Let’s talk about start pages. My last post was about the newest find in my aimless surfing, Netvibes.
I can’t broach the subject of personalized start pages without mentioning start.com, a Microsoft acquired project. It works in a similar fashion to Google’s version, with AJAX and personalized content. Something that’s missing though, is the option to check Gmail. Of course, it uses a MS Passport to pull the login info, so I guess implementing Gmail would be out of the question. :)
Start.com is in the running when it comes to decent start pages, but Microsoft leaves a bad taste in my mouth, though I try to keep an open mind.
I’ve been perusing the world of personalized start pages, kind of stemming from my bookmark manager searches. I have been using Google Personalized for a while now, since I find the Yahoo! and MSN versions to be rather bloated. I like the Google option, though I wish it was a little more functional.
I found a rather nice, slim site while I was looking: Netvibes (beta). It is an ajax operated site, simple, and similar to the Google site in layout. You can add weather, notes, (taggable) bookmarks or Gmail to the page, or add a personalized feed to the mix. Layout options include drag and drop functionality, collapsible content boxes, and a clean, ad-free design. One of the best things is that you can import and OPML file from your current reader, and set up your feeds however you like. The feedreader is very slick, allowing a sweet expansion capability.
I wish they had a bookmarklet for adding to bookmarks, as well as a public sharing option, but overall I give it a thumbs-up.
I just downloaded the developer preview of Flock, a brand new web browser. It is very much like Firefox, but integrates wonderful blog editing and photoblogging components. I am interested to see where this goes!
Check out Brian’s review at Solution Watch.
