To subscribe to more than one page, you choose the main page, allowing Internet Explorer 4.0 to cache a maximum of three pages deep into the site from that main page. You can either subscribe to a site and have it updated before leaving your Internet connection, or you can set up a schedule that will download your subscription on a timely basis throughout the day. Either way, this subscription is then viewable anytime offline without requiring an Internet connection. This is great when you know exactly what you want, and it's contained in one area on that site. This is where channels come out ahead.
Channels allow a Web publisher to create content specific to each user.
The publisher can create a single channel that contains the most frequently hit areas of the site, thereby requiring you to download only one channel, and not a bunch of subscriptions. Using ASP technology, the publisher can also create a dynamic channel, which you can personalize to get any pertinent content with just one update. The channel can then be displayed hierarchically, allowing you to browse swiftly through the content. Web publishers can also notify you of site changes by providing you with updated Channel Definition Format files, thereby not requiring any prior knowledge of the site, as is necessary with subscriptions. The true difference between channels and subscriptions is content.