MSN Dashboard
All New And Interesting Features

The MSN Explorer software released recently is all set to be a sure winner. It has packed all the interesting Internet features into a colourful buttonlined window. This impressive dashboard takes away the trouble of having to set-up and learn each of their functions.

Though this feature is available with America Online, what makes it more appealing is that it comes free; you may use it over any Internet connection. The new program's designers have carefully and effectively outdone the best in business. Whereas AOL lets you create accounts for seven family members, MSN allows for nine accounts. AOL may let you check your AOL mail from any AOL equipped PC by its Guest Account. In MSN, your Web bookmarks and 'Buddy list' follow you from PC to PC. MSN Explorer has colourful graphics which exploit the full screen. You may switch on to any Internet station of your choice with the My Radio button and volume slider. Does your PC have a microphone and speakers? MSN allows you to avail of their Make a Phone Call Command whereby you may make free calls to anywhere in the United States and Canada. This facility still has a few snags waiting to be rectified. This threat to phone companies is made less convenient by MSN quite deliberately. The command lies hidden in an icon menu, and you need to type in every phone number rather than integrating the dialling feature with the MSN Explorer address book.

The programs in MSN Explorer have been neatly built in and gleaned with many planned design touches. For instance, the number on the E-mail and Online Buddy Toolbar is indicative of the number of messages and friends waiting online. Green icons in your address book allow you to identify anyone online, facilitating instant messaging instead of e-mails.

This sleek and convenient-to-use MSN Explorer comes absolutely free. Wonder how this will ever benefit Microsoft? The simple answer lies in the revenue from advertisements. The homepage, chat rooms and phone dialling pads are all veritably plastered with blinking ads. This almost gives you an effect of reading your email in a disco. In a larger way MSN Explorer may be another ambitious move by Microsoft to own the Internet.

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