Who wants to jump from one Web site to the next just to check your e-mail, scan the morning headlines, and get driving directions for an afternoon meeting? Instead, you can pack all that onto a single Web page and sign in to see it all from any Web browser. We've reviewed four such services that take just a few minutes to set up and can save you lots of surfing time over the long haul. Scroll down to compare the features.
These personal pages can display both mainstream and niche news, just like RSS readers. If you dabble in, say, mosaic making or model train building, just look up those subjects, and you might find RSS feeds of related blogs to add. You can also integrate specific Web searches and bookmarking services, such as Del.icio.us.
Custom home pages aren't new; My Yahoo is a decade old. But they are getting more dynamic, thanks to Web 2.0 technologies such as Ajax coding. So in addition to feeding news and blogs onto your page, you can also add interactive tools called widgets. Also called gadgets, widgets run the gamut from fun to functional: a game of Pac-Man or a crossword puzzle, photo galleries from Flickr, YouTube videos, to-do lists, lunar-phase views, stock quotes, a thesaurus, a currency converter, a calculator, and maps with satellite views. Netvibes even lets you listen to podcasts within the page, while you can add a podcast player to Google Home. And you can embed instant messaging from Google, Yahoo, and AOL within Google Home. You can build your dream widget if you know how, as Google and Windows Live make their code public. Unfortunately, while My Yahoo lets you add maps, travel tools, and other tools, it doesn't incorporate the company's many gadgets.
Once you've popped news and gadgets onto your home page, you can drag around the modules. Want to separate your business news and stock quotes from travel? Netvibes, Google Home, and Live.com let you tuck content behind tabs, while My Yahoo organizes modules (less conveniently, we think) into pages.
If you tend to rely on a big brand--Google, Yahoo, or Microsoft--for other Internet tools, then that company's service may suit you best. However, the elegant Netvibes lets you add modules for e-mail and more from Google, Windows Live, and Yahoo, and it offers more tabs than Google Home. Overall, however, Google's service was the speediest and the easiest to tweak. Plus, it has more games. Windows Live.com took the longest to load.
If you're a power Web surfer who likes to customize your Web browser with bookmarklets, toolbars and extensions so that you can jump quickly to the online goodies you want, then a custom home page lets you take many of those functions on the road.
| |
My Yahoo |
Windows Live.com |
Google Home |
Netvibes |
| Speed |
Loads within seconds |
Often waited up to 10 seconds to load |
Loads within seconds |
Loads within seconds |
| Interface organization |
Many color themes and backgrounds |
Four color themes, 23 tabs |
Six tabs |
Unlimited tabs; decorate each with an icon |
| Drag and drop content |
Yes, within column only |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Ads |
Banner ad |
No |
No |
No |
| Add widgets |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Calendars |
Yahoo and Google calendars |
Outlook, MSN Spaces |
Google Calendar, Outlook, various |
iCal, Google Calendar, assorted |
| Add e-mail |
Yahoo Mail |
Windows Live Mail (Hotmail), Outlook |
Gmail, Yahoo Mail |
Gmail, Windows Live, Yahoo Mail |
| Maps |
Yahoo Maps |
Windows Live Local |
Google Maps, assorted mashups |
Google Maps, Maporama, assorted |
| Travel |
Travel news, Yahoo Travel fare finder |
Travel news |
Travel news, various fare finders |
Travel news, Mobissimo, various fare finders |
| Link to videos |
YouTube, AP, Comedy Central, assorted; pop up to watch |
Soapbox MSN Video |
YouTube, Google Video, iFilm, Comedy Central, CNET, assorted |
YouTube, Google Video, Comedy Central, assorted |
| Music and podcasts |
iTunes; 12,000+ podcasts, including major news, tech, sports, politics, religion, arts |
iTunes, Windows Media Player shuffle |
iTunes; podcast player gadget; 45+ podcasts, including MTV, tech shows |
iTunes; embedded podcast player; listen to 130+ podcasts including politics, wine |
| Embedded instant messaging |
No |
No |
Google Chat, Yahoo, AIM |
No |
| Share content with other users |
No |
No |
No |
Yes, share tabs |
| Languages |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
French, German, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, Croatian, Hindi; total 40 planned |
| Keyboard shortcuts |
n/a |
n/a |
Yes |
Yes |
| |
My Yahoo |
Windows Live.com |
Google Home |
Netvibes |
Read the CNET editor's take
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6.7 out of 10
7.0 out of 10
8.0 out of 10
