Windows 98 Professional Reference

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Deploying Windows 98

• When You Should Use Windows 98
  • The Windows 98 Network Environment
  • Deciding on Network Components
• Planning the Windows 98 User Environment
  • Choosing Components
  • Defining the Desktop
  • Launching Programs at Startup
• Active Desktop
  • Active Channels
• Preparing for Installation
• Conclusion

W indows 98 succeeds Windows 95 as Microsoft's everyday, mass-market operating system. Windows 98 will ship with millions of new PCs in the next few years, and millions of existing systems will be upgraded to Windows 98 from Windows 95 or Windows 3.1. Windows 98 will undoubtedly be the system of choice for home users with Intel or equivalent systems, but you can expect Windows 98 to also carry a sizable portion of the corporate market because of its low price, its (relative) simplicity, and its similarity to the vastly popular Windows 95.

Windows 98 is very much descended from Windows 95; the two operating systems are so similar that you could easily work all day and honestly not remember if you're using Windows 95 or Windows 98. Nevertheless,

Windows 98 adds some significant new features, both on and below the surface, that make it more configurable, more adaptable, and more automated than its predecessor. Table 1.1 lists some of Windows 98's new features. Later chapters of this book describe these features in detail.

Table 1.1 Windows 98 New Features

As Microsoft developed and refined Windows 98, they concentrated on the following areas:

• Management tools. Windows 98 includes several new tools that make it easier to configure, manage, and troubleshoot than earlier versions of Windows.
• Support for new hardware and hardware standards. Microsoft invested considerable effort in keeping pace with new developments in computer hardware. You'll find support for DVD and USB, as well as the new FAT32 file system (which actually debuted in the latter-day Windows 95 era) designed to increase efficiency on newer, larger hard drives.
• Tighter Internet integration. Windows 98 brings Microsoft closer to its goal of fully integrating the Internet with the desktop. You can browse your own desktop and even use an Internet web page as your wallpaper.
• Scripting. Windows 98 supports Windows scripting, allowing users and site administrators to quickly and easily write custom scripts for specific tasks.

Although some have speculated that Microsoft is positioning Windows 98 for the home environment and Windows NT Workstation for corporate workstations, the fact is that Windows 98 includes some very useful and powerful features that seem to target the corporate user and the professional site administrator. You will learn about these features in later chapters of this book.

This chapter discusses some of the reasons for deploying Windows 98 and reviews some of the choices you'll face when configuring and customizing Windows 98 for your environment. If you're familiar with the Windows 95/98 environment and you're not inclined to study any deployment and desktop configuration details at this time, you might want to proceed to Chapter 2, "Installing Windows 98," and save these details for when you need them.

When You Should Use Windows 98

Windows 98 is in direct competition with its cousin Windows NT Workstation 4.0/5.0 in the market for desktop operating systems. Both systems are easily networkable, and both provide the familiar Explorer/Start Menu user interface. Both make use of recent innovations such as DCOM, PPTP, and DirectX.

Windows 98 has the following advantages over Windows NT Workstation:

• Price. As of this writing, Windows 98 is still considerably less expensive than Windows NT Workstation.
• Plug and Play support. Windows 98 has better support for Plug and Play, a feature that lets the system automatically detect and configure new devices. Adding new hardware to a Windows 98 machine therefore requires less time and expertise.
• Legacy software support. Both Windows 98 and Windows NT Workstation support MS-DOS, Win16, and Win32 applications, but NT's support for MS-DOS applications is limited. NT does not support DOS apps that directly access the hardware and may have more trouble with apps that use undocumented, obsolete features of DOS. Windows 98 supports a fuller range of DOS applications.
• Hardware support. Windows 98 supports an extremely large number of hardware devices on the market today. Support for Windows NT is growing, but Windows 98 still has the edge for hardware support.
• Internet integration. Windows 98 represents an attempt by Microsoft to seamlessly integrate Windows 98 with the Internet. It is almost as if the difference between browsing the Internet and browsing one's own computer has begun to disappear in Windows 98. Windows 98 also includes other Internet integration features. For instance, local applications and even the operating system itself can be automatically updated from the Internet. NT 5.0 includes some of these integration features, but the greater security of NT makes it doubtful that NT will ever achieve Windows 98's level of Internet integration.

Windows NT, in turn, offers the following advantages over Windows 98:

• Better security. Basic security is achievable through Windows 98, but Windows NT's security subsystem is more versatile and sophisticated.
• Better stability. Applications run in separate memory space, improving stability.
• Tools. Windows NT Workstation provides some management tools you won't find in Windows 98, such as Event Viewer and Performance Monitor.
• Domain client functionality. Windows NT Workstation provides a somewhat higher level of integration with domain-based security and management features.

Microsoft used to say that Windows 95 could run on slimmer hardware than Windows NT, but with Windows 98, Microsoft has upgraded the hardware requirements so that the minimums for Windows NT Workstation and Windows 98 look about the same. In reality, though, it is likely that Windows 98 will perform better on a low-end system.

There is no reason why NT Workstations and Windows 98 workstations can't coexist on the same network: File and print services are fully compatible, and both can receive user-level network logon security from a Windows NT Domain system or a Novell NetWare networking environment. Ultimately, the choice of a desktop operating system will depend on the requirements of your network.

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NOTE: There are, of course, other competitors in the market for desktop operating systems, including the Macintosh OS (if you have Macintosh hardware) and the UNIX-like Linux operating system.
The next few years will mark the arrival of the much-heralded thin-client operating systems, which should shake up the market a bit and provide more choices for corporate consumers.

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If you're considering whether to upgrade from Windows 95 to Windows 98, the question you'll need to answer is whether the new features of Windows 98 (shown in Table 1.1) are a worthwhile addition to your environment. Some of the more significant benefits of upgrading to Windows 98 are as follows:

• PPTP. PPTP brings virtual private network technology to Windows 98. PPTP provides LAN-like privacy over Internet connections.
• Power management. Windows 98's power-management features conserve power. A computer can automatically go on standby when not in use, and it will spring back to full power when activated by a user. Power management also makes it more economical to leave a computer running between sessions, thus eliminating the inconvenience of the log reboot process.
• Multiple screen support. Windows 98 lets you use multiple monitors with one PC.
• FAT32. The FAT32 file system allows larger partitions and offers better performance on large partitions. (FAT16 partitions were limited to 2GB.) FAT32 debuted with Windows 95 OSR 2, so it may be present on some Windows 95 systems.
• New hardware. Windows 98 provides support for DVD and Universal Serial Bus (USB) devices.
• Management tools. Windows 98 comes with a System Configuration utility, System file Checker, Microsoft System Information Manager, Version Conflict Manager, and more.

If you're running Windows 3.1 on a system that can support Windows 98 and you're considering an upgrade to Windows 98, just do it. Windows 98 represents years of work from hundreds of programmers, improving and perfecting Windows technology; it is far superior to Windows 3.1.

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NOTE: For a Typical Windows 98 installation, you'll need the following:
Processor--Intel 486DX 66MHz or better (or equivalent), Pentium recommended
RAM--16MB (minimum), 24MB recommended
200MB free disk space (45MB of which is temporary disk space required by the Setup program)
See Chapter 2 for more information about Windows 98 system requirements.

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The Windows 98 Network Environment

As you develop a plan for deploying Windows 98, you'll need to make some choices about the type of system you want and the way you want users to interact with it. In essence, this entire book is about those choices. But it helps to have those choices in mind before you start the installation.

The first decision you'll need to make is whether your Windows 98 system will be part of a network. Windows 98 is designed to operate in any one of the following three scenarios:

• No network. Windows 98 is fully functional as a standalone operating system.
• Peer-to-peer network. In a peer-to-peer network, all computers are more or less equal. All can share files and printers, and each is responsible for its own security (see Figure 1.1).
• Server-based network. Windows 98 can act as a client in a server-based networking system, such as a Novell NetWare network or a Windows NT domain (see Figure 1.2).

Figure 1.1

In a peer-to-peer network, all computers are equal: Each is a server and a client.

Figure 1.2

A Windows NT domain is a server-based networking system.

The recent rise of the Internet has somewhat complicated these network archetypes. A computer can serve as a peer or a client in a local network (or it can be a standalone, for that matter) and also connect to the big network (the Internet) through a cable or dial-up connection. The Internet is a vast treasure of information, but it also poses dangers that, in many cases, must be met with prudent security.

A standalone system is all that an individual user really needs, and there is no reason to consider a network if you only have and only need one computer. (However, if you are connected to the Internet, you must remember that you are in fact on a network and, depending on your type of Internet connection, you may wish to apply some basic security measures. See Chapter 30, "Internet Security," for more information about Internet security.)

If you work with a large network that already exists, there is no need to reinvent your network in order to employ Windows 98. Windows 98 can serve all the same client functions Windows 95 served; in fact, Windows 98 has some enhanced network client features, most notably its support for NetWare Directory Services (NDS). If you're starting from scratch and purchasing several computers, however, you'll need to decide whether or how you'd like to network your Windows 98 machines.

Windows 98 is amazingly easy to network. If you have 2 to 10 computers on your site, you'll find that networking them in a peer-to-peer configuration requires very little effort or expertise. You will need some basic hardware: network adapter cards for each PC ($50-$150 each) and network cabling and connectors. A peer-to-peer network offers the advantages of a network, such a file and printer sharing, with minimal complexity and confusion. The computers basically act independently unless the user needs to access a network resource, in which case the user can achieve that access through a convenient extension of the local user interface. Each computer in a peer-to-peer network acts (or can act) as both a server and a client. A peer to peer network can include a dedicated file server (that is, a computer that serves the role of providing file resources for other computers). What distinguishes a peer-to-peer network from a server-based network is that the security systems for the computers on a peer-to-peer network all act independently--each computer is responsible for the security of its own resources. See Chapter 22, "Peer-to-Peer Networking," for more information about Windows 98 peer-to-peer networks.

Maintaining password synchronization and multiple password lists for the multiple computers in a peer-to-peer configuration is impossible on large networks and is often difficult even on small networks. A server-based system such as a Windows NT domain provides centralized, user-level security for network resources. This adds some complexity to the configuration, but it makes for simpler, more uniform, more effective security. The user's logon is authenticated by a Windows NT Server domain controller, and the user's access to network resources is thereafter controlled by user and group permissions applied to the user's account.

The server-based model lends itself to a scenario in which files are stored on a central, continuously operating server system. A user can then log on from anywhere on the network and access the files. If the user's desktop PC goes down, a different PC can provide access to the files. The user can even log on from a remote location over a dial-up connection to reach the centrally stored and managed files. Windows 98's User Profile feature (see Chapter 8, "User Profiles") allows the user's personal desktop environment (shortcuts, wallpaper, and other personal settings) to follow the user to other computers on the domain. Centralized storage of the files also simplifies the task of providing backups and fault tolerance for file resources. In the case of a Windows NT domain, the NT domain controller that authenticates logons does not have to be the central file storage system; however, on small networks, it often is. In a simple Windows NT Server domain like the one shown in Figure 1.2, the Windows NT Server machine could provide file service for the Windows 98 clients and also provide dial-up access using NT's RAS service for Windows 98 clients dialing in from remote locations.

A Windows NT Server domain is one of many server-based network systems that Windows 98 supports. Windows 98 can also act as a client on Novell NetWare networks or UNIX networks (among others).

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NOTE: A peer-to-peer network is conceptually simple--it is not much more complicated than individual users working on standalone systems.
A Windows NT domain or NetWare server-based network offers better and more uniform security but requires more expertise to manage. A well-managed system can offer a simpler and more versatile work environment for users.

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Deciding on Network Components

Your decisions about a network configuration will precipitate further decisions about the network components you'll want to include with Windows 98. See Chapters 21 through 26 (in Part IV, "Networking Windows 98") for a full discussion of networking components in Windows 98. You do not have to face all the networking issues prior to installation unless you want to. Windows 98 Setup will migrate networking components from a preexisting Windows 95 or Windows 3.1 system, or, if you are installing on a new system or a system that wasn't previously networked, Setup will provide a default network configuration if it detects networking hardware.

If you plan to install Windows 98 on multiple systems, you might want to create an installation script that automatically configures networking components. See Chapter 2 for more information about Windows 98 installation scripts.

To summarize networking component choices, the following lists Windows 98 built-in network client systems:

• Banyan DOS/Windows 3.1 client
• FTP Software NFS client (InterDrive 95)
• Client for Microsoft Networks
• Client for NetWare Networks
• Microsoft Family Logon
• Novell NetWare Workstation Shell 3.X (NETX)
• Novell NetWare Workstation Shell 4.0 and above

You can also install a different client software system.

If your Windows 98 machine is to be part of a Windows 98 domain, you'll want to use Client for Microsoft Networks. If your machine will be part of a NetWare network, you'll use Client for NetWare networks, one of the Workstation shells, or equivalent client software supplied with your NetWare server system.

You'll also need to choose one or more networking protocols for your network. Your choice will most likely be one of the following:

• NetBEUI. A non-routable network protocol used on small Microsoft networks.
• IPX/SPX-compatible protocol. A protocol system for NetWare networks.
• TCP/IP. A routable protocol system that is starting to emerge as the universal networking protocol. The Internet uses TCP/IP, and most large non-NetWare networks use TCP/IP.

After you settle on a protocol system, you'll need to decide on additional networking features. For instance, an IPX/SPX computer needs a network number. A TCP/IP computer needs an IP address and a subnet mask. All of these protocols are discussed in detail later in the book.

Planning the Windows 98 User Environment

Windows 98 offers choices that enable you to build a custom environment for the users on your network; you can create the environment that best suits the needs of your organization. The Windows 98 features help you shape the user environment in the following ways:

• You can create User Profiles for the users on your system. A User Profile is a bundle of configuration settings that let the user develop a personal desktop configuration. You can make those settings specific to a single computer (local User Profile) or you can set up a roaming User Profile that will follow the user to other workstations on the network. See Chapter 8, "User Profiles," for more information about Windows 98 User Profiles.
• You can create Hardware Profiles that will enable you to efficiently switch between two or more hardware operating environments (for instance, a portable PC can boot to either a docked or an undocked state). See Chapter 9, "Hardware Profiles," for more information about Hardware Profiles in Windows 98.
• You can create System Policies that define the user desktop and restrict user activities. System Policies are powerful tools for controlling the user environment. A System Policy can restrict the user's access to configuration tools or provide the user with a specially designed desktop. You can hide Start menu items, remove the Run command, or disable the MS-DOS prompt by using System Policies. See Chapter 7, "System Policies," for more information about System Policies in Windows 98. See Chapter 4, "Windows 98 and Total Cost of Ownership," for a discussion of how you can use System Policies to create a limited user interface in the spirit of Microsoft's Zero Administration Kit.
• You can restrict access through a network logon and shape the user environment using logon scripts. You can use logon security with either peer-to-peer networks, domain-based networks, or NetWare networks. See Chapter 21, "Understanding Windows 98 Networking," for more information about Microsoft network logons.
• You can define which directories you'd like to share on the network and restrict access to those directories using passwords. You can specify whether the password will provide read-only access or full access. See Chapter 21 for more information about sharing files on Microsoft networks.
• Windows 98 lets you choose which of its components you'll use for your configuration. You can customize your Windows 98 configuration by choosing whether to include dozens of Optional Components. Windows 98 Optional Components are discussed later in this chapter.
• You can customize desktop items such as the Start menu and the Taskbar, and place shortcuts to commonly used documents or applications directly on the desktop so that they're never more than a mouse-click away. You can configure Windows 98 to start certain applications automatically by placing the applications in the Startup folder. Desktop customization has become even more exotic under Windows 98. You can use a web page (with active links) as your wallpaper or automatically download a screen saver with active content, such as a display of current stock market information. You'll learn more about desktop customization later in this chapter.
• Windows Scripting Host, a new feature included with Windows 98, is quite possibly the most powerful tool yet for customizing the Windows environment. You can write custom scripts that access applications, invoke Windows interface features, and automate complex tasks. See Chapter 33, "Windows Scripting with Windows 98 Scripting Host," for more information about the powerful Windows Scripting Host.

Choosing Components

During one heated salvo in the browser wars of early 1998, a Microsoft official stated that Internet Explorer could not be removed from the Windows 98 desktop because only Microsoft can define what is part of Windows 98. The fact is, however, that the user has the freedom to pick and choose from dozens of Windows components when defining a system configuration.

Windows 98 has four Setup options, each with a predefined collection of optional components. When you install Windows 98, Setup asks you to choose one of the Setup options in the following list. The components provided with each of the Setup options are outlined in Table 1.2. The Custom option allows you to choose any components in addition to the defaults.

• Typical. A general purpose, typical desktop configuration
• Compact. For PCs with a shortage of disk space--offers comparatively fewer components
• Portable. Components commonly required for a portable PC
• Custom. Lets you define your own configuration by which components you'd like to include

If you upgrade from Windows 95, Setup will retain the Setup option (and the active component list) from the previous installation. You won't be asked to specify a Setup option.

Most home users simply choose the Setup options that suit their configuration and install additional components later if necessary through the Add/Remove Programs Control Panel. Many corporate networks follow this philosophy as well, although in a business setting, there are often advantages in keeping the configuration as simple as possible to narrow the range of support services (see Chapter 4).

If you're using an installation script (see Chapter 2), you can specify a Setup option and optional components within the script.

Table 1.2 Windows 98 Optional Components for Various Setup options; Y=Yes (included) N=No (not included)

Defining the Desktop

The Windows 98 desktop will look familiar to anyone accustomed to the Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0 desktop, but the Windows 98 desktop is even more customizable than its already-customizable precursors. The basic desktop appears in Figure 1.3. Some of Windows 98's desktop features are as follows:

• Start menu
• Explorer
• Taskbar
• My Computer
• Network Neighborhood
• Briefcase
• Shortcuts
• Recycling Bin

The following sections briefly describe these features and provide tips on how you can customize your desktop to increase the efficiency of your workstation.

Figure 1.3

Windows 98 desktop elements.

Start Menu

The Start menu (refer to Figure 1.3) is the place to "Start" for almost anything in Windows 98. The first-level options, many of which are self-explanatory, appear in Figure 1.3. Brief descriptions of the first-level Start Menu options are given in Table 1.3.

Table 1.3 First-level Start Menu Options

The Start Menu Programs options are generated from a Start Menu folder in the Windows directory. The Start Menu folder contains a Programs subfolder, which contains additional subfolders defining the various program groups that appear in the Programs menu. The program entries are all shortcuts to program items elsewhere on your system. If you upgraded from Windows 3.1, the program groups and program items correspond to the program groups in items in Windows 3.1 Program Manager. You can change the Programs folder directly by using standard Explorer options (cutting, deleting, pasting, copying, adding shortcuts, and so on) and those changes will be reflected in the Start menu; however, it is easier to change the Start menu by using the Taskbar Properties dialog box, discussed in the numbered steps that follow.

If User Profiles are enabled on your system, the Favorites and Documents Start menu entries come (respectively) from the Favorites and Recent subfolders of the User Profile directory.

To customize the Start menu, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on an empty area of the Taskbar and choose Properties.

2. Click on the Start Menu Programs tab.

3. In the Start Menu Programs tab (see Figure 1.4), click on the Add button to add a new program or command line to the Start menu. Enter a command line or browse for a file or program item. Windows 98 then enables you to select where in the Start menu you want the new item to appear. If you click on the New Folder button, Windows 98 creates a new first-level option for the new item.

Figure 1.4

The Start Menu Programs tab.

Click on the Remove button in the Start Menu Programs tab to remove a Start Menu item.

The Advanced button invokes the Explorer application, so that you can customize to the Start Menu folders as you would through Explorer.

The Clear button lets you delete user-specific items from the Start Menu's Documents and Favorites options.

Explorer

The Explorer application (EXPLORER.EXE in the Windows directory) is the all-purpose file and folder manipulation window in Windows 98. For those familiar with Windows 95, Explorer requires no introduction. For those familiar with Windows 3.1, Explorer is your "File Manager."

On some OEM versions of Windows 98, Explorer may appear as a desktop icon. If not, you can invoke Explorer by right-clicking on the Start menu and choosing Explore. If Explorer does not appear on your desktop but you want it to, you can create a desktop shortcut to the Explorer (see "Shortcuts," later in this chapter).

Explorer displays the directory structure of all system drives in a hierarchical format. You can select an item and cut, paste, or copy it by using the options in the Edit menu or the Toolbar. Or, you can simply drag a file or folder to another location.

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NOTE: If you drag a file or folder to another location on the same drive, Explorer will move the file (removing it from its original location). If you drag a file or folder to a location on a different drive, Explorer will copy the file (retaining it at its original location).
If you drag an executable file to another location, such as the desktop, Explorer will place a shortcut at the new location instead of moving or copying the executable file.

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Each item in Explorer has a Properties dialog box. A Properties dialog box is a source of information and configuration options for the item. The tabs and entries of the Properties dialog box depend on what the item is (whether it is a drive, folder, application, or shortcut); specific properties options are discussed later in this book. You can use the Properties dialog box to share a folder, set file attributes (such as read-only, system, hidden, or archive), or check for the file size or MS-DOS name. If you need more information on a file, check the Properties dialog box. You can invoke the Properties dialog box in any of the following ways:

• Right-click on an item and choose Properties.
• Select an item and click on Properties in the Explorer toolbar.
• Select an item and choose Properties from the File menu.

The Context menu (invoked with a right-click) is a fast track to several useful Explorer options, such as Properties, Sharing, Find, Cut, Copy, Delete, and Create Shortcut.

The best way to learn about Explorer is to explore, as most readers of this book probably already have. A few features worth noting are as follows:

• Find. The Find command in the Tools menu lets you search for a file, folder, or computer on your network. Windows 98 also adds options for a web search (through Internet Explorer) or a search for Address Book entries in the Outlook Express Address book. The Find Files or Folders command is very useful for locating resources on your PC. The Find function supports wild card searches. You can search for a filename or a text string. You can search by date or limit the search to a certain file size or file type. The Find Computer option is useful for finding computers that are on your network but, for whatever reason, do not appear in the Network Neighborhood browse list.
• Map Network Drive. The Map Network Drive command in the Tools menu lets you associate a drive letter with a shared directory on another computer. The drive letter will then provide seamless access to the network share as if it were another drive on the local system. (See Chapter 21, "Understanding Windows 98 Networking," for more information about drive-letter mapping.)
• Folder Options. The Folder Options command in the View menu lets you define Explorer display settings. In the View tab, you can select what types of file and folder entries will appear and what information will accompany those entries. The File Types tab (see Figure 1.5) lets you create and manage file associations. A file association maps a filename extension (such as .doc) to a particular application (such as Word). Windows 98 uses file associations to determine what application to use to open a file when you double-click on it. A large number of file associations are preconfigured into Windows 98. You can add more associations or edit or remove an association using the Folder Options File Types tab.

A Network Neighborhood icon appears near the bottom of the Explorer directory tree. Double-click on this icon for a view of computers currently sharing folders and files on the network. Shares appear below the computer that shares them. Double-click on a share to reveal folders and files within that share. The Explorer interface thus provides access not only to local resources but also to shared resources on the network.

Taskbar

Taskbar, like Explorer, requires no introduction for Windows 95 users. The intent of the Windows 95 taskbar was to display easily clickable labels for any minimized tasks. You could click on the task and immediately bring the task to the foreground. Windows 98's taskbar serves this function, but also provides some additional features. For instance, the Windows 98 taskbar can include icons that launch shortcuts to commonly used files, folders, or applications.

Figure 1.5

The Folder Options File Types tab.

The Windows 98 taskbar, in addition to displaying minimized applications, can include built-in toolbars that provide quick access to various functions. To add or remove a taskbar toolbar, right-click on an empty portion of the taskbar and choose Toolbars. You can check or uncheck a toolbar from the toolbar list, or you can add a new toolbar. The built-in toolbar options are as follows:

• Address. The Address toolbar lets you enter an URL directly on the taskbar. Window 98 attempts to locate an offline copy of the specified resource or launches a browser to find an online copy.
• Links. The Links toolbar displays Internet links from the Windows Favorites folder. The Links list is a list of Internet links in Internet Explorer's Favorites menu.
• Desktop. The Desktop toolbar displays the icons presently available on the desktop in the taskbar. This allows you to avoid minimizing a foreground application to hunt for a desktop shortcut.
• Quick Launch. The Quick Launch toolbar provides quick access to commonly used applications. By default, the Quick Launch toolbar appears just to the right of the Start menu. You can add an item to the Quick Launch toolbar simply by dragging the item to the toolbar. To remove an item from the toolbar, right-click on the item and choose Delete.

You can also create a new toolbar by using the Toolbars command of the Taskbar context menu.

You will quickly discover that turning on all (or even some) of the taskbar toolbars will make your taskbar so crowded that the simplicity of the taskbar concept is completely lost. If all the bars and icons won't fit on the taskbar, a scroll arrow appears to reveal additional choices. Your taskbar configuration will depend on your needs, but one prudent option would be to configure an appropriate Quick Launch toolbar and leave the other toolbars turned off. You can reach the Links or enter an URL from the Start menu, and you can already access desktop icons from the desktop.

The Taskbar Properties dialog box (see Figure 1.6) offers a few additional taskbar configuration options. To invoke the Taskbar Properties dialog box, right-click on an empty portion of the taskbar and choose Properties. The Autohide function makes the taskbar disappear when a foreground application is open until you move the cursor in the vicinity of the taskbar area, at which time the taskbar will reappear.

Figure 1.6

The Taskbar Properties dialog box.

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NOTE: By default, the taskbar appears at the bottom of the screen. To move the taskbar to the top or the left or right edge of the screen, just drag the taskbar to the new location.

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My Computer

The My Computer icon offers a view of local resources. You can browse a drive or access Control Panel, the Printers folder, the Dial-Up Networking folder, or the Scheduled task application (see Figure 1.7).

Figure 1.7

Inside My Computer.

Right-click on the My Computer icon and choose Properties to access the System Control Panel (see Chapter 6, "Control Panel").

Network Neighborhood

Network Neighborhood offers a view of network resources--it's kind of like My Computer for the network. You can browse through a list of network PCs, and access any shares located on each of the PCs. See Chapter 21 for more information about Network Neighborhood.

As mentioned earlier in this chapter, Network Neighborhood also appears as an icon in Explorer.

Right-click on the Network Neighborhood icon and choose Properties to access the Network Control Panel (see Chapter 6).

Briefcase

Briefcase is a useful version-control application commonly used with portable PCs. See Chap-ter 19, "Windows 98 for Portables," for more information about the Briefcase application.

Shortcuts

Shortcuts are another feature inherited from the Windows 95 interface. A shortcut is an object that provides a link to another object.

You can move shortcuts to your desktop to link automatically to a given application, or place shortcuts anywhere else they might be useful, such as in the Start Menu Programs folder or in an application folder.

To create a shortcut, right-click on an object and choose Create Shortcut. You can then drag, cut, copy, paste, or delete the shortcut as you wish. Alternatively, you can right-drag an object (drag it with the right mouse button down) to a new location, and Windows 98 will ask if you want to create a shortcut.

Right-clicking on a shortcut (and choosing Properties) reveals the Shortcut Document Properties dialog box (see Figure 1.8). The Shortcut Document Properties dialog box lists some basic information about the shortcut, such as the name of the target (the object to which the shortcut provides access). Click the Find Target button in the Shortcut tab to go directly to the target in My Computer. (The Find Target button is useful because, often, when users access the Properties dialog box of the shortcut they're really looking for the Properties dialog box of the target.)

Figure 1.8

The Shortcut Document Properties dialog box.

If you are moving so fast that you don't even have time to look for a shortcut and click on it, you can associate the shortcut with a keyboard combination. Typing the keyboard combination will then automatically invoke the shortcut. The keyboard shortcut must begin with the Ctrl+Alt characters. To define a shortcut key, click on the Shortcut Key box in the Shortcut tab of the Shortcut Properties dialog box (refer to Figure 1.8) and type a key. If you type 3, the entry will appear as Ctrl+Alt+3.

If the object to which a shortcut points moves, Windows 98 attempts to automatically update the link to the shortcut target; however, it isn't always successful. If the shortcut object moves and the link isn't updated, the shortcut can become orphaned--it won't point to anything. If a shortcut suddenly becomes inoperable, check the Target entry in the Shortcuts tab and update the link if necessary.

The General tab (see Figure 1.9) lists additional information about the shortcut and lets you set file attributes. that the shortcut object has its own MS-DOS name with an .lnk extension.

Figure 1.9

The Shortcut Properties General tab.

Recycling Bin

Recycling Bin is another feature from Windows 95 that requires little introduction. The idea behind Recycling Bin is that, when you delete a file, the file disappears to a retrievable location instead of disappearing from your disk completely. When you delete a file, you don't really delete it--you move it to the Recycling Bin.

The Recycling Bin has its own Properties dialog box with its own configurable features. Right-click on Recycling Bin and choose Properties to configure Recycling Bin.

The Recycle Bin Properties Global tab (see Figure 1.10) lets you define a maximum size for the Recycling Bin. The option buttons at the top of the dialog box let you specify whether the dialog boxes will be configured independently, or whether the global settings will apply to all drives. The default maximum size is 10% of the total drive space. Uncheck the box labeled Display Delete Confirmation Dialog Box if you don't want Windows 98 to issue a warning before deleting.

If you select the Configure Drives Independently option button (refer to Figure 1.10), you can set a maximum Recycling Bin size for each drive on your system. The Drive Configuration tabs offer another option: You can elect to bypass the Recycling Bin and remove files immediately when they are deleted.

Figure 1.10

The Recycle Bin Properties Global tab.

Launching Programs at Startup

You can configure Windows 98 to start an application automatically when you log on. To start an application automatically, place a shortcut to that application in the StartUp subfolder of the Start Menu\Programs folder. If your system is configured for user profiles (see Chapter 8), and if the active user profile is configured to include the Start Menu (see the discussion of the Users Control Panel in Chapter 6), the Start Menu\Programs\StartUp directory will be in the user's Profile directory (Windows\Profiles\username). Otherwise, Windows 98 will check the default Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp directory for startup information.

Active Desktop

Active is the word for Windows 98 as Microsoft attempts to build a bridge from the DOS kingdom to the world of web-based technologies. Windows 98's Active Desktop consists of both new and newly-named features designed to enhance the user's desktop experience.

Some Active Desktop features are not really recent developments--file type associations are now considered an Active Desktop item. Other features are new enough but hardly seem profound--for example, you can add a background image to your document folders. But behind it all, Microsoft's attempt to integrate HTML with the desktop could yield some interesting results if users take an interest in it.

Windows 98's Active Desktop consists of two layers. A transparent foreground layer contains traditional Windows shortcuts and icons. A background HTML layer brings the power of active HTML to your desktop. A few of the Active Desktop's tricks are as follows:

• You can display a Web page as wallpaper, complete with links to other HTML-based documents.
• You can add special Active Desktop items to your display--updatable floating components such as a stock market ticker or a clock. Microsoft provides an online library of Active Desktop items called the Active Desktop Gallery (described later in this chapter).
• You can customize folders to appear more like web pages.

Potentially, the single most significant aspect of the Active Desktop may be its relationship to another of Microsoft's initiatives and another important feature of Windows 98: Active Channels. You'll learn more about Active Channels in the next section.

To activate Web-based desktop features, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on an empty part of the desktop and click on Properties.

2. Select the Web tab. Check View my Active Desktop as a Web Page.

To add HTML wallpaper to your desktop, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on an empty part of the desktop and click on Properties.

2. Select the Web tab. Check View my Active Desktop as a Web Page.

3. Select the Background tab. Click on Browse. Browse for an HTML page you'd like to use as wallpaper.

An Active Desktop item can be a graphics file, an HTML document, a ready-made item from the Microsoft Active Desktop Gallery, or an Active Channel (see the next section).

To add an Active Desktop item, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on an empty part of the desktop and click on Properties.

2. Select the Web tab. Check View my Active Desktop as a Web Page.

3. Click on New.

4. Windows 98 asks if you'd like to choose an item from the Microsoft Active Desktop Gallery. Click on Yes to choose an item. Windows 98 automatically connects to the Active Desktop Gallery Web site. If you want to choose a graphics file, an HTML file, or an Active Channel, click No, then enter the path to the item.

If you are receiving the Active Desktop item through an Active Channel, you can configure how and when you'll receive updates for the item. The content will be updated automatically through an Active Channel subscription.

To configure the subscription for an Active Channel desktop item, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on an empty part of the desktop and choose Properties.

2. Select the Web tab. Choose the Active Desktop item for which you'd like to configure a subscription and click on Properties.

3. Configure subscription options.

To customize the appearance of a folder, follow these steps:

1. Select a folder in Explorer or My Computer.

2. From the View menu, choose Customize this Folder.

3. In the Customize this Folder Wizard, choose whether you'd like to create an HTML document, add a background picture, or cancel the current customization.

Active Channels

The Active Channel feature is an extension of the automation and update themes that are central to Windows 98. An Active Channel is a channel into the computer from an Internet or intranet web server. When you open an Active Channel, you create a pathway through which the server can automatically deliver updated HTML content to the Windows 98 machine. An example of this might be an Active Desktop item such as Microsoft's Stock Ticker (described earlier in this chapter). You can place the stock ticker on your desktop and configure the Active Channel subscription (see the preceding section) to automatically update the stock market information periodically. A corporate intranet can use Active Channels to distribute work schedules, calendars, sales figures, and dynamic information to Windows 98 workstations.

To subscribe to an Active Channel, follow these steps:

1. Browse the Active Channel site. (Microsoft recommends using Internet Explorer.)

2. At the Active Channel web site, click on the button labeled Add to Channels.

3. Provide the necessary subscription information in the Subscribe Channel dialog box.

Active Channel web sites appear in the channel bar (see Figure 1.11). During Setup, you can choose a predefined set of Internet channels for the channel bar based on your home country (see Chapter 2). When you subscribe to a new Active Channel, the channel appears in the channel bar. To delete a site from the channel bar, right-click on the site and choose Delete.

Figure 1.11

The Windows 98 channel bar.

Preparing for Installation

A large-scale deployment of a new desktop operating system is a major event for most organizations. The deployment and configuration options discussed in this chapter (and in later chapters) will help you decide whether, how, and when you'll upgrade to Windows 98. But part of the planning process is planning the installation itself.

A large-scale rollout is a management challenge as well as a technical challenge. All recommendations for the rollout process are necessarily general because the real procedures depend so much on the features of particular situations and corporate cultures. Microsoft and others recommend a deployment process that falls roughly along these lines:

1. Develop a detailed vision of the role you want Windows 98 to serve. Determine how you'll deploy the features described in this chapter. This could require detailed input from users, managers, and technical staff.

2. Develop a configuration for your network based on user needs and sound design principles. Determine where to put servers, routers, printers, and so forth.

3. Develop an overall deployment plan for the Windows 98 installation process. If you are installing over the network, determine where you'll place the Windows 98 installation files and how you'll initiate Setup on the client machines (see Chapter 2). Devise installation scripts that meet your deployment and configuration requirements.

4. Test the installation procedures you plan to employ. (This is very important!) Microsoft recommends that you set up a complete testing lab to model and troubleshoot all aspects of the deployment process. It is important to accurately test the installation techniques you plan to deploy on representative hardware and software platforms. Identify any glitches in advance.

5. Provide training for technical personnel who will be assisting with the installation or upgrade.

6. Provide Windows 98 training for users, so they'll be ready for productive work when the new systems are in place. Get feedback from users on the trial configuration for any necessary adjustments to the proposed configurations.

7. Notify users in advance of the deployment schedule. Make sure critical deployment steps don't conflict with other critical events within your organization.

8. Conduct a pilot rollout, a small-scale simulation of the complete installation process.

9. Get feedback on the pilot rollout from users and technical staff. Make final adjustments to the process.

10. Gather all necessary tools and make final assessments of cost and time requirements. Create file templates that technical staff will use for tracking and documenting the installation process.

11. Roll out Windows 98.

For more on the Windows 98 Setup process, see Chapters 2 and 3.

Conclusion

This chapter examined some of the choices you'll need to make when deciding how to deploy Windows 98 in your environment. You'll continue to make choices throughout the life of your Windows 98 installation. For a more in-depth look at how to configure and customize Windows 98 for your environment, read on.

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