The barrier for me used to be that it wasn't free. A few friends were using it but I thought (I still do) that having to pay for a browser was at least.. dumb.

The barrier for me used to be that it wasn't free. A few friends were using it but I thought (I still do) that having to pay for a browser was at least.. dumb. After it went free I didn't give it much thought until one day I just decided to try it. My belief is that when the market had less competition opera screwed up by not changing it's revenue model soon enough. If they kept the same course today they would be extinct. Luckily for them they managed to dodge that but now they are up against far more well established competitors. IE and Safari, backed up by the OS, Firefox, both OSS and numerous plugins for the end user, and Chrome with Google's brand recognition and power behind it. Tough spot.