There are tons of positives.  The overall loading seems to be faster than the previous version.  Also adding content to the page is a lot easier thanks to the new top dashboard-like area:

The public "Universe" is cool too – as now I can push out my own customized page on Netvibes for the public to see.  To check out the one I created while testing, go to:

http://www.netvibes.com/cheasym

Here is another shot of host Netvibes looks with a little personalization and flair added to it.  This shot is very colorful but in all honesty you can customize almost every aspect of how it looks and they even have 2 new themes to use too.

I could only find one negative.  The new social aspects of it, that is the only area where I am not so sure about yet.  Maybe because I don’t have any friends using it yet (might be better to test it with a few good buddies).  Not sure if I want to manage yet another collection of friends.

Final thoughts on Netvibes Ginger is that it is a winner and another nice reason to use Netvibes as one of your start page solutions.  They are really trying to move beyond being just a start page though and are evolving into a place where they hope you will hang your had and stay a while. 

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Some of the web hosting related feeds I watch are:

• TheWHIR.com
• Domain Tools Blog
• Web Hosting Daily
• The Web Hosting Show
• Reseller Hosting Guide

Know of a few I might be missing? Let me know about it. The biggest missing feed from the list in my opinion is Hosting Hoopla – mainly because this list is where I find a lot of my source material for my hosting link blog project.

So now I am looking at some of the competition and I have to say only one has impressed me thus far.

Netvibes is becoming king of the start pages, if you like customization, speed and cool tools to use. Now I don’t need a lot to get going – but it is nice to see they have tons of tools to add.

What does Netvibes Have that iGoogle Does Not?

• More Customization Options for the Web Page
• Quicker Loading Times Overall

Only reason I can see for using iGoogle is to use their specialty gadgets for Gmail and Google Reader. So am I making the right choice? Is there one that even blows Netvibes out of the water?