Gold group for classic (June of 99)

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WebTV Previews Classic2 Home Page
Last Updated 6/9/99 4:00 PM PST

Update: June 9th, 1999
Welcome to the Gold Group, Sprout! I'll be updating this site from time to time to let you know what's going on with your involvement in Gold. In the meantime, you're running the same software you were running in Green, so please continue to surf, to print whenever possible, and to file problem reports whenever you see anything out of the ordianry.
Thanks! Mike


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New Features Area

Classic2 New Features Spell Check in Mail and Posts:

This is only available when you're writing an email or a post. You can use it at any time as you're writing. Spell Check instructions: When you're ready to check the spelling of the text in the body of your email, select "Spelling" from the sidebar. You'll see a pop-up letting you know that your mail is being checked. You'll then see a screen with the results of the spell check. The top box shows the word in question within the text of the message. The middle box shows the misspelled word. The final box offers some selections for you to chose from. Selecting any of the words in the final box will replace the misspelled word with that word. You may choose "Skip Word" if you do not wish the word in question to be changed in any way. The "Previous" button allows you to see the last word you changed in any series of changes. Finally, select "Done" when you're finished checking the selection. It is important to note that this feature will only be around for about a week, so do test it as much as you can before we turn it off in order to make some final adjustments. I'll let you know when we're going to turn spell check off (via a post in the newsgroup) so you don't have to go through the trouble of creating a problem report when you notice spell check is missing.
Thanks! Mike WebTV Previews Department


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WebTV Previews Classic2 Test Plan Page
Last Updated 1/20/99 at 8:53 AM PST

Below is the list of everything we'll be testing over the course of the Classic2 trial. As you can see, I've divided the whole of the test plan into groups of features. You should test all features under the group number below that you belong to; in other words, if you're in group three, you should be testing for everything listed under "Group Three Should Test the Following:". Please don't hesitate to send me an email if you're the least bit confused by my directions or anything in the Test Plan.
Thanks! Mike, Previews

Group One Should Test the Following:
Mail: You'll want to try every combination of sending mail you can think of - for example:
--> Send a piece of mail to one person. Then send it to ten. Did all ten recipients get that mail?
--> Send a piece of mail to someone and CC: someone else. Then send a piece of mail to someone and CC: ten people. Did all recipients get that mail?
--> Reply to a piece of mail and CC: yourself. Did you get a copy?
--> Forward some mail.
--> Send and receive web pages.

Run spell check on a page which has a hyperlink in it. If you're not familiar with the terminology, a hyperlink is a full internet address that, when sent, will appear in selectable blue to the person who reads that mail.

In the Setup section: WebTV Users:
(1) Add a user to your Classic2 box and make sure you can get to the regular WebTV homepage (as opposed to the Previews homepage) with this user. As the trial progresses, you should occasionally use this user to conduct tests. You should also create a user with a Kidfriendly account and make sure everything on the Kidfriendly homepage looks and works as it does on your Classic unit. Create a password for this user to make sure that feature works.
(2) Remove the user you created and make a new one sometime during the trial just to test the Remove User feature.

Options: does it work while box here is checked? Unchecked?

Music: Here are some test plan definitions for Music tests:
Level 1: What you see if you select "Music" from Setup on Homepage
Level 2: What you see if you select "Choose Music Styles" from Level 1
Level 3: What you see if you select the name of any Style from Level 2
Level 4: What you hear if you select the name of any song within any style category from Level 3
Go to Level 1: With the "Background Music" box unchecked:
(1) Be sure no music plays
(2) Click on Choose Music Styles
Click on each music style's name
Click on individual songs, see "Getting song" if you haven't loaded the song up already
--> Listen to see if some of each song plays Go to Level 1: With the "Background Music" box checked:
(1) Click on each music style's (Level 2) name (not the box next to the name) to see if some songs are pre-chosen. They should be.
(2) Click on one selection at a time to see if randomly chosen songs play
(3) Select the box next to one music style on Level 2, select "Done"
--> Listen to hear if pre-selected songs play
--> Repeat step three with several boxes on Level 2 Don't forget to perform the tests detailed in "Whole Group Tests".

Group Two Should Test the Following:
Favorites: Open up your Personal and Recommended folders. Is there anything in these folders? There should be.
--> Go to your favorite website and add it to your "Personal" folder using your Save key. Did you see the treasure chest open, glimmer, and then close? Did you hear a sound as this happened? Do you find that site in your Personal folder? Can you go to that site by selecting the thumbnail image in your Personal folder? Can you make a folder, save something in that folder, and access the site you save in that folder from that folder?
--> Can you remove sites from folders and remove whole folders?
--> Can you Organize within your Favorites folders? There are several options: Discarding, Listing, Moving from one folder to another, Renaming folders, and Shortcuts. Try each feature, one at a time, and report any problems.
--> Over the course of the trial, occasionally perform this test: begin to write an email and then:
(1) hit home, then back. Is your message still there?
(2) Begin to write a message and then power off your box. Power on, go to mail, and select write. The message you were working on should still be there. Is it? In the Setup section off your homepage, test everything in the Mail section:
Extras: Make sure none of the Extras are actually in place before its box is checked.
(1) Select box 1 and then "Done". Go to see if storage area is there. Do you see 2 screens explaining this feature before you get to these three folders? You should.
--> Send a piece of mail to yourself.
--> Check the Sent folder to see if it's there.
--> Go to Mail list and get thet mail you sent to yourself. Save it. Check Saved folder to see if it's there Discard that piece of mail. Check Discarded folder to see if it's there. Make a note of the date and check in one week to make sure message was deleted from Discarded folder when it should have been.
(2) Select box 2 and then "Done".
--> Go to Mail.
--> Select a message in your mail list. Select Reply. See if there is a button at the bottom of your screen there, which reads, "Attach original message"
--> If that button is there, select it Screen should be redrawn with original message below a blank message space. The original message should have a blue button in the upper right-hand corner which reads, "Detach".
--> Click Detach
--> See if original message was removed and the "Attach original message" button put back in its place.
--> Attach original message, erase addressee and replace that address with your primary user's address.
(3) Select box 3 and then "Done".
--> Make sure the CC line appears under the "To:" line in a new message
--> Send an email to someone not on your WebTV and CC: your primary user. Confirm delivery of message to yourself.
--> Select a message in your Mail List which was sent to more than one person. Select "Reply All", type a message, and send it. Confirm delivery with other people on that list. In the Listing section of Mail in Setup: Select both of the buttons your find under this setting one at a time, checking your mail list to be sure messages have been re-ordered accordingly. In the Remote Mail section of Mail in Setup: If you have an email account with a service other than WebTV: contact that other service's customer service department and ask them the following questions:
(1) Do you support Pop3 remote mail services?
(2) What is your Pop3 server name? If they do support Pop3 mail:
Select Setup from the homepage
Select Mail
Select Remote Mail Follow the on-screen directions: If you have any questions as to the definitions of any of the fields you must fill out in order to use this feature, select the actual word in blue on the screen entitled "Use Remote Mail". If you are able to get this feature working then please change the setting, throughout testing, which allows you to leave messages on the server you're getting mail from. Confirm this is working as you expect it to.
In the Signature section of Mail in Setup:
(1) Make sure nothing shows up at the bottom of email you send before you test this feature.
(2) Access this feature and type something into the text box located there such as, "Sincerely, J. Q. Public" or whatever your name happens to be.
--> Send a few pieces of mail, CC-ing yourself. Make sure the Signature is at the bottom of the email you get and the bottom of the email you sent to someone else.
In the Message light section of Mail in Setup: There are two tests you should do with this feature.
(1) Set this feature for a time that you are most likely to be home.
--> Does your box go and check for mail around the time you set it to? If it is checking for mail you will see your Classic2 turn itself on, get connected, and stay on for a bit. You should then see the message light come on if you have new mail. (It might be helpful for testing purposes if you send yourself mail as close to the time your box is set to check as is possible. You should then log off and wait for the box to perform this function.) BE ADVISED: The notation on the screen where you set your Message Watch time is indeed true. The time you choose is not the exact time the box will likely check for your messages. Your box may check 1/2 hour before or after the time you check. There's a very long explanation for this behavior, but it is intentional, so please don't file a problem report if your box doesn't check right when you asked it to. The flip side of this is that you may not see the box log on and check for mail if you're watching for it but are in the other room doing something while waiting for this to happen; keep a vigilant eye/ear for this function. Be sure your WebTV is not re-setting the time you selected to 12:00. I have heard of units doing this before, so check your retreival time every now and again to make sure it is where you left it.
(2) Select the message watch feature but be sure the check time is marked "Don't Check" - be sure your WebTV is not dialing up to get mail. Don't forget to perform the tests detailed in "Whole Group Tests".

Group Three Should Test the Following:
Explore: Our biggest concern here is that all links work and that you can access content offered through this venue. Please surf it at your leisure over the course of the trial and be sure to report any problems you find.
In the Dialing section of the Setup menu: (Setup is located on your homepage.) Turn on "Audible dialing" which is located under "Advanced" in Dialing options. Turn up the volume on your television. In the "Basic" section of "Dialing" located in Setup:
(1) Turn on "Pulse dialing", log off, and reconnect. Can you hear pulse dialing? Turn this off after this test.
(2) If you need to dial a prefix to dial out of your house add the prefix in the box on this page and be sure your WebTV is doing so. In the "Call Waiting" section of "Dialing" located in Setup: You'll have to toy around with settings here to make sure your WebTV is adhering to settings you choose. This includes an adjustment to the sensitivity your WebTV is using. In the "Advanced" section of "Dialing" located in Setup: Again, toy with these settings. Report any inconsistencies.
In the "Reset" section of "Dialing" located in Setup: Change all dialing options and then hit this button. Your settings should revert to default settings, which are the settings you found when you first accessed any of the choices in "Dialing". In the "Television" section located in Setup:
Center: Follow directions on-screen. Is this working?
Picture: Follow directions on-screen. Is this working?
Printing: Turn each of these features on one at a time and make sure they are working as you'd expect. If you're not sure what to expect, click on the phrase in blue next to each box for a description of the expected operation. Text and Keyboard: Change the text size. Is basic text in Web pages and email affected? It should be. On-screen keyboard: Select each of these options one at a time. Does the on-screen keyboard change?

Don't forget to perform the tests detailed in "Whole Group Tests". Group Four Should Test the Following:
Search: Make sure this feature works as you'd expect the one on your Classic to work.
In the "Using WebTV" section located on your homepage: Club WebTV Follow this link and see if it takes you right to the Club WebTV site.
Take the Tour: Turn up the volume on your television set for this one.
(1) Follow the tour all the way through once from beginning to end. Be on the look out for:
--> Pages which look funny in any way
--> Audio which is not working
--> Pictures not appropriate to the BPS unit, keyboard, or remote Instructions Please take a look at each of these pages. File a problem report on any misspellings, incorrect information, information which does not apply to a Classic2 box (such as info about TV functionality appropriate only to the Plus box). Help Center Please use this link and make sure it works. Discuss Follow this link through the explanation pages and participate in this discussion for a post or two. OF COURSE, YOU SHOULD NOT SAY ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR CLASSIC2. Your non-disclosure agreement prohibits this. In the "Community" section located off your homepage: Around Town Scroll all the way to the bottom of this screen and enter the name of your town. Send along a Problem Report if you cannot find your town's name.
(1) Once you have found your town and it is displayed on the Around Town screen, go through each category, making sure (as much as you can) that the information is both there and accurate. Things to look out for (among anything out of the ordinary):
--> Weather information which is missing or incorrect
--> Any information which is actually for another location Chat
(1) Be sure to chat at Talk City and report any problems you have with accessing rooms there, or using features on the sidebar. Remember, you're not allowed to discuss anything about your testing with WebTV.
(2) Also be sure to join one "Celebrity Chat" during the course of the trial.
In the "What's on TV" section located on your homepage: Get listings for your area to make sure they're accurate. Report any problems with accuracy, availability, program information, or the ability to add a show to your daily planner. Don't forget to perform the tests detailed in "Whole Group Tests".
That's it! Mike Previews Department


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WebTV Previews Classic2 Whole Group Tests Page
Last Updated 1/20/99 at 8:53 AM PST

Everyone please test the following...
Please print something. We now support all HP and Cannon printers, so if you could borrow a Cannon or HP from someone to print with it would be extra helpful. Be sure to unplug your box and plug it back in a few times a week throughout the trial, alternating unplugging at the box with unplugging at the wall. Also occasionally unplug your AV cables and telephone line. Plug them back in. Report any differences in your box's behavior. We need to test the consistency of your Classic2's sound levels.

Please perform the following test and report your findings in the newsgroup:
--> Turn any background music off and the volume on your television up to a comfortable level
--> Hit your "Options" button over and over again, listening to the noise that accompanies this action. Does the sound level of this noise remain the same? In other words, does it get louder or softer without your changing the volume on your television set? Use spell check. You can find out about this feature by clicking on the New Features section of the homepage sidebar. This feature will disappear after about a week when we take it back to make some final changes, but you should use it as much as possible for the first week of the test. Most importantly, please perform the following test in addition to whatever you can come up with to test this feature:
Fill up an email with over fifty-five misspelled words. (These can just be two or three letters put together, so don't worry about typing word after word.)
--> Hit the "Spelling" button.
--> You will see a pop-up. Hit continue. Be sure to check the spelling in this document until you no longer see that pop-up.
--> You will see the yellow box in the "suggested corrections" box.
--> Do this as fast as you can: Hit return, move the yellow box from "Skip word" back into the suggested corrections box, hit return. . . over and over again. Report any problems you have with the movement of the yellow box. Keep an ear on your background music. We're seeing some of the experimental Classic2 boxes here refuse to stop playing background music if you go to a page and play a piece of audio there. (Music Boulevard at http://www.musicblvd.com has audio you can play.) What you should hear is your background music fade out before any audio begins to play. Occasionally use the "hang up" button and then re-connect via the Reconnect button. What happens? (Remember, you'll only see the "hang up" button in your options bar if you've gone to "Options" in "Setup" and placed a check mark in the "Advanced options" box.) Surf around for web for exceptionally large web pages - pages with a tremendous amount of text are great. The idea is to push the Classic2's memory to the limit and see how much you can load without getting the "Too much information" pop-up. Other things that will tax your memory are pages with tables, or a great number of background images. Buy something on-line with your Classic2. (We cannot reimburse you for this test, so only buy something you need.) Amazon.com is a particular favorite of mine. . . If you get any kind of error message while doing this, please be sure to file a Problem Report and include the following information: Click on "security details" if you get a pop-up. What are the security details involved with your error? Also include the URL of the site you were shopping at.
My WebTV: Choose some stocks to track. Be sure that the stocks you choose by it's Stock Exchange symbol are correct. We've seen some instances where the correct symbol brought up the wrong stock. Leave your Classic2 on for an extended period of time. Sure, it will log off and you'll get the "reconnect" pop-up, but we're interested in seeing what happens to these boxes if they sit in that state for a while. Leave your Classic2 on as long as is convenient for you. Be sure to file a Problem Report if you see anything funny. (Check the "Known Issues" section for the screen saver black out" issue we know about.)

Finally, just make a mental note of the overall quality of the picture your Classic2 produces on your television. I'll be asking you to compare the quality of picture produced by this particular version of the Classic2 with future versions of this box I'll send along. Web-side Tests Surfing in general and accessing sites you're used to surfing with your Classic is acceptable testing behavior during the trial. Here are some rules of thumb to follow while surfing on your Classic2:
--> Try listening to audio files you can normally access with your Classic.
--> Try viewing video you're used to viewing with your Classic.
--> I'll be sending along some Smart Cards for use in this trial. We'll see how your Classic2 handles these. Play with the distance you can stand/sit from your Classic2 and still successfully surf with both the keyboard and remote control.
--> If you have such a set -up available, try hooking up your Classic2 through your home stereo equipment and see how the sound is. Your Classic2 is souped up to provide a higher sound quality than the Classic.
--> Be on the lookout for remnants of video left over as you move from one screen to the next. In other words, please submit a Problem Report if you move from one screen to the next and **any** part of the previous screen remains on the new screen you've just surfed over to.
--> Submit a Problem Report Form any time you see anything out of the ordinary. Submit a Problem Report each time you see a problem even if you've already submitted a Problem Report on that issue before.
Thanks! Mike


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Known Issues Page

Classic2 Known Issues
Check here a couple times a week to see what kinds of things on your Classic2 are not working right; things we know about are things you don't have to file a problem report on. Just trying to save you some time! Check build notes to see if a known issue has carried over from one build to the next.
As of Thursday, February 25th, 1999: I'm hearing that some people are not seeing post colors change once they've read a message in a NG. Please file a PR as soon as you see this if you do.
--> BG Music is definately a problem right now. Ambient's "Pacifica" all but paralyses the box. I suggest you do not turn this particular selection on.
Thanks! Mike WebTV Previews Department


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WebTV Previews Classic2 Build Notes Page
Last Updated 2/25/99 9:05 AM PST

Changes between builds 5704 and 5708:
MPEG audio should now play without fail on the first try.
Green lines should not show up on the Print Preview screen while printing.
Cookies have been re-worked for reliability.
Perform this test to see if you agree...
(1) Create a my yahoo account. Hit Home. Wait for email notification that your account has been set up.
(2) Log in to my yahoo with your password and ID and check the box that says remember my password and ID.
(3) Power off your box and then power on.
(4) Go to my yahoo, and you should get into the account you just set up without being asked for a password. You should not see the screen saver's three WebTV logos flicker when they bump against the sides of the screen. References to your Classic2 as a Plus box have been removed. Please submit Problem Reports whenever you see anything to the contrary. The double info bars have been removed where there were once two after pressing Options.