Active desktop is a feature that was introduced as a part of Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0’s optional Windows Desktop Update that allows a computer’s user to add HTML code to the desktop, as well as some other additional features. It was released by Microsoft in 1997 with Internet Explorer 4.0 in an attempt to capitolize on the push technology trend that was being lead by PointCast. At the time that Active Desktop came out, it was meant to be installed on Windows 95 operating systems as part of an update. Because of the success of Active Desktop it was also included in Windows 98 and newer versions of the Windows operating system. However, with the release of Windows Vista, the Active Desktop feature has been removed in favor of a Windows sidebar that allows the same functionality of Active Desktop enabled operating systems.
There are many things that we take for granted every day when using our computers. The ability to use upper case letters in filenames, one-click hot tracking file selection, customizable display settings for each individual folder found on a user’s computer, the quick launch buttons that are found on the task bar of a computer next to the start button, a Start menu that allows you to easily drag and drop items into any order that you desire, and right click menus for deleting, renaming, etc are all available to us today through the use of Active Desktop technology. The address bar that is found at the top of Internet browsers so that you can easily enter a website address for quick navigation on the Internet is also a result of Active Desktop.
When using a computer that supports active desktop, a user can add HTML in place of the desktop wallpaper and as independent items that are displayed on the desktop. This means that online items can be updated to display relevant information on the desktop of a computer user without the need for them to visit the website. This allows users to select information that they would like to have available to them on their desktop such as weather information or sports scores. This is similar to the widget technology that is being implemented into many internet browsers today.
If you are concerned about the performance of your computer, you may wish to turn off the Active Desktop feature. This will free up some of your computer’s memory wich can drastically help to improve the speed of lower performance computers. In order to disable this feature, you will need to visit the Windows Display Properties. In this menu there will be two TweakUI settings that can disable Active Desktop from running at all on your system or prvent any changes from being made to it.
The most common and noticable use of Active Desktop today is the placement of many different “channels” on a person’s desktop that provide continuously updated information without the need to use an internet browser. Some examples of the information provided includes things like stock prices, sports scores, news headlines and weather updates.
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