Let me tell you about a free program I started using a week ago: KlipFolio. This is a time-saving program. Example: Normally I check several political blogs repeatedly throughout the day using a browser (e.g. Firefox, IE7, etc.). KlipFolio allows me to instantly check summaries of new posts at these blogs (via RSS feeds that take literally seconds to set up one time). Also, there are "klips" for current weather, live cams, news feeds, and countless other info sources. The format is very configurable, especially for a free program. I put my "Folio" on the right side of the screen and made it auto-hide, so it's always available and yet out of the way. Here's a review from Download.com:

Editor's review of KlipFolio If you want a quick and easy way to get RSS newsfeeds, weather, and stock information, Serence KlipFolio is a great place to start. The small interface lets you look at headlines from selected news sources called Klips. The program includes a few preloaded Klips, and you can download hundreds more from the publisher's Web site. The interface displays headlines in an attached window that you can mouse over for news summaries. If you're interested in a particular news item, just click the headline to open the story in a browser window. When you're done, you can either quit the program or minimize it to the taskbar for easy access. You can configure the colors and appearance of KlipFolio and create Klips for any newsfeed--something that in previous versions required a trip to the publisher's Web site. Some may find the interface too small, but Serence KlipFolio ought to satisfy most news hounds.

I highly recommend this rare, quality freeware.