start.com

start.com is pretty cool. Also, it’s a bit similar to one idea I’ve been thinking about.

(There are one or two similar sites I’ve seen are also cool, I don’t remember the addresses now)

Of course, it’s very beautifully executed(as most things Microsoft are).

But currently it’s not very usable.

As an RSS reader - it’s nice, but there are other online readers that are a little better. (like Google’s)

As a  way to view all my important stuff at once, a portal - hmm, it doesn’t feel right. I can handle a few extra clicks for the benefit of seeing what I want in a full browser window and not in a small part of it. I may be wrong on this one.

The real benefit will come, IMO, when the portal will begin doing some clever manipulation on the data it displays from various sources (which is what my idea does). Then these sites will become successfull. Maybe.

Currently, start.com is just a great demo of several techniques(which is exactly how they want it right now).