HeadLiner is one of the more recent online news applications to hit the 'net and
the first to give PointCast a serious run for its money. Like PointCast and
BackWeb, HeadLiner is a channel-based "push" technology client that delivers
news in a fashion similar to your basic cable TV -- each channel offers
specialized content that is broadcast to its subscribers. You pick the channels
that interest you and HeadLiner does the rest. As with PointCast, Headliner's
interface has been developed from the ground up to be efficient and intuitive
for all users from 'net novice to 'net adept. In fact, in many areas HeadLiner
even goes above and beyond PointCast in terms of usability. HeadLiner features
the ability to display headlines in the conventional manners (news ticker,
screen saver, and web page articles) as well as a unique and extremely nifty
display called the NewsTitle viewer. This is a ticker that scrolls news for you
in the title bar of your applications. The ticker automatically switches
between applications as you work and always appears in the active application
for you. By pressing a small icon button, you can temporarily minimize the
ticker in order to view the title bar and then switch back again. You can even
combine the NewsTitle viewer and the standard ticker to view two news feeds at
once. After trying out all the display views currently used by online news
clients, I must say that the NewsTitle ticker is hands-down the best means for
viewing online news currently available. It's also a critical feature that you
won't find in competing apps like PointCast, BackWeb, and My Yahoo! News Ticker.
The fun and frills of HeadLiner go beyond the NewsTitle viewer. HeadLiner
offers you up-to-the-minute customized news and information from more than 400
web-based news sources, with additional feeds being added nearly every day (look
for a customized CWSApps feed soon). The current fare of news sources are
grouped into twenty major categories and include everything from traditional
newspapers (LA Times, Boston Globe, Chicago Sun Times, New York Post, Wall
Street Journal) to computing titans (ZDNet, PC World, iWORLD, Yahoo) to stock
quote servers (
Quote.com, SECAPL, MSN Investor Quotes) to sports feeds (ESPNet
SportsZone, Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports, MSNBC Sports) and much, much more.
PointCast may have the edge on overall appearance, but it certainly lacks
HeadLiner's extensive range of news content. HeadLiner also sports alert
messages and sounds that notify you when critical changes in information occur.
For example, you can set up a filter to alert you if a stock price rises above
or falls below a specified price. Additional features include a setup wizard
for customizing HeadLiner, news summaries (available by pointing your mouse on a
specific article in the ticker without clicking on it), one-click access for
viewing your articles within your favorite web browser, and a history feature
that saves old articles and web pages based on your preferences. The best news
of all is that everything (including the client itself) is available for free
and without the constant clutter of advertisements. When you combine its ease
of use, extensive content, and extremely appealing price tag, HeadLiner is an
app rivaled only by PointCast and even that is a matter of considerable debate.
Pros: Excellent interface, more content than any other online news client, free of cost (and advertisements)
Cons: The screensaver lacks PointCast's attractive appearance and appealing layout of information
For the latest information on HeadLiner, check out:
http://cws.iworld.com/32online.html#headline