HELP CENTER AND PRINT CENTER APPLICATIONS
Various disclosed help center features provide help to a user without a staffed help center, provide help to a user before the user recognizes the need, or create targeted commerce opportunities for a provider of goods or services. One help center feature provides a user with help that is specifically related to a component in the user's computer system and that is supplied to the help center feature by the component manufacturer. Another help center feature detects a condition that degrades performance, and hence user satisfaction, and alerts the user. Another help center feature detects an attempt by a computer system to inform the user of degraded performance and offers the user a solution. Another help center feature provides a user with a commerce opportunity specifically related to a component in the user's computer system and/or to the user's geographic location.
1 - 146 . (canceled)
147 . A method of providing service for a computer hardware component, the method comprising:
receiving, using at least one processor, an indication of an action taken on the computer system by a user of the computer system, the action relating to the hardware component of the computer system;
accessing, based on the indication, data that identifies a first manufacturer of a first type of hardware components and a second manufacturer of the first type of hardware components, the second manufacturer being different from the first manufacturer;
selecting, based on the accessed data, the first manufacturer or the second manufacturer; and
enabling display, based on the selection of the first manufacturer or the second manufacturer, an interface that is tailored to the selected first manufacturer or second manufacturer and that enables access to service for the hardware component corresponding to the selected first manufacturer or second manufacturer.
148 . The method of claim 147 wherein enabling display of the interface includes enabling display of an interface that includes a warning regarding the hardware component.
149 . The method of claim 147 wherein enabling display of the interface includes enabling display of an interface that includes a support recommendation for the hardware component.
150 . The method of claim 149 further comprising executing electronically the support recommendation.
151 . The method of claim 147 further comprising accessing electronically a geographic indicator indicating a location of the computer system, and wherein enabling display of the interface includes enabling display of an interface that includes help that is tailored to the geographic indicator.
152 . The method of claim 151 wherein:
the computer system is connected to a network by a connection, and
the geographic indicator comprises a city identifier determined from the computer system's connection to the network.
153 . The method of claim 152 wherein the geographic indicator comprises a zip code of the user of the computer system.
154 . The method of claim 153 further comprising querying the user to determine if the user is presently in the zip code.
155 . The method of claim 147 wherein accessing the data that identifies the first manufacturer of the first type of hardware components and the second manufacturer of the first type of hardware components includes:
accessing a component identification item that identifies the hardware component, and
selecting a manufacturer from among the first and second manufactures based on information in the component identification item.
156 . The method of claim 155 wherein:
the information in the component identification item comprises an indicator of a class of components, the class including the hardware component, and
selecting the manufacture based on information in the component identification item comprises (i) using the indicator of the class to select a class service provider from a list of class service providers, and (ii) selecting the class service provider as the service provider.
157 . The method of claim 155 wherein the hardware component is a printer, and accessing the component identification item comprises deriving, at least in part, the component identification item from a filename for a device driver associated with the printer.
158 . The method of claim 155 wherein accessing the component identification item comprises querying a user of the computer system for information.
159 . The method of claim 155 wherein selecting the manufacturer comprises performing a table look-up based on information in the component identification item.
160 . The method of claim 155 wherein accessing the component identification item comprises issuing an application-program interface (“API”) call to an operating system running on the computer system to determine a device driver file name for an active printer on the computer system.
161 . The method of claim 160 wherein displaying access to help comprises:
determining if the device driver is a current version; and
displaying, if the device driver is not the current version, electronic access to the current version.
162 . The method of claim 161 wherein determining if the device driver is the current version comprises:
storing electronically a current version number for the device driver;
issuing a second API call to determine a version number of the device driver; and
comparing the device driver's version number to the current version number.
163 . The method of claim 147 , wherein enabling display of the interface includes enabling display of an interface that includes an option to receive sales information regarding the hardware component.
164 . A method of providing service for a computer hardware component, the method comprising:
receiving, using at least one processor, an indication of an action taken on the computer system by a user of the computer system, the action relating to the hardware component of the computer system;
steps for accessing, based on the indication, data that identifies a first manufacturer of a first type of hardware components and a second manufacturer of the first type of hardware components, the second manufacturer being different from the first manufacturer;
selecting, based on the accessed data, the first manufacturer or the second manufacturer; and
enabling display, based on the selection of the first manufacturer or the second manufacturer, an interface that is tailored to the selected first manufacturer or second manufacturer and that enables access to service for the hardware component corresponding to the selected first manufacturer or second manufacturer.
165 . A method of providing service for a computer hardware component, the method comprising:
receiving, using at least one processor, an indication of an action taken on the computer system by a user of the computer system, the action relating to the hardware component of the computer system;
accessing, based on the indication, data that identifies a first manufacturer of a first type of hardware components and a second manufacturer of the first type of hardware components, the second manufacturer being different from the first manufacturer;
steps for selecting, based on the accessed data, the first manufacturer or the second manufacturer; and
enabling display, based on the selection of the first manufacturer or the second manufacturer, an interface that is tailored to the selected first manufacturer or second manufacturer and that enables access to service for the hardware component corresponding to the selected first manufacturer or second manufacturer.