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ActiveX Support
If you feel like you�ve been riding a time machine to the future, ActiveX will take you a few light years farther. ActiveX takes the plug out of Netscape Plug-ins. Rather than seeing static Web pages, you can view Web pages with animation, virtual reality, and video. You don�t need a utility to run the application, like you do with plug-ins, because ActiveX runs on any computer that has ActiveX-compliant Web browser. You can even view and edit Microsoft Word and Excel documents within the browser.

With Internet Explorer 3.0, Microsoft introduced its ActiveX technologies, which used to be called Object Linking and Embedding (OLE). If you�d like to be the first to see where the Web is headed, check out the ActiveX Gallery on the Microsoft home page (http://www.microsoft.com/activex/controls).


Future Trends: WebTV is Here


If you thought you had to give up your TV time in order to make room for Web cruising, WebTV might change your mind. You pay around $350 for a box, trade in your remote control for a cordless keyboard and mouse, and you�ll get the Web live through your television screen.

You might think that the WebTV will revolutionize the way we see the World Wide Web, but it really hasn�t changed much. You still connect through a telephone line, and you still need to pay for online service. What WebTV does do is let you relax and surf from the couch, rather than cramping your neck and back in a computer chair. You can even visit most of the sites listed in this book through your WebTV. If you want to find out more about what WebTV can do for you, check out WebTV Networks Inc. site at http://www.webtv.net.