Warning: Developer Release Only

Now users can have the information they care about delivered straight to their desktops—when they want it; the way they want it. Internet Explorer 4.0's Webcasting feature is the ideal solution for users who want to take advantage of the world of valuable information available at their fingertips without dealing with the frustration of trying to find and keep track of the content that matters most to them.

Today's new "push" and "pull" technologies are what Webcasting is all about. With Internet Explorer 4.0, Microsoft aims to lead the way in push and pull delivery by providing an open, standards-based solution that allows Web authors to send information to users either on Web pages, via software components, in e-mail messages, or through broadcast content. Internet Explorer 4.0's Webcasting feature makes information easy to access, plus it automatically notifies users when their favorite Web sites have changed and lets them read the pages offline for greater convenience and less expense. (Check out how our approach compares with Netscape's.)

Users who want to stop hunting and start having fresh content delivered to them can take advantage of the following Webcasting methods offered via Internet Explorer 4.0:

Site subscriptions provide a convenient and effective solution whether you want to stay current on daily news and information, keep track of monthly status reports within your company, or be alerted to weekly events and activities in your area. The major advantage of site subscriptions is that Internet Explorer 4.0 does all the work for you, including:

• Automatically retrieving information, so you don't have to go surfing to find it.
• Storing the information offline, so you can view the content later at your convenience—even while traveling on a plane or train!
• Quickly notifing you when something new has arrived. A visual signal in your listing of favorites lets you know when one of your favorite Web sites has been updated.

An open standard for push content: As part of enabling any Web site to become a Web broadcaster, Internet Explorer 4.0 will implement the Channel Definition Format (CDF), an open standard that Microsoft has developed and submitted to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to optimize the delivery of push content to millions of Internet users. More than 30 software development companies and content providers have already announced support for the standard. Any company or information provider can author content to take advantage of CDF, any server can run Web sites that are enhanced for CDF, and any broadcast-enabled client software can access channels available on Web sites using CDF.