Inventors:
Christa Pierre - Fort Lauderdale FL, US
David Henrickson - Miami FL, US
International Classification:
G06F017/60
Abstract:
A novel scheme for creating and delivering a new customized computer system (e.g., a PC), delivers the new system with the “personality” of another of the prospective end-user's computer systems already installed prior to delivery. The “personality” includes such things as the application software, files, and personal settings of the old system chosen by the end-user to be migrated to the new system. A migration survey tool (MST) surveys the contents of a migration source computer (MSC) and lists the contents (including personal settings) to be migrated to a migration target computer (MTC) which has been (or will be) newly purchased, but not yet delivered. In an interactive fashion, the end-user determines which of the listed contents will make up the personality and be migrated to the new system, and causes the personality to be placed in a migration file. In one embodiment, the migration file is uploaded via the Internet to a website maintained by the OEM responsible for delivering the new computer system, wherefore the OEM installs the end-user's personality on the new MTC prior to delivering it to the end-user. The MST can also be delivered on a physical storage medium (e.g., a CD-ROM disc can be delivered to the OEM). The MST can be installed locally in the MSC, downloaded via the Internet, to or transferred from another source such as a server on a LAN.