AUTOMATED COMPATIBILITY CHECKING FOR HARDWARE/SOFTWARE PURCHASES AT TIME OF PURCHASE

• US 20080228503A1
• Filed: 03/12/2007
• Published: 09/18/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brian K. Buchheit
• Original Assignee: Brian K. Buchheit
• Inventors: Buchheit, Brian K.
• Granted Patent: US 8,768,785 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering

Abstract

The present invention can include a pre-purchase method for determining computing item compatibility. In the method, configuration information associated with a computing system can be stored. A for-sale item to be used with the computing system can be detected. A compatibility between the for-sale item and the configuration information can be determined. A potential purchaser can be notified of results of the determining step before completing a purchase of the for-sale item. The method can be automatically performed by an online storefront system (e.g., a e-retailing Web site) or by in-store computing equipment, such as a cashier'"'"'s register and/or an in-store kiosk.

Claims

1. A pre-purchase method for determining computing item compatibility comprising:

storing configuration information associated with a computing system;

detecting a for-sale item to be used with the computing system;

determining a compatibility between the for-sale item and the configuration information; and

notifying a potential purchaser of results of the determining step before completing a purchase of the for-sale item.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the storing step stores the configuration information in a network accessible data store, said method further comprising:

a computing system remotely located from the network accessible data store performing the notifying step.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the storing, detecting, and determining steps are performed by an entity independent of the potential purchaser, and wherein the entity is an entity other than one through which the for-sale item is purchased.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the storing, detecting, and determining steps are steps performed as part of a computing compatibility Web service.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said computing system is one of a plurality of computing systems associated with the potential purchaser, wherein said storing step stores configuration information associated with each of the plurality of computing systems, and wherein said determining step determines a compatibility between the for-sale item and the configuration information for each of the plurality of computing systems.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the potential purchaser selecting the for-sale item via an e-commerce Web site, wherein the notifying step presents the results through the e-commerce Web site.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the potential purchaser providing the for-sale item to a human cashier, wherein a computing system is used by the human cashier performing the determining step.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying a kiosk in a store, said kiosk performing the detecting, determining, and notifying steps.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the for-sale item is a computer peripheral hardware component, and wherein said determining step further comprises:

checking to ensure that software drivers exist for a platform defined by the configuration information that enable the computer peripheral hardware component to operate; and

checking a hardware interface of the computer peripheral hardware component against at least one hardware interface of the computing system.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the for-sale item is a software application.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said steps of claim 1 are performed by at least one machine in accordance with at least one computer program contained in a computer readable media having a plurality of code sections that are executable by the at least one machine.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the steps of claim 1 are performed by at least one of a service agent and a computing device manipulated by the service agent, the steps being performed in response to a service request.

13. A computing interface comprising:

a target system section configured to permit a user of a computing interface to identify a computing system, wherein configuration information for the identified computing system is previously stored in data store communicatively linked to the computing interface;

an computing item section configured to permit the user to identity at least one for-sale item to be used with the identified computing system; and

a compatibility checking element configured to execute a compatibility software program, wherein the compatibility software program contains a set of programmatic instructions readable by a machine causing the machine to determine a compatibility between said at least one for-sale identified in the computing item section and the identified computing system.

14. The computing interface of claim 13, further comprising:

a notification section configured to present results of the compatibility software program, said results including an indication of whether the at least one for-sale item is compatible with the system.

15. The computing interface of claim 13, wherein said computing interface is a graphical user interface of a Web site configured to be rendered within a Web browser.

16. The computing interface of claim 15, wherein said Web site is an e-commerce Web site.

17. The computing interface of claim 13, wherein the computing interface is a graphical user interface of a storefront check-out system.

18. A system for determining computing item compatibility comprising:

a configuration data store for storing configuration information associated with a plurality of different computing systems;

a platform compatibility engine configured to determine whether a for-sale item is compatible with a target computing system based upon configuration information associated with the target computing system, which is stored in the configuration data store; and

a storefront system remotely located from the configuration data store configured to permit a potential purchaser to purchase a for-sale item, wherein before the storefront system completes a purchase involving the for-sale item, one of the different computing systems associated with the potential purchaser is identified and the platform compatibility engine is used to determine if the for-sale item, which is a computing item, is compatible with the identified computing system.

19. The system of claim 18, further comprising:

at least one software agent configured to automatically determine configuration information for an associated computing device upon which the software agent locally executes, wherein the configuration data stored in the configuration data store includes information provided by the at least one software agent.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the storefront system is an e-commerce system.