Microsoft provides a calculator within Windows 98. The Calculator program offers two types of calculators:
To use Calculator, follow these steps:
NOTE: In addition to being able to use your mouse to click numbers on the calculator, you can type numbers by using your numeric keypad.
To use the CD Player feature of Windows 98, you must have the following four things:
If you have not yet installed your CD-ROM drive and speakers, refer to the "Add New Hardware" entry along with any documentation accompanying your CD-ROM drive and speakers. To operate the CD Player, follow these steps:
NOTE: The total length (in minutes and seconds) of the music CD is displayed in the lower-left corner of the CD Player window.
8. Select your options and return to the Volume Control window by clicking the OK button.
In Windows 98 terminology, a channel is a web site designed to push its content to your PC according to the schedule you set. Channels enable you to regularly receive updates to certain Web sites without having to navigate around the Internet to find them.
The Channel bar should already be present on the Active Desktop, as shown in Figure C.9. If it is not, refer to the section titled "Active Desktop Environment" to learn how to display it.
Hover your mouse pointer over a button in the Channel bar, such as the Channel Guide button. As shown in Figure C.10, Windows 98 automatically displays information about the feature you are pointing to.
To use the Channel bar, follow these steps:
TIP: Hover over a channel to view information about it, as shown in Figure C.12.
NOTE: Keep in mind that the technology on which these channels are designed tends to stuff a lot of useless files onto your hard-disk drive in short periods of time. You might quickly find yourself running out of disk space unless you keep your number of subscriptions low and their options minimized.
TIP: To change the default email address, click the Change Address button. You will be prompted to enter another email address along with the SMTP email server name, which you must obtain from either your ISP or your company's system administrator. Click the OK button to return to the Subscription Wizard screen shown in Figure C.17.
The Windows 98 Character Map offers an easy way to quickly add special characters to whatever application you might be using, such as a word processor, spreadsheet, or graphics tool. To use the Character Map, follow these steps:
In Windows 98 terminology, a check box is a function that permits you to make selections within various Windows 98 accessories, components, and applications. Check boxes normally appear just after the text that explains the purpose of the selections shown.
To select a feature, just click its corresponding check box; a check mark or times sign (x) will usually appear. To deselect a feature, click its check box so that the mark disappears. Many Windows 98 dialog boxes utilize the check box function.
The Clipboard is used as a holding or staging area for graphics or text that has been copied to it. Think of the Clipboard as a spot within the memory of your computer that holds information that you have copied or cut (perhaps through a copy-and-paste or cut-and-paste operation), but have not yet pasted to its new location.
NOTE: Even though you might have pasted whatever was in the Clipboard, a copy remains there until you either copy something else or shut down Windows 98.
The Clipboard Viewer (discussed next) is the Windows 98 utility that permits you to see exactly what is in the clipboard holding area. This can make it easier for you to manage your cutting and pasting operations.
The Microsoft Clipboard Viewer for Windows 98 enables you to see what items you have copied to the clipboard. Items copied to the clipboard can then be pasted into other Windows applications, such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, and the like. To use the Clipboard Viewer, follow these steps:
TIP: Whenever Windows 98 is shut down or restarted, all the contents of the Clipboard are discarded. Be sure to save the Clipboard's contents to a Windows application before shutting down your system.
Codec refers to compression/decompression (see how they derived this acronym?). A codec is used for audio and video files in such a manner that it permits your computer to more effectively manage its multimedia functions. You need not worry about codecs; the operating system automatically handles these files for you. But if you want to impress your friends by talking about codecs, one of the more popular codec formats is MPEG.
As illustrated in Table C.1, Windows 98 comes complete with a variety of communications tools--eight, to be exact--that serve an assortment of functions.
Tool | Description |
Dial-Up Networking | This enables you to connect to other computers via a telephone line using a modem. It supports the TCP/IP, NetBEUI, and IPX/SPX network communications protocols. |
Dial-Up Server | This feature enables you to dial in to your PC from another computer. |
Direct Cable Connection | Using a parallel- or serial-connected cable between two PCs, you can transfer data files between the two computers. |
HyperTerminal | This accessory enables you to connect to other PCs and online services through a modem. |
Microsoft Chat 2.1 | This software package enables you to conduct chat sessions with other people connected to the same chat server. (This is the client-side piece of software.) |
Microsoft NetMeeting | Through NetMeeting, you can call other people on the same LAN or across the Internet. Once connected, you can share files, use a shared whiteboard, and chat. |
Phone Dialer | This telephony software permits you to dial a telephone through the modem. |
Virtual Private Networking | VPN allows for secure connections to private networks, even though the data is traveling across public networks such as the Internet. |
To install any or all of these features, use the Add/Remove Programs option from the Control Panel (refer to the section titled "Add/Remove Programs" for further details about this option):
Microsoft tosses around two terms: accessories and components. Now, to the average person, these might seem to be similar terms, but in Windows 98 terminology, they are not. Accessories refers only to those features listed in the Accessories area in the Windows Setup tab of the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box; components refers to everything else. As shown in Table C.2, components fall under 10 categories.
Categories | Components |
Accessibility | Accessibility Options Accessibility Tools |
Communications | Dial-Up Networking |
Dial-Up Server | |
Direct Cable | |
Connection HyperTerminal | |
Microsoft Chat 2.1 | |
Microsoft NetMeeting | |
Phone Dialer | |
Virtual Private Networking | |
Desktop Themes | Desktop Themes (this component offers 16 graphical themes, including Baseball, Jungle, and Windows 98, as well as the support files for these themes) |
Internet Tools | Microsoft FrontPage Express |
Microsoft VRML 2.0 Viewer | |
Microsoft Wallet | |
Personal Web Server | |
Real Audio Player 4.0 | |
Web Publishing Wizard | |
Web-Based Enterprise Mgmt | |
Microsoft Outlook Express | Microsoft Outlook Express (includes the Windows Address Book) |
Multilanguage Support | Baltic |
Central European | |
Cyrillic | |
Greek | |
Turkish | |
Multimedia | Audio Compression |
CD Player | |
DVD Player | |
Macromedia Shockwave Director | |
Macromedia Shockwave Flash | |
Media Player | |
Microsoft NetShow Player 2.0 | |
Multimedia Sound Schemes | |
Sample Sounds | |
Sound Recorder | |
Video Compression | |
Volume Control | |
Online Services | America Online (AOL) |
AT&T WorldNet Service | |
CompuServe | |
Prodigy Internet | |
The Microsoft Network (MSN) | |
System Tools | Backup |
Character Map | |
Clipboard Viewer | |
Driver Converter (FAT32) | |
Group Policies | |
Net Watcher | |
System Monitor | |
System Resource Meter | |
WinPopup | |
Web TV for Windows | Wave Top Data Broadcasting |
Web TV for Windows |
To install any or all of these Windows 98 components, use the Add/Remove Programs program feature of the Windows 98 Control Panel (refer to the "Add/Remove Programs" section of this book for more details).
Compression Agent enables you to free hard drive disk space without a adding an extra hard drive. You free disk space with Compression Agent by compressing your files or by altering the level of the current compression rate.
NOTE: Although you can use Compression Agent to compress files, there is a catch: You cannot compress drives using the FAT32 storage format (see the section titled "FAT32 Converter" for more details about FAT32). FAT32 is better than FAT16 in that FAT32 stores information on hard drives much more efficiently, which gives you more drive space. If your hard-disk drive is less than 512 MB (tiny by today's standards), however, FAT16 might be more efficient or at least as efficient as FAT32.
To use Compression Agent, follow these steps:
The Windows 98 Control Panel is the heart of the configuration area for the operating system. In it, you will find all the major system components and the tools required for their initial configuration and usage. To use the Control Panel, follow these steps:
Add New Hardware | This Windows 98 wizard helps you properly install the necessary software drivers for new hardware components. |
Add/Remove Programs | This Windows 98 wizard helps you properly install the necessary software programs for new Windows 98 applications. |
Date/Time | This component helps you set the time, date, and time zone for your personal computer. |
Desktop Themes | This component installs as a part of the Desktop Themes accessory. It is used to set up fancy colors, fonts, sounds, backgrounds, and mouse pointers for your PC. |
Display | This component prompts you with the Display Properties dialog box, where you configure such features as the monitor, screen saver, Active Desktop, and color schemes. |
Find Fast | This Microsoft Office component speeds your computer's capability to locate all of your Microsoft Office-created files. |
Fonts | Use this feature to add, change, or delete screen and printer fonts from the Windows 98 operating system. |
Game Controllers | Use this feature to configure joysticks, steering wheels, and so forth for use with the Windows 98 operating system. |
Internet | Use this feature to configure the Internet Explorer 4 web browser. |
Keyboard | Use this feature to configure the language, click blink, and character-speed rate of the PC keyboard for use with the Windows 98 operating system. |
Mail and Fax | Use this function to control the property settings of the Inbox, including email, fax, Exchange mail, personal folders, and the Microsoft Outlook client software configurations. |
MegaDial | This is a Cypress Research Corp. component that installs as a part of that telephony application. This component does not ship with the Microsoft Windows 98 operating system software; rather, it is an add-on component provided by the OEM manufacturer of my home computer. |
Microsoft Mail Postoffice | Use this feature to set up and configure an email post office for use with a peer-to-peer Windows 98 network group. |
Modems | Use this feature to confirm modem settings, as well as to perform basic diagnostic checks on already-installed modems. |
Mouse | Use this feature to modify the manner in which the attached PC mouse works, including its pointer attributes. |
Mpact Mediaware | This Dolby Laboratories component installs as a part of a multimedia application. This component does not ship with the Microsoft Windows 98 operating system software; rather, it is an add-on component provided by the OEM manufacturer of my home computer's multimedia features. |
MS DTC | This icon is used to modify the transactional DTC client software configuration that was created for use with the Windows 98 Personal Web Server. |
Multimedia | Use this feature to modify the manner in which the attached audio, video, MIDI, CD music, and other multimedia devices map through the PC system. |
Network | This Windows 98 component is required for the configuration of any networking function, including peer-to-peer, Dial-Up Networking, and connecting a Windows 98 PC to the Internet, or to a NetWare, Windows NT, or Banyan VINES system. |
32-bit ODBC | This Microsoft Office component, which is installed as part of the Office software, might also appear in the Control Panel as a result of other installed 32-bit computer applications that require Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) features. |
Passwords | Windows 98 passwords, some network passwords, Windows 98 Remote Administration, and user profiles can all be configured through this component. |
Power Management | This component is best used with corporate or mobile computers, in that power-saving modes are configurable for hard drives, monitors, and the Windows 98 computer system as a whole. For the home user, this component is probably best left off because it can be rather annoying. |
Printers | Windows 98 printers can be configured through use of this Control Panel function. This feature operates in the same manner as the Printers feature that appears in the Start menu. |
Regional Settings | This component controls the localization of the Windows 98 operating system, including the system language; time, dates, and currency formats; and the number and calendar types. |
Sounds | Windows 98 system event sounds are configured via this Control Panel option. |
System | Use this option to configure full system components such as hardware devices, hardware startup profiles, system performance, cache sizes, and the viewing of system information including IRQs, I/O ports, DMA channels, and memory addresses. |
TelePath for Windows with X2 | This 3Com component installs as a part of that modem application. This component does not ship with the Microsoft Windows 98 operating system software; rather, it is an add-on component provided by the OEM manufacturer of my home computer's modem. |
Telephony | The telephony feature permits you to predefine calling cards, and to configure telephony software drivers and Dial-Up Networking options. |
Tweak UI | This Windows 98 component installs as a part of the Windows 98 Resource Kit. It enables you to modify Windows 98's look and feel by changing the desktop and IE4 policies, and so forth. Tweak UI is not a supported Windows 98 component, meaning that you cannot call Microsoft's Technical Support line and expect someone there to answer any of your questions or help you with any configuration issues. Tweak UI is aimed at power users who want easier access methods to some of the less- customizable functions of the Windows 98 operating system. |
Users | Use this feature to set up a PC for use with multiple users. It has a wizard feature that walks you step-by-step through its installation process. |
Accessibility Options | Use this feature to modify the Windows 98 for users with vision, hearing, or dexterity problems. |
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