KlipFolio is a desktop application that lets you access online content like RSS feeds, weather forecasts, Flickr slideshows, YouTube videos, and other web content. We first checked out KlipFolio more than two years ago when it was little more than a widgetized RSS reader. But the application has come a long way since then.

You can now use KlipFolio to subscribe to all sorts of content. Pretty much anything with an RSS feed is fair game, but you can also browse the KlipFolio web site for specialized "klip sets," including email notifiers, social network updates, or content from webcams. There are also klip sets that let you monitor shoutcast streams or see the latest updates to the iTunes music store.

KlipFolio 5 beta D also has a slick new interface. You can dock the application to the top, bottom, left, or right side of your screen or let it float free. You can rearrange your klips by dragging and dropping. And you can choose from a variety of customizable skins.

The Windows application is also pretty lightweight compared with other desktop widget engines, eating just under 10MB of RAM during my test.

[via MakeUseOf]

Mike Elgan, the guy who maintains the always entertaining Mike's List email list and related blog The Raw Feed, has an article up at Computerworld encouraging the liberal use of widgets. His idea is that since many computer users have either a laptop that they're not regularly using (only used for travel), or an older machine around that is still serviceable but not currently in use, this extra machine could be put into use as a widget display machine, for want of a better phrase.

When I starting reading his article, the first thing that came to mind was that I didn't think there are enough compelling widgets to make this a reasonable idea. But Mike addresses that by saying that although no one widget engine has all that many compelling widgets, the secret of his plan is to simply scoop the very best from as many widget engines as you need to use. Since they're being set up on a spare machine for this express purpose, you don't have to be cautious about using resources for displaying the widgets.

Mike provides a very useful list of current widget engines including (but not limited to) Konfabulator, er, I mean Yahoo Widgets, Google Desktop, Kapsules (site currently down due to server attack), Serence KlipFolio, and the venerable Active Desktop that is built into all versions of Windows since IE 4 SP1.

Mike also makes mention of other widget engines, including platform specific ones for Mac and Linux, and some non-free ones that are also certainly worth a look. And make sure to check out the last page of his article for some inspiration as to what is possible if you want to take the time to put together a truly personalized information portal.

Download Squad readers totally rock! To everyone, thanks for all the feedback on our RSS Readers: SOUND OFF! post. There are so many options to choose from, and I haven't had a chance to really go through them all, so I will be posting my thoughts on the top RSS readers in the next week or two. DLSQ's reader-cloud is much wiser than I am. Several of the readers you mentioned I had never heard of. Thanks to everyone. I have a new favorite out of all the RSS readers I glanced at over the weekend. Drumroll and spotlights please...GreatNews is the winner! Not only was GreatNews the most recommended at last count (tied with Sage) but it is simple and powerful. I love it. I really like the newpaper layout and easy to use features. My favorite part about it was the ability to enter a web address, and GreatNews will pull any feeds from the page and list them at the bottom via an RSS icon. A simple click or two and you've subscribed. It is a piece of cake. Here are your top results:

• GreatNews - 8 votes
• Sage (firefox plugin - 8 votes
• FeedDemon - 6 votes
• Flock - 6 votes
• Google Reader - 6 votes
• Bloglines - 5 votes
• Netvibes - 5 votes
• Omea - 4 votes

Others were Bloxor, Alesti, Abilon, Endo, FeedLounge, FeedReader, Gregarius, Klipfolio, Onfolio, RSSbandit, Fizzle, Thunderbird, Vienna, Opera, RSSpopper, IntraVnews, Pluck, Reblog, SharpReader, Rojo, NewsAlloy, NewsHutch, IE7, humanized, BlogBridge, Awasu, a few homegrown varieties (very cool) and a few others I may have missed.