Inside Windows 98

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Using Broadcast Features

Time was, an operating system busied itself with file transfers, print jobs, and other mundane tasks. Windows 98 casts its net much further afield, adding TV broadcast and automated Web delivery support to its long list of features. These capabilities let you use Windows 98 to pull news and other content from desired Web sites, as well as to watch TV programming on your PC.

In this chapter we will discuss the following issues:

Overview of Broadcast Features

In many ways, Windows 98 is an incremental upgrade from Windows 95, but big changes are happening in the way the operating system receives data from the Internet and other sources. From Web-based programming to television shows, Windows 98 enables your PC to act as a powerful media center.

Enhancements to Internet Explorer 4 (IE4) promise to add intelligence to your Web browsing. With Windows 98, you can automate Web content downloads so that regularly scheduled downloads occur at off hours or immediately when a site is updated. The data is then stored on your hard disk for so-called offline browsing, speeding navigation and reducing time spent online.

Perhaps more significantly, Windows 98 introduces a Microsoft-driven system to package and deliver content--called channels. Web content providers can publish Internet Explorer channels, which users then subscribe to by clicking an icon at the Web site. As with automated downloads, users are able to set up download schedules, notification, and other options--or they can choose the default provided by the publisher. Like the morning newspaper, the latest site content can be delivered to your desktop at a set time every morning.

Beyond the Web, the WebTV feature lets Windows 98 display television programming. Just be warned that you need a TV tuner card in your PC to view programs. WebTV also leverages the Internet, allowing you to download programming schedules, which you can search for by date, category, or keyword.

Automating Web Delivery

Anyone who has used IE4 might already be familiar with Windows 98's capability to subscribe to Web sites, allowing you to schedule downloads and view sites offline. Rather than having to manually go to each site and search out information, you simply have Windows 98 download sites of interest, either in whole or in part, so you can view them from your hard disk later. Because you no longer must wait for sites to update, your browsing can happen much more quickly.

There are several concepts behind the new features. Most important among them is the idea of subscribing to Web sites. When you subscribe to a site, you are telling Windows 98's Internet browser to keep an eye on that site and to possibly download updated information and even tell you when changes occur. In addition, you might want to subscribe to so-called channels--packaged content set up by Web site designers. Subscribing to a channel is somewhat akin to signing up for a cable channel in that you now receive content directly from the provider.

Subscribing to Web Content

When you subscribe to a Web site, you are telling your PC to automatically grab updated content. Basically, this feature offers the same services offered by so-called offline browsers, letting you dial up and download at night so you can view pages on your hard disk the next morning.

Setting Up a Subscription

To subscribe to a Web site, you'll need to first connect to your Internet service Provider (ISP) and fire up IE4 in Windows 98. When the program is running, do the following:

1. Go to the site you wish to subscribe to.

2. Click Favorites | Add to Favorites.

3. In the Add Favorites dialog box shown in Figure 24.1, click the second radio button to be notified when the Web page is updated, or click the bottom radio button to have the entire page downloaded to your hard disk.

FIGURE 24.1 You can choose to download subscribed Web pages to your PC or to simply get a warning that new information has been posted to the page.

4. Click the Customize button to limit your downloads (because they can get very large). Click the top radio button to download only the open Web page, or click the lower radio button to download the page and any pages linked to it. Click Next.

5. If you selected the lower radio button in the previous dialog box, you must now tell Windows 98 how far into the Web site the automated download should go. Enter a number in the spinner control and click Next.

6. If you want to be notified by e-mail when a change occurs at this Web site (say, if there is extremely time-sensitive information there), click the Yes radio button. Otherwise, click No. If you select Yes, use the Change Address button to provide a specific e-mail address. Click Next.

7. At the next screen (see Figure 24.2), use the pick list at the top to set a download schedule based on daily, weekly, or monthly schedules preset by IE4. Note that you can tweak the existing schedule or create a new one from scratch. Finally, click the Manually radio button to limit updates to when you start them by clicking Favorites | Update All Subscriptions from the IE4 menu bar.

FIGURE 24.2 IE4 provides preset download schedules based on daily, weekly, and monthly cycles. Or you can create a schedule of your own.

8. If the site requires a password, click the Yes radio button, and enter your username and password in the boxes. Click Finish.

9. You now return to the Add Favorites folder. If you wish to place this item in a specific favorites folder, click the Create in button to reveal a directory tree. Create a new folder or open an existing folder. Finally, give the subscription a meaningful name (the text picked up from the site can look mysterious) by entering it in the Name text box.

10. Click OK to subscribe to the site.

Managing Subscriptions

You will probably want to change or update your subscriptions down the road. To do this, click Favorites | Manage Subscriptions in IE4. You will see a list of your subscribed Web sites, as shown in Figure 24.3, including information on the last update, the update schedule, and the date the subscription was first set up.

FIGURE 24.3 The Subscriptions dialog box lets you take inventory of your automated Web downloads.

To edit, remove, or update a subscription, simply right-click the desired item to see a Context menu. To remove a subscription, click Delete from the Context menu. To update a subscription from this view, click Update Now from the Context menu.

Changing Subscriptions

To make detailed changes to your existing subscription, select the subscription you wish to change and select File | Properties from the menu. Then do the following:

1. Click the Subscription tab to see information about your current setup and click the Unsubscribe button to unsubscribe from the page.

2. Click the Receiving tab to change download settings. If you want to only be notified about changes (but not receive the pages), click the Only radio button at the top of the page. To actually have data sent to disk, click the Notify radio button.

3. Click the Advanced button to bring up the Advanced Download Options dialog box, and use the spinner control to set the depth of linked pages to download. Uncheck the Follow check box if you don't want IE4 to grab material from outside the page's Web site.

4. Downloads can be very large, but you can uncheck the check boxes called ActiveX Controls and Images, Sound, and Video. You can also set the maximum size of downloads by clicking the Never download more than check box and entering a maximum number of kilobytes in the text box. Click OK.

5. Click the Schedule tab to determine how often sites are downloaded to your PC. Use the calendar control to set frequency. Check the check box at the bottom to limit downloading to when your PC is not in use.

6. Click OK to save the changes.

Browsing Previously Viewed Sites

To browse subscribed sites on your hard disk, simply click File | Work Offline from the IE4 menu bar. A bullet will appear next to the Work offline menu command. When you open the subscribed page by clicking Favorites and selecting it from the list, the page will load from the hard disk.

If you need to go to a page on the Web, you'll have to click File | Work Offline again to deselect this option. The next time you try to activate a link or load a Web page, IE4 will initiate an online session.

Introducing Channels

A little more in depth than subscribing to Web sites is the concept of channels. IE4 in Windows 98 provides support for focused Web content, which developers are able to deliver to the browser by using channel development tools. When you sign up for a channel, you are able to have the content sent to you, either on a time-scheduled basis or when some event dictates an update. No more will you have to browse to the site, fish for your information, and wait for updates. The packaged information is sent straight to your PC--for immediate browsing or for viewing later--on a regular basis.

Adding Channels

There are several ways to sign up for channels with IE4. Many users will sign up for a channel subscription when they see channel offerings on a site they are browsing. Under a Microsoft program, sites offering IE4 channels feature a standard-looking channel subscription button. Click that button, and IE4 will subscribe to the channel and allow you to set up scheduling and other details.

Another way to subscribe to a channel is to browse through Microsoft's index of available channel content. Doing this in Windows 98 is easy. On the left side of the Windows Taskbar, just to the right of the Start button, are several small icons. The icon that looks like a satellite dish is the View Channels icon. To add a channel to your setup, do the following:

1. Click the View Channels icon on the Taskbar. The Microsoft Channel Guide opens.

2. In the scrollable channel list to the left, you can click the item you want or click on featured services or topics displayed in the main frame. The main frame will display text and graphics from the provider you eventually select.

3. To subscribe to a service, click the Add Active Channel icon that appears in the main frame. It might take a while for the Channel update to complete.

4. In the Modify Channel Usage dialog box, shown in Figure 24.4, click the bottom radio button to have your system automatically download new content from the channel.

FIGURE 24.4 If you want to view content downloaded overnight or at other times, you'll want to click the third radio button.

5. Click the Customize button to go to the Subscription Wizard dialog box shown in Figure 24.5. Click the top radio button if you want to download only the channel's home page and its links, or click the bottom radio button to download all the subscribed content. Click the Next button.

FIGURE 24.5 If you have the disk space to spare, go ahead and download all the channel content. Otherwise, updating just the home page will simply draw you to updated content on the site.

6. The next dialog box asks whether you want to receive an e-mail notice if a page is updated. Click the No or Yes radio button as appropriate; then click Next.

7. If you use Dial Up Networking to dial into an ISP, click the Dial in as needed radio button to have Windows 98 automatically dial in for updates.

8. By default, you are set to the Publisher's recommended schedule (in this case, updating every four days). But you can set a weekly, daily, or monthly update schedule, as shown in Figure 24.6, from a pick list. Automated downloads work best with always-on connections such as those on office networks, but Windows 98 can also automatically dial in if you check the Dial as needed check box. You can also arrange for manual updates.

FIGURE 24.6 Tell IE4 how often to download subscribed content.

TIP: If you use a dial-up connection, automated updates can pose a problem--particularly if you share a voice and data line for your Internet access. You might want to simply prompt channel updates yourself. Click the Manually radio button to tell IE4 to update only when prompted.
9. To customize the preset update schedule, click the Customize button.

10. In the Custom Schedule dialog box, you can choose to optimize the frequency and timing of channel updates. In all cases, the check box at the bottom allows IE4 to move up or delay updates to avoid Web or intranet traffic. Click OK.

11. Click the Finish button to return to the Subscribe Channel dialog box. Click Next.

12. If the service you are subscribing to includes content tailored for the Active Desktop, the Channel Screen Saver dialog box prompts you to replace the current Windows 98 screen saver with one that displays content from the service. Click Yes to do so or No to retain your screen saver settings. You are now subscribed.

Setting Up Channels As Your Screen Saver

You can set up channels to appear as your Windows 98 screen saver. Doing this causes channel content to be displayed when your system is idle. Here's how you set up a channel to display as your screen saver:

1. Right-click the Windows 98 desktop and select Properties from the Context menu.

2. In the Properties dialog box, click the Screen Saver tab.

3. In the Screen Saver list, click the Channel Screen Saver entry.

4. Click the Settings button to open the Screen Saver Properties dialog box.

5. In the Channels list box, click the check box next to the services you want to appear on your screen saver display.

6. If you indicate multiple services, enter the number of seconds each should appear in the Display each channel spinner control.

7. Click the appropriate radio button to choose how you will close the screen saver: either on a mouse movement or with a click of the close button. Click OK.

8. Set the standard controls for screen saver delay and power savings as desired. Click OK to make the new screen saver take effect.

Activating Your Desktop

If you are particularly brave and can spare the processing power, consider subscribing to so-called Active Desktop channels. This feature lets you display Web content directly on the Windows 98 desktop, turning Windows 98 into a portal to the Internet. News, stock prices, and sports scores can appear in real time, right alongside your program icons, as shown in Figure 24.7. Better yet, this information can be updated automatically.

FIGURE 24.7 Active Desktop channels mean you don't even have to launch your browser to view the latest information on the Web.

NOTE: The Active Desktop feature requires a lot of resources, particularly if you have a number of complex elements running on your desktop. If you notice frequent problems or if system startup simply becomes too slow, you might want to scale back on the number of active elements or turn off the Web features entirely. The easiest way to do this is to right-click the Windows 98 desktop, click Active Desktop, and then click View As Web Page.

Adding Active Desktop Channels

Not all channels can exist on the Active Desktop. Providers must tailor their content for delivery on the desktop. How do you know what is available? When you are visiting a content provider's channel resources Web page, you see a standard icon called Add Desktop Channel. Clicking the icon initiates the configuration of an Active Desktop element.

To set up a channel to appear on your desktop, do the following:

1. Right-click the Windows 98 desktop.

2. In the Properties dialog box, click the Web tab.

3. Click the New button.

4. The Web sheet of the Display Properties dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 24.8. The list of subscribed Active Desktop services appears in the scrolling list box--with a check denoting those that are currently visible.

FIGURE 24.8 The Web sheet of the Display Properties dialog box is your one-stop shop for adding, removing, and editing Active Desktop items.

5. To add an Active Desktop channel, click the New button. You are prompted to search the Microsoft site for Active Desktop services. Click the Yes button to go to the Microsoft Active Desktop gallery, located at http://www.microsoft.com/ie/ie40/gallery/. Listed there are Active Desktop channels from a wide variety of sources.

6. Follow the instructions to browse and subscribe to Active Desktop content.

Managing Active Desktop Channels

When you have Active Desktop channels working, there are some things you can do to keep your content in order. When you add an item to your Active Desktop, you see it on your display. To move it to a different spot on screen, hold the cursor above the Active Desktop element. A gray border appears, including a slim header bar along the top. To move the item, click the header bar, drag it to the desired location, and release. To close an item, click the small x that appears in the right-hand corner of the header bar.

Likewise, you can hide Active Desktop elements from a dialog box interface. Follow these steps:

1. Right-click the Windows 98 desktop and click Active Desktop. Then click Customize my desktop from the fly-out menu.

2. On the Web sheet of the Display Properties page, visible Active Desktop elements are denoted by a checked box to the left of the entry. To hide a channel, click the check box and click OK.

3. To reveal a hidden channel, click the empty box so that a check appears in it. Click OK.

4. The Windows 98 desktop reflects the changes.

You can manually update your Active Desktop elements so that they grab the latest data on command. Although manual updates are most useful for those with dial-up connections, they are also useful if you want to grab the latest information between scheduled downloads. To update all your desktop elements, perform the following steps:

1. Right-click the Windows 98 desktop. (Make sure you don't right-click an Active Desktop element by mistake.)

2. Click Active Desktop from the Context menu, and click Update Now from the fly-out menu.

3. Windows 98 pulls down fresh data for the Active Desktop elements.

Using Broadcast Features in WebTV

Windows 98 includes an application called WebTV that turns a properly equipped PC into a functioning television set. This feature allows you to view TV programming side-by-side with applications and to capture clips or still images from the broadcasts. It also lets you download detailed broadcast listings from the Internet so you can browse and search programming.

There's a catch. Your PC must have a TV tuner card installed so that it can pick up broadcasts. However, an Internet connection is useful for downloading the latest TV listings and schedules. A standalone TV tuner can cost between $120 and $200, although some specialty graphics cards come with a TV tuner built in.

To install the WebTV software, do the following:

1. Click Start | Settings | Control Panel, and select the Add/Remove Software icon.

2. Click the Windows Setup tab. Wait a moment while Setup searches for installed components.

3. In the Components box, scroll down to the WebTV item and put a check in the box to the left.

4. Click OK.

5. You might be prompted to insert the Windows 98 CD-ROM if the required data is not stored on your hard disk. You will have to restart your system once or twice before all the changes take effect.

6. When the software is installed, a small television icon will appear on the Taskbar in the group next to the Start button.

To watch a program, simply launch the WebTV application and go to the channel you wish. There are two ways to launch WebTV:

Using the Program Guide

The WebTV application launches the Program Guide, which displays the available channels in the main window. Use the scroll bar on the right side to browse through the channels, and the scroll bar across the bottom to see what's on at different times during the day. A timeline across the top of the window shows the time of day for the programs being displayed.

Just above the display window, you can set the Program Guide to display programming for a specific date, time of day, or subset of channels, as shown in Figure 24.9. Clicking these will reduce the amount of data displayed in the window, making it easier to find the program you want.

In addition, you can search for specific programming by clicking the Search tab at the top of the Program Guide window. A list of programming categories is displayed along the left side, while the results of your searches are displayed in a window in the center. You can click on one of the categories to see all the programs fitting that definition, or you can enter text into the Search box at the lower left to look for a specific word or description. Enter the text and click the Search button at the bottom to see the results in the main window.

FIGURE 24.9 The Program Guide includes filters to let you limit the number of programs you see on the schedule.

You can further winnow searches from the pick list controls at the top of the screen, shown in Figure 24.10. The leftmost control lets you filter by days or by programs that are broadcast at the moment. The rightmost control lets you sort the resulting search by time or by title.

FIGURE 24.10 Use the Search screen to find programs by category, time of day, and keyword.

To view a program, simply select it from the results window. If the program is on, the WebTV application will tune to the appropriate channel and display it.

Changing Channels

There are several ways to select a channel to view under WebTV. For most of these, you must access the TV Toolbar, which runs across the top of WebTV screen. To evoke the TV Toolbar, click the F10 or Alt keys. To change the channel, do one of the following:

Full-Screen or Window?

By default, WebTV launches in full screen mode, meaning you cannot see other programs while watching TV. To adjust WebTV so that it only takes up part of the screen, do the following:

1. Click F10 or Alt to invoke the TV Toolbar.

2. Click the small double-box icon that appears on the upper-right corner of the TV Toolbar. (Be sure not to click the X icon by accident. That closes WebTV!)

3. The WebTV screen will shrink to take up a portion of the screen. Move the icon so that is hovers above a corner of the window and turns into a double arrow.

4. Click the corner and drag the window to the desired shape and size. Repeat on the other corner if necessary.

Other TV Options

WebTV mates some of the best features of the PC with its broadcast capabilities. For example, if a broadcaster provides data signals embedded in the broadcast, you can display running text, graphics, and other information that display alongside the program. A football broadcast, for example, might display the scoring statistics of a team that has just taken the field.

You can tell whether a particular broadcast is enhanced if WebTV places a blue icon next to the entry in the TV Guide window. A red circle icon indicates that the programming is unenhanced. The icons also appear for programs shown on the TV Toolbar banner.

By default, WebTV enables the enhanced content--you must turn it off if you wish to simply view the broadcast. To turn off the enhancements on a broadcast, do the following:

1. Click F10 or Alt to invoke the TV Toolbar.

2. Click the blue icon that appears on the far-right side of the TV Toolbar banner.

3. In the Context menu that drops down, click the Enhancements item (it should have a check mark next to it).

4. The Enhancements will now be disabled. To reenable this feature, click the blue icon again and click the Enhancements item.

WebTV also supports closed captioning, which displays running text along the bottom of the screen. You can even have WebTV look for specific words and phrases in the text stream--say, "President Clinton"--and have the program take an action, such as turning up the volume for you to hear.

To turn on closed captioning, do the following:

1. Click F10 or Alt to bring up the TV Toolbar.

2. Click the Settings icon.

3. In the Settings dialog box, click the Show closed captioning check box. A check should now appear in the box.

4. Click OK.

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