Facebook Home is not these 5 Things from the Past

Facebook Home is going to change the way we live our lives on our mobile phones, perhaps. May be. May be not.

I am reminded of so many attempts to:

• Turn eyeballs into action on PCs. 
• Turn blank web browser homes into ad units, home pages, pre-loaded apps.
• Ability to read email/messages etc without starting up your PCs through a second screen, second CPU or quick boot. 

Is it just a mobile do-over of these? What does that say about its future?

1. iGoogle: iGoogle (formerly Google Personalized Homepage), a service of Google, is a customizable Ajax-based startpage or personal web portal. In April 2008, 20% of all visits to Google’s homepage used iGoogle.On the 3rd of July 2012 Google announced iGoogle will retire on the 1st November 2013.
2. Microsoft Live Windows Experience: Microsoft had its own take on what you should see when you go to the internet.
3. Windows Live Tiles: Yes, now you can see information right on the ‘start screen’.
4. Apple iOS Alerts and Badges: You can receive messages, tweets, facebook updates, texts all on the home screen of your locked iPhone.
5. Rockmelt: This extremely well funded startup ($40M) tried to make the browser experience very social. It appears they did not achieve much traction and since have pivoted to a mobile app.