Macintosh users tend to customize their systems with different software and hardware combinations to suit their work needs and/or tastes. Within any office, work team or network, rarely are two Macintosh systems the same. And with new applications and updates appearing all the time, the configuration of each Macintosh continues to become more complex.
Frequent configuration changes often result in conflicts, incompatibilities, improperly installed files, improper system settings, duplicate files, etc. These types of problems can lead to reduced efficiency and productivity, as well as disastrous system bombs. Help! enables users to clean up their systems, and then to keep them running efficiently.
Help! was designed to satisfy the following criteria:
• It must serve the needs of the individual Macintosh user whether they are a stand-alone user or part of a major corporate network.
• It must pinpoint all types of system configuration problems.
• It must support earlier operating system releases as well as System 7.
• It must help the user resolve existing problems, not just provide a list of known problems with installed applications.
• Its knowledgebase must be able to grow as new information becomes available.
• It must produce reports that are easily understood by and useful to both the experienced and new user.
Help! does, in fact, accomplish all these goals.
WOULD YOU CLASSIFY HELP! AS A SUPPORT TOOL, A DIAGNOSTIC, OR A HARD DRIVE MANAGEMENT UTILITY?
Help! is unique. There is no other product like it currently on the market. Help! has created a brand new product category for itself. It incorporates aspects of all three types of utilities to become a complete configuration technical support application which is available at the individual’s desktop.
WHY ARE SUBSCRIPTIONS IMPORTANT?
The Macintosh environment is not static. New hardware and software products are continually being released and new conflicts and incompatibilities are continually being discovered. Quarterly updates to the Help! knowledgebase incorporate the most recent information gathered from the field concerning all types of system configuration problems.
Teknosys provides a subscription service to enable customers to keep their copies of Help! up-to-date with the latest knowledgebase information available. In addition, Help! subscribers will also receive updates to the Help! application itself. (An upcoming release of Help! will enable users to fix configuration problems merely by clicking a button.)
APPLE IS OFFERING A COMPATIBILITY CHECKER WITH SYSTEM 7. HOW IS HELP! DIFFERENT?
For those who are about to convert to System 7, the Compatibility Checker is a useful tool. However, it only checks for incompatibilities with a single version of Apple’s system software. Help! addresses incompatibilities (and other problems) with every system software release from System 6 to 7.
Additionally, Help! identifies and offers solutions for many problems that aren’t related to system software such as application, INIT, and cdev conflicts, memory shortages, damaged files, improperly installed files, duplicate files, etc.
Furthermore, Apple’s Compatibility Checker only suggests upgrading as a solution to an incompatibility. Help! frequently offers workaround solutions that can be used in place of an upgrade or while waiting for the upgrade to be shipped.
Help! can also be used to find problems unique to System 7 after installing it. For example: Help! identifies conflicts with 32-Bit Addressing, Virtual Memory, Personal File Sharing, etc. and it also detects when extensions and other Startup documents are located in the wrong folders (including exceptions to the rules).
THERE ARE A FEW OTHER PRODUCTS AVAILABLE WHICH ALSO CLAIM TO SOLVE SYSTEM CONFIGURATION PROBLEMS. WHAT MAKES HELP! DIFFERENT?
Problem pinpointing is Help!’s most distinguishing feature. Help! does far more than just provide a list of known problems with each of your applications. Help! intelligently examines your system and identifies problem situations which actually exist.
Also, do not confuse Help! with network administration products which are best suited for asset management because they simply provide reports of configuration information. These products rely on the support person’s knowledge, memory, and available time to find problems with users’ systems. Configuration reporting utilities are also available for individual users, but once again, these products simply provide an inventory of the user’s installed software and hardware with no problem detection capabilities.
Only Help! pinpoints problems and tells the user how to solve them.
IF HELP! IS FOR INDIVIDUAL USERS, HOW CAN IT ALSO SUPPORT NETWORKS AND NETWORK MANAGERS?
Help! relieves the network administrator of the tedious task of resolving problems that reside on individuals' machines. With Help!, network administrators can better spend their time on network-wide problems and other aspects of user support. Individual users can now solve many of their own problems themselves.
HOW DOES HELP! WORK?
When Help! is run, it first collects detailed information about the user’s system (applications, attached hardware, system software, fonts, extensions, system settings, installed memory, etc.) It then uses a Teknosys-designed expert system that incorporates true artificial intelligence technology, to access a built-in knowledgebase of information for identifying problems.
When Help! has completed its analysis, it provides the user with a complete, easily-understood report of their system. The report lists all detected problems (identifying each by its severity) along with a suggested corrective action, and provides a comprehensive listing of all configuration information collected by Help!.
WHAT IS AN EXPERT SYSTEM?
An expert system is an advanced computer programming method that relies on knowledge and reasoning to derive intelligent conclusions from available information. Expert systems are an outgrowth of artificial intelligence because they depend upon bodies of knowledge to perform difficult tasks usually undertaken by human experts.
Help!’s expert system is able to pinpoint problems with your system by drawing upon knowledge contained in its built-in knowledgebase. The knowledgebase contains knowledge collected from Apple, other software developers, hardware vendors, and large Macintosh customer sites.
HOW EXTENSIVE IS THE KNOWLEDGEBASE?
Very. The Help! knowledgebase currently supports over 2,100 Macintosh products.
Teknosys is constantly collecting problem information about applications, Startup documents, cdevs, system software and hardware. We closely monitor releases of new products and updates. We speak directly to software developers and large Macintosh installed sites. The knowledgebase grows continuously as new hardware and software products are released and as new conflicts, incompatibilities and other problems are discovered.
WHAT CAN BE EXPECTED IN FUTURE VERSIONS OF HELP!?
In addition to building the knowledgebase, we are currently working on many new Help! features. While Help! 1.0.1 goes beyond any other product by offering suggestions for resolving problems, an upcoming version will have the ability to actually fix detected problems. In other words, Help! will be able to tell a user what is wrong and offer to fix it. All the user will have to do is point and click.
