At the time when such mattered to the single core sub ghz cpu. The binary for Opera was still smaller then Firefox's. And if you didn't enable the mail client, it wasn't enabled.
What is bloat, is having an entire browser in an emailclient to render HTML messages, like Mozilla did.
What about not having a password at all?
The user who wants to log in, request a login link to their email. And can click it within set amount of time.
Then the user only have to know the email-password. And that could be used to get a new password anyways.
Lots of sites I only visit once a year I need a new password to each time. And it would save me the trouble of making something up each time, and not remembering it anyways.
And if I would try to remember it, it would likely be a password I use on another site. Which would be bad.
I think you just invented OpenID. Better, because more people have email addresses than OpenID providers, and because it piggybacks on existing infrastructure. Worse, because you don't auto-redirect past the login page.
I think what we need is some stylish safety glasses for every day use.
Yesterday some workers were grinding some metal in a busy street. I was just waiting for the shrapnel.
And the ever lasting threat of old ladies with umbrellas with steel rods just in eyes range, got one on my nose some time ago and keeping waaay clear after that.
