Doug Thews sent me this regarding the .net desktop contest:

"After looking at some of your entries, I decided that I had to write my own ActiveDesktop in ASP.NET to consume RSS feeds and provide other information. I don't want entry into your contest, but I thought you might be interested in the project source code for grins ...

http://www.ddconsult.com/blogs/illuminati/archives/000078.html"

Great! Hey Robert, I know you wanted to find out how it's done, so here's your chance.