start.io

by jacobbijani • 17 years ago

6 20 17 years ago

Looks pretty cool, but what is it exactly? Just a start page? I think if you have more detailed description about what the site offers with additional screenshots i think it would be better. Unless of course that's all there is to it and I just completely missed it.

pclark2• 17 years ago

its a start page that tells you when sites have been changed.

unalone5• 17 years ago

Think of it as bookmarks combined with a very simple RSS reading technology.

The RSS reading is a little spotty. Some sites update when there are no updates. Additionally, sometimes Start.io just doesn't recognize an RSS feed, and there's no option to manually input one. I also find I can't delete links, so I have a thin column of "about:blank" links that are painted white so I don't see them that I get from removing bookmarks.

That said, this really takes the pain out of RSS. It's comfortable and functional and all the themes look really, really good.

brand2• 17 years ago

I think I missed the RSS reading part of it; it makes more sense now. Seconded on the themes looking very nice!

@jacobbijani: I'm not sure if you care much, but Firefox users can remove the start.io menu from their pages by adding a display:none tag to it in their layout. Also, users can write javascript in the layout editor. Mine is currently redirecting all visitors to google... Perhaps the layout editor should be restricted to css?

run4yourlives2• 17 years ago

Honest tip: If you're going to do the counter thing, tell the truth. Nothing makes me trust you less to see bullshit marketing prominently displayed on your front page.

jacobbijani5• 17 years ago

What makes you think it's not accurate? I just don't show it increasing in real time for caching issues. Also, I figured it would make more sense to devote my programming time to making the site and not figuring out an accurate stats counter.

run4yourlives2• 17 years ago

The fact that every time I visit the site it starts at the same number is a good clue.

Regardless, it's a perception thing. I'm not questioning your reasons for putting it there or whether it's a close enough to accurate representation. I'm just pointing out that others might see it the same way I did.

brand2• 17 years ago

I'm guessing it's your site, since the name 'Jacob' is all over it. Why didn't you post a comment about it in typical Ask YC style?

Anyway, outside of the marketing-counter thing, I would suggest that the initial layout for a user's start page is the same as the one that is so prominently displayed on the sample images (with the grey background and color bars). Not that it was difficult to change, but it was a little disappointing when I found just a simple white layout with my single forlorn link to HN on it instead of the stylish advertised one... I almost took off right there. Perhaps selecting a layout could be a more prominent initial setup step?

Why do you need my email when I sign up? The signup doesn't ask for a password re-entry as well, which I found strange.

What do the ampersands mean?

Nice work. Looks great, too.

[edit] Why should I use it? Chrome and Safari (and FF in the near future) offer close to the same functionality.

jacobbijani5• 17 years ago

The thought on a different homepage is you will go change it, and in the process discover the fact you can change them at all.

Email is for password recovery.

In that theme, ampersands mean it has updated content. That's just part of the template language. Some have bullets, some highlight the text. It's up to the theme.

It's simpler and you can access it from other computers [and your iphone (i.start.io/jacob)]

Sorry about not putting a description. Forgot! Looks like everyone else sort of did for me though :)

unalone5• 17 years ago

Wow - so that's really how many clicks your pages have received, approximately?

pclark2• 17 years ago

How are you going to make money? Can I submit my site to be a "sponsored" link on peoples start pages?

Why do I need to give you my email address?

petervidani3• 17 years ago

E-mail addresses are for password recovery, unless you have a safe place for us to send our carrier pigeon to :)

unalone5• 17 years ago

Heh, checking the source code reveals:

    <!--
                 _             _     _       
             ___| |_ __ _ _ __| |_  (_) ___  
            / __| __/ _` | '__| __| | |/ _ \ 
            \__ \ || (_| | |  | |_ _| | (_) |
            |___/\__\__,_|_|   \__(_)_|\___/ 
                
                so much cooler than pHome.us
        
    -->

I think every New York start-up I've ever seen has an ascii-art comment. Tumblr does too.

start.io

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