This appendix introduces you to the Microsoft Network. Windows 95 supports an interface that can use the Microsoft Network in conjunction with your other applications. Many online services, such as CompuServe and Prodigy, compete with the Microsoft Network, but Microsoft Network is important to you because Windows 95 includes software that connects you to the Microsoft Network. Once you sign on to Microsoft Network with Windows 95, you can sign up for the Microsoft Network online service and begin using Microsoft Network over your phone lines right away.
One of the most important Microsoft Network features is its Internet access capability. Although you can access the Internet from other software, Microsoft Network integrates so well into Windows 95 that you should consider using Microsoft Network.
Microsoft Network is always changing. Over time, Microsoft will add new features and online locations to Microsoft Network. All you need is a basic understanding of Microsoft Network to use the network. Once connected, you can exchange e-mail, faxes, and document files with others on the system, shop without leaving your keyboard, get the latest news, sports, weather, and financial information, get help with software problems, and access an online multimedia encyclopedia.
This appendix reviews some of the fundamental Microsoft Network services so that you can see whether Microsoft Network offers services you need. Complete books have been written on the Microsoft Network; although those books provide you with every detail about Microsoft Network (and give you information overload sometimes), you don't need every detail to use and enjoy Microsoft Network effectively. Microsoft Network is easy to explore using the same point-and-click mouse movements you are already used to.
As with most quality online services, Microsoft charges you for your connection time to the Microsoft Network. Maintaining such a service is costly, and Microsoft recaptures that cost. Perhaps the easiest way to pay for your Microsoft Network usage is to have a credit card handy when you sign up for the service.
CAUTION: The cost for the Microsoft Network changes depending on the offers currently available. This book cannot tell you what you will have to pay. Be assured that Microsoft will not be able to charge much more than similar services for your monthly access which, at the time of this writing, runs around $20 a month for unlimited access--$50 if you use a special ISDN high-speed line. If you use certain additional Microsoft Network extra-pay services, you may be charged more than the monthly minimum. You can access Microsoft Network for as little as about $7 per month if you use another Internet Service Provider and you want to access the Microsoft Network-specific locations.
Before explaining the things you can do on the Microsoft Network, you should sign up for access. If you decide that you do not want to access Microsoft Network any longer, you can cancel your access while online and not incur additional charges.
Microsoft Network's access is now completely Internet based. If you logged into Microsoft Network previously and did not like the service more than your current online service, you should try it again. Microsoft has implemented some major changes into Microsoft Network.
For example, Microsoft Network didn't used to be Internet based; although you could access the Internet through Microsoft Network, you did not use Microsoft Network for direct Internet access. In a way, your computer's Microsoft Network software would issue Internet commands to Microsoft Network, and then Microsoft Network would send those commands to the Internet and return the response. The end result was that you never saw the Internet directly; you only saw it through Microsoft Network's interface.
JUST A MINUTE:: Now that Microsoft Network is fully Internet based, you only need to learn one interface--your Internet browser--to access both Microsoft Network and other Internet services. The common browser features such as returning to previous screens with a single click work inside the Microsoft Network. If Microsoft Network were not Internet based, you would have to learn two sets of interface commands: one for Microsoft Network and one for the Internet using your browser.
When you first log onto Microsoft Network, Windows 95 will use your Internet browser
(see Hour 24 for information on Internet browsers) such as Internet Explorer. Microsoft
Network's home page's Internet URL address is www.msn.com/.
Although the Microsoft Network home page changes frequently, you'll see a Web page
that contains features similar to those that Figure C.1 shows.
Figure C.1.
A sample Microsoft Network opening screen.
TIME SAVER: Once you begin using Microsoft Network, you may want to see special information on the opening page. For example, you may want today's weather in your area and a few stock quotes to appear on your Microsoft Network home page. If so, click the Custom Page hot spot and Microsoft Network lets you design your own Microsoft Network home page!
At the top of Microsoft Network's home page, you'll find the following menu options:
The On Stage area is grouped into six channels. When you want to access a particular
subject, you can tune in to that subject's channel. When you move your mouse pointer
over the On Stage area, a drop-down menu appears with the six channels from which
you can select. In addition, the MSN often lists the six channels at the bottom of
your MSN window; you can click on the channel icons to go directly to a channel.
Each of the following sections describes the six channels you can change to.
Figure C.2.
Encarta provides an on-line encyclopedia.
Figure C.3. Invest your money with Microsoft Investor.
One of the Microsoft Network features with the most promise is the MSNBC (Microsoft Network/NBC Studios) area. Microsoft designed the MSNBC Web areas to coincide with the MSNBC television news and entertainment services that are appearing on broadcast networks across the country. Often, such as in the 1996 elections, the MSNBC Microsoft Network site supplements information you watch on the MSNBC television network. In the 1996 election coverage, the Microsoft Network MSNBC site provided all the election statistics while the television network broadcasted interviews and showed election summary results.
JUST A MINUTE:: Keep your eyes on the MSNBC site. It appears that Microsoft wants to integrate its network broadcast directly on the MSNBC Web pages! Therefore, you'll be able to see and view the broadcast while surfing the Internet. Although today's Internet speeds and bottlenecks do not allow for an extremely tight broadcast integration just yet, some day such a feature should be commonplace.
The second channel looks at several entertainment-related services, including the following:
The third channel supports an educational flair with topics that range from history to science to geography. Microsoft has just begun a new online magazine named Slate that covers current political matters in a light and often humorous format. Figure C.4 shows a typical Slate opening contents page.
Microsoft's new adventure magazine called Mungo Park enables you to explore
remote regions of the world by using its multimedia capabilities. You can visit Mungo
Park each month on Channel 3.
Figure C.4.
Read Slate to invoke thought.
Relax and take a break on Channel 4 by getting advice with cooking, travel, and home; spend time with medical experts to learn more about health and illness prevention. If you're into fashion, check out V-Style, a new online fashion showplace and discussion area.
Participate in powerful adult-oriented debates on current issues, the entertainment industry, and fashion. You'll find 15 Seconds of Fame, which features several hilarious bloopers.
TIME SAVER: If you're new to the Internet, Channel 5 offers highlights of the Internet's best sites and resources so that you can stay abreast of the latest and greatest Internet pages.
A channel for young adults and teens that targets the current trends that interest
teens. Channel 6 (see Figure C.5) offers entertainment and games for the younger
crowds who surf the Internet after school.
Figure C.5.
Channel 6 offers an interactive high school story line.
Three special Channel 6 online features are the Bad Advice (dos and don'ts
for teen dressing, school, and relationships), Spike's World (one of the most
exciting interactive Internet gaming worlds on the Internet), and High School
(an interactive story to help students cope with today's high schools).
Microsoft lets you try Microsoft Network for a trial period before you commit yourself to the service. Microsoft Network's promising future features (such as the MSNBC interface) make Microsoft Network a powerful contender among Internet service providers and online services. Microsoft Network experienced the fastest initial growth rate of any service, with more than one million new users signed up in its first year of operation. There's a lot good about Microsoft Network, the least of which is the strong Microsoft presence for users of Windows 95.
