Have you tried the latest version 9.02 ?
No browser is perfect at 100%, and for those few sites that don't work under Opera there is always Ie or Firefox.

firefox 2 can have mouse gestures and the same features as well, firefox seems to be more 'install what you want' compared to operas 'this is what we think you like' and IE's 'this is what we felt like giving you'

Sure, you can extend a lot of firefox's functionality but I like Opera because I don't have to go search for extensions.
All the important features are already in the browser and them some like the integrated irc/mail clients, bittorrent download manager and the voice control feature are really great.
And most important of all, Opera is not build on legacy code, it was written from scratch.
Ie and firefox on the contrary were based on mosaic.
But lets not turn this into a Firefox vs Opera vs Ie bashing
Each browser has it + and -, in the end I tried all of them and found Opera to suit my needs much better than the other 2.
As always your mileage may vary. :D

I never used any extensions for firefox. Never. I just want a browser wich works fast, simple, and good. And thats what Firefox does. I don't need muck like a built in email client wich i am never going to use anyway since i am a non-paying Hotmail user.

Now posting this with firefox 2. Different style (More modern). Looks good so far. Seems even faster. :up:

My only criticism of firefox version 2 is that the 'close' button for tabs is now attached to the tab and not in a 'default' location in the top left hand corner so you could always shut a window from the same location. I guess I'll get used to it.:-?