The preview release of the personalized homepage site makes big-time use of remote scripting…I mean Ajax and DHTML.
The Start.com site bears more than a passing resemblance to the customizable Google page, a comparison that both sides will certainly enjoy reading.
But it is true. Start.com lets users drag and drop the on-screen elements and change its theme (from Ocean to Granite to Ice.) Expand the left sidebar by clicking the “start preview” link at the top left, and a number of other feeds available for the main page can be found. What a huge surprise, Scobleizer is among the choices; I can’t imagine how Google could have left that out of the preselected options for its page.
RSS or Atom feeds of the user’s choice can be added by clicking on My Feeds, then on Add Feed. A “Recent Searches” option shows what the user has queries from the Search box at the center of the Start page. Those searches return MSN web search engine results as a default, but the user can hit a button for News or RSS and a search in those spaces will be conducted.
The news results come from Moreover, while RSS searches include a handy Subscribe link next to each result. Another popular pick is the MSN Bloggers Map, drawing content from MSN Virtual Earth. It shows where the various Redmondians occupy cubes within the Microsoft campus.
Eight years ago, Start.com would be receiving about $200 million in venture capital and hit a public share price of $400, because the technology looks so cool. This is a Microsoft incubation project, so maybe they’ll get the $200 million anyway. Start.com is fun to play with, and wouldn’t be a bad choice for someone’s default start page right now, even though it is still in beta.
David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
