Thanks for your ideas guys! Fortunately for me I can just download & install rather than develop & debug!

Such a dashboard module does exist (albeit not as a core offering, but then as it is from the key developer it should integrate nicely) . It is the "What's New" module and can be downloaded from http://projects.apptheory.com/ForumAddOns/tabid/255/Default.aspx as mentioned -without explaination - at this (http://www.dotnetnuke.com/Community/ForumsDotNetNuke/tabid/795/forumid/7/threadid/11180/scope/posts/Default.aspx) thread.

For your info I've seen three modules with the name "What's New", so don't go confusing them. Several of them are totally generic once installed so there is no way to know what they consume and where they came from or much else. (I've left requests that they brand themselves a bit more!) Anyway, the three (currently) install themselves as:

• "WhatsNew", version 3.00.02. This is from EfficionConsulting.com and uses DNN search engine to see what's new for all search enables modules across the portal.
• "Whats New?", version 03.03.00. This is distributed with current Install versions of DNN 4.x at least. It appears to report on recent events, but I've yet to come across any doc for this - though I suspect it exists somewhere. Module settings didn't offer any clue as to what it consumes, there was effectively no module help and my searches through Online Help were also fruitless. In action this seems to spit out recent and upcoming events from the Events module.
• AT.ForumWhatsNew, version 1.00.00.

This last one (clearly labeled) is what I was looking for. It could use some additional parameters to make it fully functional (e.g. which fields to display, which Forums to select [not just ModuleID], more flexible date ranges to include, more documentation) and probably more -- but the source is available so it is up to me to tune tune now that the real work has been done.

I also just saw a What's New section in current Forums, under Forum Administration | General Settings. I probably ought to read that Admin Manual I've heard exists somewhere to see if there's some explaination of this.

Wow, this rocks. Thanks Crispy & team...

-  Bug Eyed on Vashon