Cannot find anything in the online help or in the postings other than someone asking the same question back in 2008 , which went un-answered
Depends on the situation. I think some widgets use them.
When in STB mode the "A" button activates Widgets. Within the Widgets, there are various functions dependeing on the Widget in use. In the Weather Widget after getting the 7 day forcats, the "C" button will get you an hour-by-hour forcast and another press of "C" will bring up the "local" (and I use the term loosely as it is more regional) radar.
Don't know what other Widgets may use as I don't use any other than the weather.