It’s about time: Opera Software ships version 8 of its browser as reported by The Register.

Opera Software moved back into the limelight today with the release of the final version of Opera 8 for Windows and Linux, and a beta of 8 for Mac also available. Version 8 is described by Opera as a substantial upgrade, with quite a bit of tidying of the UI and menu structure, voice control, extra security features and improvements to graphics and page sizing.

The Opera Web site is currently experiencing heavy traffic, but they’ve put up a temporary low-bandwidth page that links to several download locations. Opera is available in free (ad-supported) and paid ($39 lifetime) versions. The ads shown in the free version are from Google, in their familiar context-sensitive text ad/AdSense format.

Time to do something really cute? Time to make fun of people in Range Rovers? No, it’s time to visit Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream for their annual Free Cone Day! Tomorrow, Tuesday April 19, from noon to 8 PM.

Edit: Not to be outdone, Cold Stone Creamery will have a Free Cake Night on April 25, from 5 to 8 PM. Baskin-Robbins had their Free Scoop Night last year on April 28, so I expect an announcement from them soon.

Brad Sherwood and Colin Mochrie are coming to Cupertino this Friday night. Mistryl saw them in Florida a couple of months ago and loved it (no surprise there). I want to go.

El Reg reports that Her Majesty’s Secret Service is looking to replace its current ‘Q’.

Of course, Bond aficionados will already know that a passing resemblance to either Desmond Llewelyn or John Cleese, coupled to the ability to say “Now pay attention, 007″ in a world-weary tone, are likely to be essential prerequisites for the job.

Now here’s a job I could really enjoy.

I’m pretty sure Blissfully Clueless is someone I know, but I’m not positive. Interesting & insightful commentary on current events.