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Active Desktop

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Active Desktop
Developer(s)Microsoft
Operating systemMicrosoft Windows
SuccessorWindows SidebarandWindows Desktop Gadgets

Active Desktopwas a feature ofMicrosoftInternet Explorer 4.0's optionalWindows Desktop Updatethat allowed users to addHTMLcontent to thedesktop,along with some other features. This function was intended to be installed on the then-currentWindows 95operating system. It was also included inWindows 98and later Windows operating systems up through 32-bit XP, but was absent fromXP Professional x64 Edition(forAMD64) and all subsequent versions of Windows. Its status onXP 64-bit edition(forItanium) and on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2003 is not widely known. This corresponded to versionInternet Explorer4.0 to6.x,but notInternet Explorer 7.[1]

HTML could be added both in place of the regularwallpaperand as independent resizabledesktop items.Items available on-line could be regularly updated and synchronized so users could stay updated without visiting the website in their browser.

Active Desktop worked much likedesktop widgettechnology in that it allowed users to place customized information on their desktop.

History[edit]

The introduction of the Active Desktop marked Microsoft's attempt to capitalize on thepush technologytrend led byPointCast.[2]

Active Desktop allowed embedding a number of "channels"on the user's computerdesktopthat could provide continually-updated information such as web pages, without requiring the user to open dedicated programs such as aweb browser.Example uses include overview over news headlines and stock quotes. However, its most notable feature was that it allowedMotion JPEGsand animatedGIFsto animate correctly when set as the desktop wallpaper.

Active Desktop debuted as part of an Internet Explorer 4.0 preview release in July 1997,[3]and came out with the launch of the 4.0 browser in September that year.[4]for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0, as a feature of the optionalWindows Desktop Updateoffered to users during the upgrade installation. While the Windows Desktop Update is commonly referred to (improperly) as Active Desktop itself, it is actually an entire Windows shell upgrade from v4.0 to v4.71, or v4.72, with numerous changes to the Windows interface, resulting in an appearance and functionality level nearly indistinguishable from the then yet-to-be-released Windows 98. Features include the option to allow uppercase filenames (the old v4.0 desktop would forcibly display uppercase filenames in title case), configurable one-click hot-tracking file selection, customizable per-folder HTML display settings, QuickLaunch mini-buttons on the Taskbar next to the Start button, upgraded Start Menu allowing drag and drop item reordering and allowing right-click context menus for item renaming, etc. With the update, Windows Explorer featured an Address bar in which Internet addresses can be entered and seamlessly browsed.

SinceWindows XP,if a non-BMP image is used asWindows Desktopwallpaper, Windows will convert non-BMP image to BMP image in background.

Active Desktop never attained any significant degree of popularity,[5]as its drawbacks included high use of system resources and reduced system stability[citation needed].The component was retained inWindows XP[6]but was replaced by a feature namedWindows SidebarinWindows Vista.[7]Sidebar in turn was calledWindows Desktop GadgetsinWindows 7,which also allows components to be added to the desktop, but it was also discontinued due to security issues.Windows 8(also8.1and10) partially replaced their functionality with "live tiles"in the Start screen (or Start menu). Finally, such functionalities have now been partially replaced with Widgets inWindows 11.Windows Server 2003 R2 32-bit is the most recent Microsoft operating system to support Active Desktop. It appears that the 64-bit version of Windows XP no longer supports Active Desktop. However, it still provides the option to display Web pages and channels built with Microsoft'sChannel Definition Format(CDF) on the desktop.

The HTML displaying capabilities are now mainly used for creating original wallpapers and adding search boxes to the desktop. For example, a user could copy the following code to display Wikipedia's search-box on the desktop: 

<form
action="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search"
id="searchform"
name="searchform">
<input
accesskey="f"
id="searchInput"
name="search"
type="text"
value=""/>
<input
id="searchGoButton"
name="go"
type="submit"
value="Go"/>
</form>

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"CDF Reference".Microsoft.2010. Archived fromthe originalon December 26, 2010.Retrieved2016-02-20.
  2. ^Kelly, Kevin; Wolf, Gary (March 1997)."Push!".Wired.Vol. 5, no. 3. Archived fromthe originalon October 13, 1999.Retrieved2014-09-13.
  3. ^Karpinski, Richard (1997-07-21). "Microsoft Tunes in Active Channel".Communications Week.No. 673. pp. 11–12.ISSN0746-8121.
  4. ^Markoff, John (1997-09-29)."Microsoft vs. Netscape: The Border War Heats Up".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.
  5. ^Deinert, Florian; Magedanz, Thomas (December 2010). "Introducing Widget-based IMS Client Applications".Mobile Networks and Applications.15(6): 845–852.doi:10.1007/s11036-010-0239-5.ISSN1383-469X.S2CID29163522.
  6. ^Phelps, Alan (April 2002). "Online: Use Active Desktop to enliven Windows XP".Smart Computing in Plain English.Vol. 13, no. 4. p. 73.ISSN1093-4170.
  7. ^Miller, Michael J. (2006-04-25). "The Truth About Vista".PC Magazine.Vol. 25, no. 7. p. 53.ISSN0888-8507.

External links[edit]

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