I have spent hours upon hours trying to find the “perfect” startpage. I have come to the conclusion that there is none; at least for me. I want a way to include feeds, mail, pictures of Hob and Istar, my Vimeo vids, my calendar, and more. All of the startpages pretty much offer these things, but in different ways.
I, like many others, started with igoogle, which was fun for about 15 minutes. Not too long after I designed my page to my satisfaction, they forced a lot of dead space on users by moving the tabbar to the left. That, and the fact that theming is so very limited meant that I needed an alternative, which led me to Netvibes. Netvibes is one of the best presented options I’ve used, but the lack of true customization leaves me a little unsatisfied (for instance, there is only one theme that does not have glaringly white widget backgrounds and the “extra” customizations, such as tabs, look cheap). Do not let their claim to have 1000s of widgets woo you…most are third party widgets, which always look tacky and include links to the widget’s “home”. Blech.
Pageflakes was my next trial, and I really like the flexibility it offers, but the native design looks very 1995, and not in a good way. It is by far the worst looking option, but has some really great flakes. Shame, really.
While searching for ways to overcome the issues I have with the above-mentioned sites, I found a link to Protopage. This is my preferred page, and I love it up to 95%. The lack of love is for an (apparently) outdated feed reader that can’t even find half the feeds I give the exact address for. I can circumvent this problem by using Feedburner feeds, which seem to work 100% of the time, but it’s still a gripe. Another gripe I had was that my thumbnail images weren’t showing up in my own feeds, but they were in everyone else’s feeds. I solved that problem by not using the “singlepic” function of the Nextgen Gallery plugin. Again, this is a non-issue with other readers, so I’m not sure why Protopage can’t handle them. Since there is no real calendar option beyond the most basic, I’m able to use my ics calendar from Netvibes, and include it as a widget on Protopage by use of the “webpage” widget. Niiiice. Widgets can be free positioned and resized, colored any way you want, and choosing a background is much easier than in other services. There are basic ads at the top of the screen, but you can close them forever (or until you reload) with one click, then they collapse. Not too bad.
The latest, and definitely most fun, option I found this weekend is Schmedley. Since Schmedley is so new, there is very little to choose from, but given a few more “schmidgets” and the option to resize the schmidgets (they are HUGE), this will become my favorite. The Gmail reader is wonky as hell, as it pulls emails from archived and trashed mail and never from my inbox, but the POP Mail seems to work a little better. The retro design of the logo and amazingly cool backgrounds make this a top contender for me. I just hope development continues!
If you try any of these out, let me know what you think!
Really appreciate you sharing this blog article.Much thanks again.
I am sure this piece of writing has touched all the internetviewers, its really really nice paragraph on building up new blog. Qt (Postheaven.Net)
I love looking through a post that can make men and women think. Also, thanks for allowing for me to comment.
great points altogether, you simply gained a emblem new reader. What might you recommend in regards to your put up that you made some days ago? Any sure?
Thank you for your blog.Really looking forward to read more. Cool.
It’s like you wrote the book on it or something. You appear to know a lot about this. I havewritten downthisinsight and I will applyit when I amable to. Great post!
pay for essays – pay to do my assignment best online pharmacy
Appreciate you sharing, great blog post.
malaria skin rash hydroxychloroquine sulfate is chloroquine an antibiotic
Thanks so much for the blog article.Really thank you! Will read on…
Hi friends, how is all, and what you wish for to say on thetopic of this post, in my view its truly awesomefor me.
Greetings from Florida! I’m bored at work so I decided to
browse your site on my iphone during lunch break.
I really like the information you present here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home.
I’m shocked at how quick your blog loaded on my phone .. I’m not even using
WIFI, just 3G .. Anyways, wonderful blog!
I truly appreciate this post. Want more.
Really nice style and wonderful subject material , very little else we require : D.
Great blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere? A theme like yours with a few simple tweeks would really make my blog stand out. Please let me know where you got your design. Thanks|
No matter if some one searches for his essential thing, thus he/she wants to be available that in detail, therefore that thing is maintained over here.|
F*ckin¦ remarkable issues here. I¦m very glad to look your post. Thank you a lot and i’m having a look forward to touch you. Will you kindly drop me a mail?
You certainly understand what you’re referring to,this blog is simply excellent .
I value the blog post.Really looking forward to read more. Cool.
I was curious if you ever considered changing the structure of your blog? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having one or two pictures. Maybe you could space it out better?|
wow, awesome blog post.Really looking forward to read more. Want more.
I really like your writing style, good info, thanks for putting up :D. “All words are pegs to hang ideas on.” by Henry Ward Beecher.
I have read so many articles regarding the blogger lovers however this post is genuinely a fastidious piece of writing, keep it up.|
I wanted to thank you for this very good read!! I definitely enjoyed every little bit of it. I have you saved as a favorite to check out new things you postÖ
Thank you for some other informative site. The place else could I get that kind of information written in such a perfect manner? I have a challenge that I am simply now operating on, and I’ve been on the glance out for such information.|
Hi, I do think this is an excellent blog. I stumbledupon it 😉
I’m going to return once again since I saved as a favorite it.
Money and freedom is the greatest way to change, may you be rich
and continue to help others.
Thanks for sharing, this is a fantastic article.Thanks Again. Will read on…
excellent put up, very informative. I ponder why the other experts of this sector don’t notice this.
You must continue your writing. I’m confident, you have a great readers’ base already!
Hello my friend! I wish to say that this article is amazing, great written and include approximately all vital infos. I would like to see more posts like this .
Really enjoyed this article.Really looking forward to read more. Awesome.
doxy doxycycline for sale – where to purchase doxycycline
Hi there, You have done a great job. I will certainly digg it and personally suggest to my friends. I’m sure they will be benefited from this website.|
Hi, this weekend is fastidious designed for me, since this time i am reading this great educational paragraph here at my house.
Good way of explaining, and nice paragraph to get information on the topic of my presentation subject matter, which i am going to convey in institution of higher education.|
I do trust all the ideas you have presented to your post.They’re very convincing and will certainly work.Nonetheless, the posts are too brief for beginners.May just you please prolong them a little from next time?Thanks for the post.
Thanks for sharing, this is a fantastic blog.Much thanks again. Fantastic.
Major thankies for the blog post.Thanks Again. Keep writing.
You can definitely see your skills in the work you write. The sector hopes for even more passionate writers such as you who are not afraid to say how they believe. Always go after your heart.
I constantly emailed this web site post page to all my contacts, as if
like to read it afterward my friends will too.
I’m amazed, I have to admit. Rarely do I encounter a blog that’s equally educative and interesting, and let me tell you, you’ve hit the nail on the
head. The issue is an issue that too few men and women are speaking intelligently about.
I’m very happy that I came across this in my search for something concerning this.
Aw, this was a really nice post. Spending some time and actual effort to produce a really good articleÖ but what can I sayÖ I procrastinate a whole lot and don’t manage to get nearly anything done.
I’m really enjoying the design and layout
of your website. It’s a very easy on the eyes which makes it much more pleasant for
me to come here and visit more often. Did you hire out a designer to create your theme?
Outstanding work!
Great, thanks for sharing this blog article.Really thank you! Great.
Howdy! Do you know if they make any plugins to safeguard against hackers? I’m kinda paranoid about losing everything I’ve worked hard on. Any tips?
Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point.
You definitely know what youre talking about, why
waste your intelligence on just posting videos to your blog when you could be giving us
something enlightening to read?
If you want to get a great deal from this postthen you have to apply such methods to your won blog.
Next time I read a blog, Hopefully it doesn’t disappoint me as much as this one. After all, I know it was my choice to read through, however I actually thought you would have something useful to say. All I hear is a bunch of moaning about something you can fix if you weren’t too busy seeking attention.
Asking questions are really good thing if you are not understanding anything completely, except this paragraph provides pleasantunderstanding even.
That is a very good tip especially to those new to the blogosphere.
Short but very accurate information… Thanks for sharing this one.
A must read article!
Thanks , I have recently been looking for info about this topic for a while and yours is the best I’ve came upon till now. But, what in regards to the conclusion? Are you positive concerning the supply?