Conventional plug and play technology can be a contradiction in terms. In more detail, plug and play technology can enable creation of interfaces and establishment of communications between multiple devices. Ideally, the creation of the interfaces and subsequent communications occur with a minimal amount of user activity. However, for conventional plug and play technology, this may not always be the case.
For example, devices can include or be associated with different components, operating systems, protocols, etc. Thus, a user attempting to interface a personal organizer with a personal computer, for example, may not be able to initiate user interface creation and enable communications between the devices by physically connecting the devices. When interfacing the personal organizer with the personal computer for the first time, the communications protocols and associated software considerations must first be analyzed and configured on both machines before any useful communication between the devices can occur.
One drawback of conventional plug and play technology is that software is required for both devices. The software usually accompanies a device in packaging in which the device was purchased (e.g., encapsulated within a compact disk). Inclusion of the software together with the product is associated with various inefficiencies. For instance, it can be costly to create software and package it together with a device. For example, in order to place software together with a device within device packaging, costs associated with making, testing, developing, fixing bugs, customizing, branding, burning, etc. are incurred. Additionally, presenting the software on a storage media is associated with other problems. In order to establish compatibility between two devices, a compact disk or other media that includes the software must be present. This can be inconvenient for a traveler who is attempting to interface two devices for a first time, but did not remember to bring the compact disk that retains the requisite software. Inclusion of software is also inefficient because of increased effort required by the user.
To complicate matters, compatibility issues may exist between a device that is desirably interfaced and the compatibility software. For example, the compatibility software can be stored on a CD or DVD drive, whereas a personal computer to which a personal digital assistant is desirably interfaced may not be associated with either drive. Additionally, the personal computer upon which the traveler wishes to install compatibility software may have administrative passwords or some other security functionality that prevents the traveler from using the device. To further complicate matters, it is possible that the traveler lacks the technical knowledge to overcome problems associated with installing compatibility software on a personal computer.
The Internet is also a popular medium from which to obtain software that facilitates plug-and-play functionality between devices. The Internet solves some problems associated with conventional plug and play technology, such as not forcing an individual to retain physical possession of the storage media that houses the device compatibility software. Using the Internet, however, as a storage media for compatibility software is not without its faults. One such fault is that at least one of the desirably synchronized devices (e.g., a personal computer) requires an Internet connection in order to obtain the compatibility software. Furthermore, the user may be required to find the appropriate web site in order to locate the compatibility software. Again, the technically deficient user may encounter difficulties in finding the required software in the vastness of the Internet