Help 1.0
Volume Number: 8
Issue Number: 4
Column Tag: Tools of the Trade
Help! 1.0 to the Rescue
If you can remember all of the Mac inconsistencies, in your head, then
you don't need HELP!
By Dave Kelly, MacTutor Regular Contributing Author
It’s time to admit that Macintosh configurations have become complex. Even
Apple realized this when they produced the 7.0 compatibility stack. We know how that
turned out. I believe that this is what has prompted Teknosys to produce Help!
Help! is intended to provide technical support to individual end users. Help!
analyzes your computer system to determine system information and what software is
there. Next, it compares the information about your computer with information stored
in Help!’s knowledgebase. Help! generates a report indicating any detected problems
and offers suggestions for corrective action.
Some consultants may be able to remember (in their head) all of the
inconsistencies that plague Mac users, but there are too many now. Help! is a great tool
for consultants to diagnose Mac systems, e specially systems that they come across that
may have problems. Teknosys intended for Help! to be used on a single system, but
realistically as long as a consultant only uses it on one system at a time there shouldn’t
be a license violation.
Help! will take up some space on your hard disk. The Help! application is 507K
plus over 500K more for the knowledgebase and help files. The knowledgebase size will
increase as updates are released. The reports generated are not too small either, so
you’ll need to have some free space for the report on your hard disk. The size will vary
depending on the size of your disk (or disks) and what you have on them.
How does Help! stay up to date? As you know, Apple’s compatibility stack wasn’t
any better than the information that was included in it. So it is with Help! Help!
detects problems based on information that is currently in its knowledgebase. As new
products are released and new conflicts and incompatibilities are discovered, Teknosys
will add to the knowledgebase. A subscription service is available to registered users of
Help! for $75 per year. One update is free after sending in registration. Since the
knowledgebase can become out of date, Help! is most valuable to those that subscribe to
the knowledgebase updates.
Consultants may want to have their clients use help before calling them. It's
definitely a good way to know the status of a system before working on it. You can
reduce the amount of time you spent looking for problems and answering technical
questions regarding bugs by letting Help! do it for you. If you know of inconsistencies
or other incompatibilities, you may want to help Teknosys update their knowledgebase
by sending them your findings. They may already know about it, but it will insure that
Help! will remain up to date for a long time.
For More Information, Contact:
Teknosys Inc.
3923 Coconut Palm Drive, Suite 111, Tampa, FL 33619
Phone: 813-620-3494, Fax: 813-620-4039
AppleLink: D3375, CompuServe: 73237, 2370
Price: Update subscriptions $75 per year.
Not copy protected.
