Opera is, by far, my favorite web browser, although those others browser around are also very impressive. I think Opera has been used in desktops mainly by die-hard fans, but Opera hasn't got the recognition it deserves, given the amazing and very innovative software it offers and the very few people using it. I think Opera hasn't been widely adopted because some web sites are not "compatible" with it, but after years using (and relying on) Opera I have discovered that the problem is that those web sites don´t let Opera play the game (maybe non fair play web design, who knows...).
On the other hand, I think IE users use it just because it works and comes with windows, Firefox users used it to get Microsoft irritated and now they depend on plug-ins, Chrome users use it to get Firefox users and Microsoft irritated and because it is light, and Safari users use it because... well, maybe they don't even know why, maybe it looks beautiful.
But whatever browser we use or any reason we had to start loving any of them, it is interesting to see how they have created what media calls "browser war", with many people defending really hard each piece of software.
Finally I want to say that if you have never used opera, just try it.
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My web browser podium is :
5. Safari
4. IE
3. Firefox
2. Chrome
1. Opera

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