netvibes

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericatkins/2314079778/sizes/o/

This is my homepage that I've been using for a few months now. Netvibes allows me to see the things on the internet that matter most to me on one page. It's my homepage and portal to receiving information. I have dumped iGoogle as my startup page.

Flock is my web browser. It's based on Firefox and I'm running several Firefox extensions (Gmail notify, FoxForecast, Adblock, del.icio.us, etc.).

Flock is Firefox (it's built from Firefox) with social networking features. Flock syncs with Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, and Flickr. I can update those respective accounts from within Flock. I can also monitor those accounts and friends' updates from a sidebar in Flock without having to go to facebook.com or some other site.

I don't need to name my bookmarks at the top of the browser because I recognize the icons and know where they lead me. This allows me to put a couple dozen shortcuts in a "bar" on the screen. You can do this in most any browser.

Netvibes allows me to aggregate social networking data, RSS feeds, email accounts, and even full webpages in one spot.

I think Netvibes and Flock make the web more accessible and easier to use for those who use social networking websites. I think the typical THX reader could take advantage of features found in Flock. Maybe both Flock and Netvibes will save you time. Happy computing.

http://flock.com
http://netvibes.com