YourMinis...a flashy, widgety start page

I recently discovered YourMinis, a Flash-based start page/RSS feed reader/widget platform. My first impression is favorable, but time will tell if it deserves a space as my browser's home page.



What I like:

• Easy RSS feed addition


• OPML file import/export


• Interesting widgets built in (calendar, Gmail, clock, to-do list, Digg feed, calculator, notes, bookmarks, full browser, search, video, etc.)


• Beautiful default look


• Drag & Drop windows, lock 'em down, change opacity, colors, etc.


• Publish your "minis" or your whole tab of minis.


• Social feel. Very Web 2.0.


• Multiple tabs


• Inline web browser makes loading a news story convenient


• The ability to load any image as my tab's background

My questions:

• Is Flash going to be too heavy for my browser's start page?


• Are more interesting widgets coming?


• Do we need another widget platform? Can't we all just get along?


• Will we be able to further customize the look of our minis, or the basic mini windows?

So far, I really like what I see. It feels more polished to me than Netvibes or Pageflakes. They apparently have over 800,000 users so far, which is not bad, but still lags behind their competitors. But I still question the use of Flash...it's a great tool, but there are many people who would prefer to stick to standard HTML for a much lighter weight start page. We'll see!

Attensa...RSS done right

If you're like most tech geeks I know, you spend the better part of your morning reading your favorite blogs and RSS feeds (including, of course, this one). Until now, I've simply been going to my Google homepage to read my favorite feeds, then opening my Outlook to get my email.

Well now, Attensa has converted me to using their wonderful FREE reader...because it integrates fully with Outlook, and includes an IE toolbar and Firefox plugin for easy feed management. And now I can get my news just like I get my email...all in the same client, with pictures and links all intact. Yay!