Active Channel is a website type which was introduced by Internet Explorer 4.0 in 1997. It allows synchronizing website content and viewing it offline. It makes use of the Channel Definition Format, which is a way of defining a website's content and structure.
Most Active Channels were provided by bigger entertainment companies like Disney, WB or AOL and also made heavy use of DHTML (Dynamic HTML).
Each country had different channels, so picking a country during the installation of Internet Explorer 4 (and therefore Windows 98) was important. Channels could be displayed in a Channel Bar.
Active Channel support has been removed from Internet Explorer as of version 7 as it had been superseded by the more popular and standards-based RSS format.
Famous quotes containing the words active and/or channel:
“Few, if any, creatures are equally active all night.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Eddie did not die. He is no longer on Channel 4, and our sets are tuned to Channel 4; he’s on Channel 7, but he’s still broadcasting. Physical incarnation is highly overrated; it is one corner of universal possibility.”
—Marianne Williamson (b. 1953)