Active Desktop was a feature of MicrosoftInternet Explorer 4.0 and Windows 98 that marked Microsoft's attempt to capitalize on the short-lived push technology fad spawned by PointCast and its imitators. Active Desktop placed a number of "channels" on the user's computer desktop that provided continually-updated information like news headlines and stock quotes without requiring the user to open a Web browser. Current versions of Windows, including Windows XP, still provide the option to display Web pages and channels built with Microsoft's Channel Definition Framework (CDF) format on the desktop, but this functionality has been deprecated for several years and is barely mentioned in the product documentation or online help.
