Opera development kits are out

ALTERATIVE BROWSER OUTFIT Opera has released two software and content development kits.

The Opera Devices Content Development Kit (CDK) allows developer to build content for TVs and anything else hooked up to the Internet without requiring access to the hardware itself.

Opera claimed that the CDK will make HTML5 and HbbTV enabled content much easier to create on a PC. It also throws in a copy of Opera Dragonfly for debugging.

The CDK supports W3C, HbbTV (Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV), OIPF, and CEA-2014, covering most content requirements for developers, and can be used on Opera TVs.

"With Opera Devices CDK, they can now bring reliable, fine-tuned applications to market much more quickly. Opera has always been on the forefront of innovation," said Opera's VP of TV, Frode Hernes.

"The Opera Devices CDK comes at an optimal time when demand is high and will only grow for TV Apps and other Internet-connected devices."

Opera marketers are also referencing proto-rap ghetto poet Gil-Scott Heron's barnstorming The Revolution Will Not Be Televised for its SDK 2.8. This time, rather than being a paean to black power, it's about unleashing the power of HTML5. The HTML5 revolution will be televised. Geddit?

We'd don't know whether Heron would approve of this appropriation of his meme, but he also voiced the You Know When You've Been Tangoed ads so our world has already been shattered.

The SDK supports HTML5 and has Opera's Carakan Javascript engine. Opera reckons the 2.8 release should make it easier to embed HTML5 in its web browser and make the most of the power of the browser engine.

"Rather than the traditional 'lean-back' model of TV interaction, today's 'lean-forward' devices engage the consumer with interactive content and downloadable widgets and applications," said Opera CEO Lars Boilesen.

"Opera's newest Opera Devices SDK allows manufacturers to build all of those new revolutionary experiences on top of the browser engine." µ