no i dont use it i did try it cause it looks like a good idea but it messed up my little amd 900 so i don't use it. i believe it would take a 1.5 gb processor to even get to a smooth movement of the animations.
I tried it on my old IBM Aptiva about 2 years ago but stopped using it for some reason. Seems like it messed something up or stopped me from doing something I wanted to do, I just can't remember the reason why. Maybe after some positive responses here I'll try it again. Come to think of it I just built a computer to try stuff on and that sounds like a good project.
Active desktop is a great tool, if your using any of the single click buttons in the taskbar next to the start menu, your using active desktop. If your using any of the new "jpeg" desktops, your using active desktop. Windows is very boring with out it. Have you ever used the "right click" send to desktop as a shortcut? Thats active desktop also. It not just for using your desktop to view web pages or some of the instant news type things. If you want to see what its like with out it. Go on a W95 machine before IE4. Theres alot of things you can't do without it. Have you ever made quick launch tool bars? Without active desktop, this is not possible. There's alot more to Active desktop than viewing your desktop as a web page. I never use that feature but I love active desktop.
No, I don't use it. As a matter of fact, I have it permanently disabled. It has never worked right, and I don't need anything else running in the background (even with my 1.5GB RAM).
Judging by the feedback here it sure makes me glad to know I'm not alone. Makes a guy wonder why they even bother providing it if it won't work for anyone.
I've read through this thread and am amazed that I don't even know what the heck an 'active desktop' is! I just searched Help (XP Pro) and couldn't find anything that explained it. If it's not too much trouble, would someone kindly explain what this is? What bothers me is this: It just may be activated on my system and not be desirable (from what you guys are saying).
. Onward & Upward ! Sid
WINDOWS 10 ASUS P8Z77-V Pro MB Intel i5 3750K CPU 8g Corsair Vengeance DDR3 RAM Corsair Neutron 250g SSD
#18. "RE: Active Desktop" In response to Sid (Reply # 17) Sun Feb-03-02 09:14 AM
Although I never used it for more than 5 minutes in Win98, it basically allowed your desktop itself to display web content. At least I think that's what it did. }>
It's still exists in XP. Go to Display Properties, click on the Desktop tab, click on Customize Desktop and then click on the Web tab.
Right now there are 11 votes for using Active Desktop but all the feedback is negative. The original question asks "what you use it for", so why do you use it?
I like the View As Webpage" option it offers, to be able to single-click on desktop icons. As far as all the channels and stuff, I tried it and didn't like it.
Dave, if that little dude could crank his head around to the wall I'm facing, he'd change his tune in a hurry. }> Tell him to turn around and look at my background photo, for that matter.
I use it to "Set as desktop item" with humorous or inspirational messages or images that I find on the web that I don't want to forget about, mainly some of the regular PC911 posters Sigs and GIFs. Right now I've got Gen. Patton telling me to embrace challenge, other times I've got BatBoy from weekly world news on it. I haven't had a problem with resources but maybe I don't know what I'm missing! nah, 'gotta have my Patton!
I briefly tried it when it first came out (IE3?) and it just seemed too weird, and seemed to bog things down way too much for the hardware I had at the time. Never got around to experimenting with it again.
I use it in order to display my desktop without icons. Use it on both my home machine and notebook. Both Win2K. It caused major problems for Win98, but seems to work fine in Win2K.
I guess I'm the oddball here. I love active desktop. In fact, I was relieved to hear that it's still available in XP (BTW, is it in Home Edition as well as Pro??). I really prefer the "single click-view as webpage" option". I use it to make html files on my desktop-a personal reminder with animated gifs, marquee messages, whatever. I also created a html calendar and insert important events directly on that. To me it makes computing a lot more fun. It has never given me any problems (win98se) (knocking on wood),and my resources are 92 at startup. Let me know if it's available in XP HE, in case I get the opportunity to get a new system
Nope! Used it for about 10 days when I had some funky internet sw package that required it and screwed up my internet experience...GONE! Never to return again! to Quote Dave101..."It screwed things..." }>
#38. "RE: re:active desktop" In response to TeLo (Reply # 37) Sun Feb-03-02 08:26 PM
I use it so that I can have General Patton's ivory handled beautifully engraved Commemorative Colt 45 as my wallpaper. The sixth one from the bottom I also like to launch all my programs from the task bar. I have so many Icons you couldn't see the screen anyway. I haven't had any problems with it since Win95.
ed
OS - Windows 10 Personal PS3 DELL DIM 3000 Intel P4 2.25 GHZ Memory - 2X512 PC 3200 133-200Mhz Graphics
i like to put my own photos etc on my desktop and customize it, but it always causes problems, jams things up, means i have to constantly reboot, and have problems shutting down, so I think Ill disable it again, its not worth it.
Firstly, aren't most of us confusing "active desktop" (the whole) with "view as web page" (a part thereof) as jmc pointed out early in the thread?
I'd never tried view as web page, as most of what I'd heard about it wasn't great, so I turned it on out of interest, and couldn't work out how to turn it off again. When I finally did, it took me 3 reboots to get 98 running again. So we'll give that bit a miss, thankyou!
I don't see how you can actually turn Active Desktop completely off, at least not in my installation. And if it means losing toolbars etc, I certainly don't want to. So I guess my no vote, before I read the thread, is invalid, as I suspect many others are as well.
#45. "RE: Are we on the right track here?" In response to Al (Reply # 44)
Well this old man uses it. Maybe that's why my display is acting prcular. I click to go to a favorite site and only the top protion of the page is there and on the bottom is two thirds of my desktop. I have to maximize to see the whole page. I have a gif of a fly buzzing around.My color setting are changing on me also. I guess i better swat the fly.
To the extent of putting Active Desktop items, such as website clippings, on my desktop, I don't use AD. I find that I'm rarely looking at the desktop and, as such, wouldn't even see the Active Desktop items if they were there. (There there are the speed and bandwidth issues.)
However, I do use Active Desktop to enable me to use JPG and GIF images as wallpaper. (I have saved a bunch of Calvin and Hobbes strips to my system and cycle between them randomly using a WSH Script I wrote.) I also use Toolbars which, I guess, could be considered part of Active Desktop. But it's main purpose when it was launched -- making the desktop home to various web-enabled items -- is unused on my systems.
I wanted to use web items on my desktop. The local weather stopped showing fronts and I tried to get a weather map for that. Being on an always on connection, it sounds like a great idea. I could surf the fronts for fishing. Too bad in practice it drags the computer down. Maybe I'll try it again but I'm not holding my breath that it will work any better.
-------------- History teaches us that history has taught us nothing.
Al and Marti have got the hang of this. (As I would expect!) Everyone else is still discussing "view as web page", not the complete Active Desktop package.
I agree with Marti. To put it bluntly, it's a poorly worded poll. Sorry CG!
After poking around this thread, I must sheepishly admit that I am using Active Desktop, without even realizing it. I don't display active web content on my desktop, but I do use the QL toolbar.
I find it highly annoying that I cannot figure out how to disable Active Desktop in XP - if even possible - and I am not a Windows beginner. Arrgh.
I agree the Poll is in need of clarification and specificity as to exactly what information one wishes to obtain. With that said I use Active Desktop in the same manner as Marti & Jason. My Icons are housed in the Taskbar for Quick Launch and I am also enabled to utilize jpg and gif files as wallpaper. I do not use it to view as a Web Page.
according to windows help: Active Desktop overview You can make your desktop look and work like a Web page. You can display Web content directly on your desktop, and have the content updated automatically, making your desktop active. ... Once the Active Desktop feature is turned on, Web content is displayed or can be added to your desktop.
that's what i was referring to, the ability to have web content on your desktop, by right-clicking on the desktop and using the active desktop menu option.
i posed this as a serious, straight-forward question, not a trick or misleading question. it seems that most of you did understand it that way. sorry if anybody misunderstood the question.
My answer is still 'no'...I don't right click on the desktop for anything, and I don't use the QuickLaunch icons for anything either...they just sit there. Only thing I use even close to the QL is the 'Start' button.
Lonnie Vista Home Basic Compaq Presario SR2163WM 160GB SATA 3G 1536 MB RoadRunner HSI MSE,CCleaner,SWB,Irfanview
,Tuff
Sid
