end machine. i learned
from the exercise of getting mini running.
that was good, thanks.

because of font and other interface issues
i don't think mini would be more than a curio for me,
i'm willing to try to work through the download
issue if you wish to but it's not necessary.
thanks again for the learning curve.
cheers, mm

It should be very much faster than a big browser (and it is on all the machines I've used it on). There shouldn't even be a comparison so vast the difference. Makes me think that it's not running as it should on your machine. Do you have the image setting at "low"? Anyways - it should save massively on data usage if that's an issue. And of course like most things first used it has a bit of a learning curve but once "mastered" it's a joy to work with. It's most useful if you have a very slow connection and/or restricted with data usage.

[mmmrr]

it is faster, clearly, than than opera 12.16
but the convenience of 12.16's familiar features,
including enlarging a display, outweigh the raw
difference in speed. i don't have data usage issues
nor a slow connection. i'll try the image setting on
'low'. then i'll try it on a complex website or two.
do you have further thoughts on getting download
to work? thanks. cheers, mm

[nic007]

You can not compare the capabilities of this browser with the full features of any big browser. This is for quick general browsing and as said very useful if you have a slower connection and/or data is an issue. Don't know why you can't get downloads to work, you can try to set the saved pages folder in settings first.

[mmmrr]

hi nic007,

thanks for yr reply.

the 'saved pages' button offered a dialog box
where i might set a folder to save pages but
when i clicked 'set' that button flashed blue but
nothing happened. clicking cancel removed the
dialog box.

when i tried to enter my login details for this
forum to type the words above the login page
accepted them but when i clicked 'login'
nothing happened.

cheers, mm

[nic007]

hi nic007,

thanks for yr reply.

the 'saved pages' button offered a dialog box
where i might set a folder to save pages but
when i clicked 'set' that button flashed blue but
nothing happened. clicking cancel removed the
dialog box.

when i tried to enter my login details for this
forum to type the words above the login page
accepted them but when i clicked 'login'
nothing happened.

cheers, mm

You need to set the saved pages folder in settings > advanced > saved pages folder. I have no problem logging in here with Opera Mini. Remember to use the popup keyboard to enter digits (mouse-click the digit to enter).

[mmmrr]

nic007 said:
'''You need to set the saved pages folder in settings > advanced > saved pages folder. I have no problem logging in here with Opera Mini. Remember to use the popup keyboard to enter digits (mouse-click the digit to enter).'''

same same at settings>advanced>saved pages folder:
dialog box; set folder button blue, does nothing when clicked;
cancel button blue, cancels operation.

at forum login, popup keyboard has no markings. blank keys.
they make a letter when clicked. i don't need numbers at login.
operamini still won't login.

cheers, mm