"This single statement, apparently written by some sub-contractor they had outsourced admin interface programming to, cost them millions of NOK in lost sales."

"This single statement, apparently written by some sub-contractor they had outsourced admin interface programming to, cost them millions of NOK in lost sales." The company didn't intend to block opera. Also, it's shortsighted to take a vindictive approach to negotiations if you intend to gain market share. Opera is a nice browser, but they're deluding themselves if they think they can get offended when something isn't supported. They have the dubious honor of being big enough to be known, and small enough to be ignored due to compatibility issues. (There probably wasn't a check for Konqueror or IceWeasel). Opera could have used this as a chance to improve their market share and image (so less admins get the impression that Opera is an also-ran browser that nobody needs to support). But losing the contract, especially for an outsourced component, makes them appear petty.