Google has done it again, creating a personalised portal (for those with a Google login, mostly gmail users) with simple information summaries for weather, email, stocks, news and so on.

One of the more impressive features is that you can drag and drop the blocks all over the screen, and they shuffle around intelligently in real time.

Watching javascript perform these feats is not unlike watching an elephant play the piano: I would have expected it to be a lot clunkier. But then this is Google we’re talking about, the company that brought elegance and subtlety to web interfaces like none other.

Is this enough to redeem them after their net accelerator stumble?

Update: Yet again, Australia proves itself important enough to receive a software release, but not quite important enough to receive testing or bug fixes. Don’t try to go to google.com.au/ig to create your portal, you will find yourself in an eternal redirect loop. Bah!