Time to rethink your start page?

For many years I've used Yahoo as my home page - the page that loads automatically when I open a new browser window. At the time I set it up, it was one of the few services that enabled me to customize the content of my start page. I could choose the color and the layout in which to display various news links, movie times, weather, reference links and bookmarks.

But I'm now looking at other options. There are newer services that offer even more customization, making your start page a convenient portal to the web as you want it. Here are some services to try:

Netvibes: Select from among thousands of modules and RSS feeds. It's a snap to set up - just drag and drop widgets onto you private netvibes page. Netvibes is also a great RSS reader - you can subscribe to blogs and other content from various websites, and read it all from within your netvibes page.

Webwag: In addition to a large selection of content widgets, there is a "Widget On Demand" tool that lets you capture content from any website. Whenever the content of that website changes, you'll see the change within the customized widget on your webwag page.

iGoogle: If you like to use a lot of Google services, this is the most convenient place to access them all on one page. You can also create widgets with your own content - e.g., photo frames, countdown to an event, your own Top 10 list and more.

Don't feel like taking the time to customize a start page, but still want up-to-date content and variety? Start using one of the above with the content they already provide. You can change it at any time. Or try one of the "pre-fab" start pages at:

• Yahoo
• AOL (You don't have to be a subscriber)
• FunkyHomePage No need to register - just give your country and region to include news and other geography-specific content.

Pauline
teachmeinternet.com