Customer Support Websites Reviewed

In this essay I will discuss the similarities and differences of two popular customer support websites: support.microsoft.com and support.gateway.com. I will provide a review of Microsoft’s and Gateway’s support Web sites based on content, format, organization, mechanics, and ease of use. I will point out key elements and provide you with my pick of the best for ease of use.

Microsoft’s support website, http://support.microsoft.com, exhibits a very appealing look and feel. The blue theme Microsoft chose invites the user to explore and provides a sense of tranquility. Microsoft’s support content is up-to-date, robust, and informative once you’re able to find it. Its content is written more for the experienced professional, non technical-savvy end-users may have trouble understanding the techno-jargon Microsoft employs. The format of the site which includes the FAQ knowledge base, and support contact information are simplistic and easy to find.

The website navigational controls shift from the left side of window to the right, depending on the link that you clicked, this could confuse or frustrate site visitors. The navigational links are context sensitive and change according to the type of support page that you are viewing. Clicking on the Windows XP link displays a webpage with Windows XP’s Latest News and Solution Center articles that are placed in the main content area of the webpage. The organization of Microsoft’s support website pages are somewhat awkward and are presented with a vast amount of information, a significant amount of scrolling is necessary to view all of the material. It is easy to get lost or distracted when surfing the site.

The consistent element throughout Microsoft’s website is the navigational banner at the top of each web page. It is the only element that never changes, and it is home to the Microsoft’s website search engine. The search engine allows users to search Microsoft’s content more quickly. A link to Microsoft’s site map, support, and home page are also in this area. Microsoft’s support site is very informative; but it contains some confusing navigational controls. I found no spelling or grammar mistakes anywhere. Microsoft’s support site is definitely tailored towards power-user and computer professionals and leaves the average end user scratching their heads. Microsoft’s web site has the potential to be a better support site than it is, all it needs are few usability tweaks and content adjustments.

Gateway’s support site, http://support.gateway.com, boasts a brilliantly designed user interface. The home page is appealing to the eye and welcomes the user to explore the website. The first element that you see when the website loads is the navigational aids at the top of the webpage. This gives the user a sense of control and direction. Like Microsoft, Gateway also displays a search engine at the top of every web page.

Gateway’s content is easy to follow and understand than Microsoft’s support website. The unique design of the user interface provides ease of use and quick access to content, downloads and technical support. Gateway also includes a help link that displays an FAQ and the website requirements and procedures. Quick links back to the home page and site map round off the top navigational element. Gateway also provides the user the opportunity to provide feedback. It is obvious that Gateway put a lot of time and effort into the design and implementation of their end user support web site. Gateway’s support site features well formatted easy page views with very little scrolling. Users are able to find content in a matter of seconds. The step by step layout ensures that users find the right support needed quickly.

I like Microsoft’s and Gateways look and appearance, they are both very eye appealing. Equally both support websites display a consistent navigational and search engine element at the top of each webpage. However, that is where the similarities end. Gateway support website is easier to navigate and provides the user quick and easy access to needed information, driver downloads, and technical support. Gateway also put text-only navigational links at the bottom of each page with little or no scrolling. The ease of use, the layout and the content are concise and to the point, that’s why I prefer Gateway’s support website over Microsoft’s.

The registry is a hierarchical database that is used by the Operating System (OS) to store information that is necessary to configure the system for users, applications and hardware devices. It contains information that Windows continually references during operation, such as profiles, applications installed on the computer and the types of documents that each can create. It also contains information for property sheet settings for folders, application icons, hardware that exists in the system, and the ports that are being used (”Windows registry”).

The Registry replaced most of the text-based .ini files used in Windows 3.x and MS-DOS configuration files, such as the Autoexec.bat and Config.sys. You can edit the registry by using Registry Editor (Regedit.exe or Regedt32.exe). But be careful if you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you can cause problems that may require you to reinstall the operating system (”Windows registry”).

The Windows Registry is split into five logical sections. These all begin “HKEY” (an abbreviation for “Handle to Key”). Each of these keys is divided into subkeys, which contain further subkeys, and so on (see table 1). Any key may contain entries with various types of values. The values of these entries can be: a String Value, a Binary Value (0 or 1), a DWORD Value (32 bit unsigned integer), a Multi-String Value, or a Expandable String Value. Registry keys are specified with form similar to Windows’ path names, using backslashes to indicate levels of hierarchy. E.g. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows refers to the subkey “Windows” of the subkey “Microsoft” of the subkey “Software” of the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE key (”Windows registry”).

Works cited

Windows registry.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 9 Feb 2007, 00:24 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 12 Feb 2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Windows_registry&oldid=106713608

The registry is a hierarchical database that is used by the Operating System (OS) to store information that is necessary to configure the system for users, applications and hardware devices. It contains information that Windows continually references during operation, such as profiles, applications installed on the computer and the types of documents that each can create. It also contains information for property sheet settings for folders, application icons, hardware that exists in the system, and the ports that are being used (”Windows registry”).

The Registry replaced most of the text-based .ini files used in Windows 3.x and MS-DOS configuration files, such as the Autoexec.bat and Config.sys. You can edit the registry by using Registry Editor (Regedit.exe or Regedt32.exe). But be careful if you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you can cause problems that may require you to reinstall the operating system (”Windows registry”).

The Windows Registry is split into five logical sections. These all begin “HKEY” (an abbreviation for “Handle to Key”). Each of these keys is divided into subkeys, which contain further subkeys, and so on (see table 1). Any key may contain entries with various types of values. The values of these entries can be: a String Value, a Binary Value (0 or 1), a DWORD Value (32 bit unsigned integer), a Multi-String Value, or a Expandable String Value. Registry keys are specified with form similar to Windows’ path names, using backslashes to indicate levels of hierarchy. E.g. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows refers to the subkey “Windows” of the subkey “Microsoft” of the subkey “Software” of the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE key (”Windows registry”).

Works cited

Windows registry.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 9 Feb 2007, 00:24 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 12 Feb 2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Windows_registry&oldid=106713608

With support for dual-core CPUs and the latest graphics, motherboards are packing more muscle than ever before. One such monster for the Intel Core 2 Extreme, Core 2 Duo, and the Pentium EE is the ASUS P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe Motherboard (see figure 1). It features NVIDIA’s nForce4 SLI x16 chipset, in an ATX form factor that supports up to 8 gigabytes (8GB) of DDR2 800/667/533 non-ECC memory and a blazing fast 1066MHz front side bus. The P5N32-SLI SE offers more than enough expandability options with its 7 internal PCI expansions slots (2 x PCI Express x16, 1 x PCI Express x14, 2 x PCI Express x1, 2x PCI). The back panel of the P5N32-SLI SE sports a plethora of external ports: 1 x Parallel port, 1 x S/PDIF Out (Coaxial + Optical), your typical PS/2 Keyboard and Mouse ports, and 1 x External SATA, 2 x RJ45, an 8-Channel Audio I/O, and 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports. the P5N32 also has two Ultra DMA 133/100/66/33, and four Serial ATA 3 Gb/s controllers and supports NVRAID: RAID0, 1, 0+1, 5, and JBOD on Serial ATA drives (“P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe”).

The P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe features NVIDIA’s SLI technology which takes advantage of the increased bandwidth of the PCI Express bus and features intelligent hardware and software that allows two Graphical Processing Units (GPUs) to efficiently work together to deliver mind blowing graphics and performance. NVIDIA’s SLI technology offers twice the PCI Express bandwidth of the X8 SLI solutions making use of the two full-bandwidth 16-lane PCI Express links (“P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe”). ASUS’s 8-Phase Power Design builds a more steady power supply environment for the CPU and generates less heat than conventional power design. Moreover, with this strong power pump, the P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe can perform better when over clocking the processors.

The ASUS P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe motherboard supports the next-generation hard drives based on the Serial ATA (SATA) 3Gb/s storage specs, delivering improved scalability and doubling the bus bandwidth for high-speed data retrieval disk writes. As a plus the P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe offers an external SATA port on back input output panel that is designed for external SATA devices; is hot-swappable compliant and supports up to 16 devices with port-multiplier functions (“P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe”).

The P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe features “Stack Cool 2” technology, which is a fan-less and zero-noise cooling solution. It effectively transfers heat generated by the critical components to the other side of the specially designed PCB (printed circuit board) for effective heat dissipation. The fanless design provides a cool environment without all the typical problems associated with fanless solutions. Cooling fans, over time, become noisy as the ball bearings wear out. The ASUS P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe can be purchased at ZipZoomFly, http://www.ZipZoomFly.com, for about $209.99 to $214.99. If you’re a serious pc gamer or power user the ASUS P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe motherboard is for you.

Works Cited
“P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe.” ASUS. 30 January 2007. http://www.asus.com/