This is a fairly simple and really useful idea from the good folks at google. Create a home page where you can see all of your favorite stuff (including several of the things described above) on one web page. I have this set as my home page and it is the first thing I look at in the morning and the last thing I look at before going to bed. I can see what's going on with my calendar, task list (remember the milk), gmail, weather, and rss feeds (google reader) all on one screen.
Key features:
1. Tons of different gadgets that you can add and arrange on your page.
2. Select a theme to reflect your personality
3. Keep one eye on the news of the day while keeping track of everything else going on in your life.
Science use case:
All of the use cases described above rolled into one easy to use platform
Video Tutorial: