Sometimes it’s hard keeping up with the news you care about when you’re busy trying to get work done. Maybe there are just too many sources, or perhaps you don’t know where to start.
Panda, an aggregated dashboard/homepage, tries to make your life a bit easier by serving you up clutter-free news and design inspiration all in one space. Of course, there is no shortage of aggregegators out there, but Panda is a bit more unique by having a fixed set of sources users can choose from.
It all adds up to a simple, clean browsing experience. And while you can’t customize the pages available in Panda, the company believes its selection is a crop of high quality resources that should help inspire its users without having additional distractions in their way. Sources include the likes of Dribbble, Product Hunt and yours truly.
To give users some more options, however, the company is today launching version 4.0 of its dashboard. Aside from adding several new sources, it introduces a number of features to make its software more useful and a little more personal.
First up, the interface now offers five different layouts to customize your experience. The old default design – a news column on the left with thumbnail images for inspiration on the right – is still available, while four other designs join the fray to give you a better experience depending on your preferences.
When you first open Panda up, you’ll be prompted to choose from templates for developers, UX/UI designers and more to help get you started with relevant news and a useful layout. You can also cycle through layouts with designated keyboard shortcuts.
The newfangled preview mode lets you view links without having to leave Panda’s interface, which is great news if you’re trying to keep your number of tabs down – you can keep all your reading up in one space. You can also now bookmark articles to save them for later right within the app.
No, Panda probably won’t replace your Flipboard or even your Twitter feed if you’re trying to keep up with everything at once. But if you want a relatively minimalist hub for news or design inspiration, and Panda’s sources fit your bill, you should definitely check it out.
You can try Panda out via its website or by downloading the Chrome extension.
➤ Panda 4
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.