Lesson plan
Active Desktop
Active Desktop was a feature of Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0's optional Windows Desktop Update that allowed users to add HTML content to the desktop, along with some other features. This function was intended to be installed on the then-current Windows 95 operating system. It was also included in Windows 98 and later Windows operating systems up through 32-bit XP, but was absent from XP Professional x64 Edition (for AMD64) and all subsequent versions of Windows. Its status on XP 64-bit edition (for Itanium) and on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2003 is not widely known. This corresponded to version Internet Explorer 4.0 to 6.x, but not Internet Explorer 7. HTML could be added both in place of the regular wallpaper and as independent resizable desktop items. Items available online could be regularly updated and synchronized so users could stay updated without visiting the website in their browser. Active Desktop worked much like desktop widget technology in that it allowed users to place customized information on their desktop.
Article summary
Active Desktop was a feature of Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0's optional Windows Desktop Update that allowed users to add HTML content to the desktop, along with some other features. This function was intended to be installed on the then-current Windows 95 operating system. It was also included in Windows 98 and later Windows operating systems up through 32-bit XP, but was absent from XP Professional x64 Edition (for AMD64) and all subsequent versions of Windows. Its status on XP 64-bit edition (for Itanium) and on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2003 is not widely known. This corresponded to version Internet Explorer 4.0 to 6.x, but not Internet Explorer 7. HTML could be added both in place of the regular wallpaper and as independent resizable desktop items. Items available online could be regularly updated and synchronized so users could stay updated without visiting the website in their browser. Active Desktop worked much like desktop widget technology in that it allowed users to place customized information on their desktop.
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
No sources recorded.
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.