Opera Unite turns your browser into a server

Opera launched a new application today called Opera Unite that it hopes will ‘reinvent the web’, their words not ours. This web-based application is an interesting take on cloud computing and comes built into the Opera browser. What Unite does is to turn your computer into a web server and client, which you can use to access files from any other browser (say on a netbook whilst away from home).

Some of the services that are currently offered through Unite includes file sharing, hosting web sites, sharing music or photos, posting sticky notes and chat. Opera realise that many people like to use different browsers, so they have made sure that Unite has cross-platform support. As long as Unite is running on one machine with Opera, then you can access your content on any operating system or browser (or even your phone).

The great thing is that files placed in a shared folder on a user’s computer (and linked to the service) can be accessed by other Opera Unite users without having to be uploaded first. We have been testing Unite for most of the day and have been very impressed. Also, the fact that you can access your files whilst running around with a netbook makes it especially appealing.

If you are still struggling to understand the concept, check out the video below which should help. NetbookNews also has a video of the concept in action, which you can also see below. For a good guide on how to set up Unite, check out TechRadar’s guide here. Unite is available to all users including PC, Linux and MAC and can be downloaded in its beta form here.