This is a screenshot of my personal iGoogle start page. It has a travel photo of the day, the local weather forecast of my hometown, Belgrade and other cities which I might be visiting in the near future, as well as my Google Calendar and different newsfeeds (top center is my club's fan page).
I find that I don't use this page very often, as I am (almost) always on my email - which has sidebars showing my calendar - and for everything else, I look it up quite quickly.
For students, however, I can see the benefit of having this as a started page. Firstly, the customization aspect is important for teens to express their individuality. Secondly, it's an easy way to receive updates from both teachers and the 'outside world' in the same location. I find it would be particularly effective with the 1:1 program, as students wouldn't have to login to their accounts before seeing this - naturally, they would always be logged in.
I have also had students use iGoogle in the past for project start pages in which relevant resources are collected and information shared. I have been a little disappointed by the lack of quality widgets for education after a very promising start, however.
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