“Opera Software expressed significant doubts it would continue producing a browser for the Macintosh operating system, illustrating a growing problem for third-party Mac developers as Apple Computer steps up its own application development efforts. Opera, based in Oslo, Norway, on Tuesday released Opera 7, its first final version of a newly rewritten browser. As usual, the company released a browser for Windows before making available versions for other operating systems. But this time, the company did not set a date for a Macintosh release, and instead questioned whether one would be forthcoming at all. The reason? Apple’s own launch of its Safari browser at Macworld in San Francisco earlier this month. Safari, now out in a test or “beta” version, is based on the open-source browser project KHTML. KHTML is part of the K Desktop Environment, an open-source graphical interface for Unix workstations. ‘I’m not a quitter, and our company isn’t a quitter, but it really is up to Apple,’ said Jon von Tetzchner, chief executive of privately held Opera. ‘The Mac platform may not be viable for us any longer.’ Specifically, Tetzchner said that he had asked Apple whether it would be willing to license Opera either to replace KHTML, or to supplement the current Safari version, which Apple said is a stripped-down affair with a minimalist interface and limited feature set,” reports Paul Festa for ZDNet. Full article here.