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 The lack of love is for an (apparently) outdated feed reader that can’t even find half the feeds I give the exact address for.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!
Very good info. Lucky me I came across your website by chance (stumbleupon). I have bookmarked it for later.
Good article. I definitely love this website. Stick with it!|
Pretty! This was an extremely wonderful post. Thank you for providing this information.
Thanks for the marvelous posting! I actually enjoyed reading it, you may be a great author. I will be sure to bookmark your blog and will come back later on. I want to encourage you to ultimately continue your great work, have a nice evening!|
I don’t know whether it’s just me or if everybody else encountering problems with your website. It seems like some of the text in your content are running off the screen. Can somebody else please comment and let me know if this is happening to them too? This could be a issue with my internet browser because I’ve had this happen before. Kudos|
You’re so awesome! I don’t suppose I have read through anything like that before. So great to discover somebody with a few genuine thoughts on this issue. Seriously.. thanks for starting this up. This web site is one thing that is required on the internet, someone with some originality!|
Excellent goods from you, man. I have bear in mind your stuff previous to and you’re simply too great. I actually like what you’ve acquired here, really like what you’re saying and the best way in which you say it. You are making it enjoyable and you still care for to stay it smart. I can’t wait to learn much more from you. That is really a terrific site.|
I’m really impressed with your writing skills and also with the structure in your weblog. Is this a paid theme or did you modify it yourself? Either way stay up the excellent high quality writing, it is uncommon to peer a great blog like this one today..|
This is a topic which is near to my heart… Many thanks! Exactly where are your contact details though?
Hello there, I discovered your blog by means of Google whilst looking for a related subject, your website came up, it seems great. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
After exploring a handful of the articles on your web page, I seriously appreciate your technique of writing a blog. I book-marked it to my bookmark webpage list and will be checking back soon. Please check out my web site as well and let me know how you feel.|
Hello there! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say I genuinely enjoy reading your articles. Can you suggest any other blogs/websites/forums that cover the same topics? Thanks a ton!|
Admiring the dedication you put into your site and in depth information you provide. It’s nice to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same out of date rehashed information. Great read! I’ve bookmarked your site and I’m including your RSS feeds to my Google account.|
Hey there! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be okay. I’m absolutely enjoying your blog and look forward to new updates.|
I used to be able to find good advice from your blog articles.
I seriously love your site.. Very nice colors & theme. Did you develop this web site yourself? Please reply back as I’m wanting to create my own blog and would love to learn where you got this from or exactly what the theme is called. Thanks!|
It’s truly very complex in this busy life to listen news on Television, thus I simply use the web for that purpose, and get the most recent information.|
Great beat ! I would like to apprentice at the same time as you amend your web site, how can i subscribe for a weblog website? The account helped me a appropriate deal. I were tiny bit familiar of this your broadcast provided bright clear concept|
I’m amazed, I must say. Rarely do I come across a blog that’s both equally educative and engaging, and without a doubt, you have hit the nail on the head. The problem is an issue that too few people are speaking intelligently about. I’m very happy I found this during my search for something concerning this.|
This is a topic that is near to my heart… Cheers! Where are your contact details though?|
I’m not sure why but this weblog is loading incredibly slow for me. Is anyone else having this issue or is it a issue on my end? I’ll check back later and see if the problem still exists.|
Keep on writing, great job!|
Nice blog here! Also your website a lot up very fast! What web host are you the use of? Can I get your associate link on your host? I wish my web site loaded up as fast as yours lol|
Hi, I think your website might be having browser compatibility issues. When I look at your blog in Opera, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, amazing blog!|
Hey there just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The text in your article seem to be running off the screen in Opera. I’m not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with internet browser compatibility but I thought I’d post to let you know. The layout look great though! Hope you get the problem resolved soon. Cheers|
Nice weblog here! Additionally your web site loads up fast! What host are you the usage of? Can I get your associate link to your host? I want my website loaded up as quickly as yours lol|
Great beat ! I wish to apprentice while you amend your site, how could i subscribe for a weblog site? The account helped me a acceptable deal. I have been a little bit acquainted of this your broadcast offered shiny clear concept|
Thanks very interesting blog!|
Remarkable things here. I’m very glad to look your post. Thanks a lot and I am looking forward to contact you. Will you kindly drop me a mail?|
I will immediately grasp your rss as I can’t to find your email subscription link or newsletter service. Do you have any? Please permit me realize so that I could subscribe. Thanks.|
Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I’ve truly loved surfing around your blog posts. In any case I will be subscribing to your rss feed and I am hoping you write once more very soon!|
Great weblog right here! Also your web site rather a lot up very fast! What web host are you the use of? Can I am getting your affiliate link on your host? I desire my website loaded up as fast as yours lol|
Hi there! I’m at work browsing your blog from my new iphone 3gs! Just wanted to say I love reading your blog and look forward to all your posts! Carry on the outstanding work!|
I just like the helpful info you provide in your articles. I’ll bookmark your weblog and take a look at once more here frequently. I’m rather certain I’ll learn many new stuff proper here! Good luck for the following!|
Unquestionably believe that which you said. Your favorite reason seemed to be at the internet the easiest factor to bear in mind of. I say to you, I definitely get irked even as folks consider worries that they plainly do not realize about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top and also defined out the entire thing without having side-effects , other people can take a signal. Will likely be back to get more. Thank you|
What’s up friends, pleasant article and good arguments commented here, I am in fact enjoying by these.|
You have made some decent points there. I checked on the web for more information about the issue and found most people will go along with your views on this website.|
Hello there! I could have sworn I’ve been to this website before but after checking through some of the post I realized it’s new to me. Nonetheless, I’m definitely delighted I found it and I’ll be bookmarking and checking back often!|
Please let me know if you’re looking for a article author for your blog. You have some really great posts and I think I would be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d really like to write some articles for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine. Please send me an e-mail if interested. Thanks!|
I don’t even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was great. I don’t know who you are but certainly you are going to a famous blogger if you aren’t already 😉 Cheers!|
Attractive section of content. I just stumbled upon your site and in accession capital to assert that I acquire actually enjoyed account your blog posts. Anyway I’ll be subscribing to your feeds and even I achievement you access consistently fast.|
Great article, totally what I wanted to find.|
Outstanding post however , I was wondering if you could write a litte more on this topic? I’d be very grateful if you could elaborate a little bit further. Thanks!|
It is perfect time to make a few plans for the future and it is time to be happy. I’ve read this put up and if I could I want to recommend you few interesting issues or advice. Maybe you could write subsequent articles referring to this article. I wish to learn more issues approximately it!|
I really like your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you make this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you? Plz reply as I’m looking to construct my own blog and would like to know where u got this from. kudos|
Hi to all, how is everything, I think every one is getting more from this website, and your views are good designed for new visitors.|
all the time i used to read smaller articles that as well clear their motive, and that is also happening with this article which I am reading at this time.|
Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you knew of any widgets I could add to my blog that automatically tweet my newest twitter updates. I’ve been looking for a plug-in like this for quite some time and was hoping maybe you would have some experience with something like this. Please let me know if you run into anything. I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to your new updates.|
If you would like to take much from this paragraph then you have to apply such techniques to your won website.|
Thank you, I’ve recently been searching for info about this subject for ages and yours is the greatest I’ve discovered till now. But, what in regards to the conclusion? Are you certain concerning the supply?|