I should add that portlets would work nicely as a rapid
prototyping tool (or, to be more accurate, a RAD tool). I, a
non-programming site designer, can whip together an
approximation of all the page layouts I want pretty quickly without
any programming or graphic design by using the existing
portlets when possible and creating dummy HTML mock-up
portlets when necessary. Once the layout is in place, the graphic
designers can work on making my design more visually
informative (and appealing) while the programmers can work on
turning my mock-ups into actual dynamic portlets. So the portals
module could change and accelerate the workflow for designing
and building an OpenACS-based site.