Web-Based Technical Support

Virtually all companies maintain technical support for their products on the World Wide Web. This may include (1) databases of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and other support documents; (2) bulletin boards (also called message boards or forums) where you can post a question and get an answer (ideally from the vendor's technical support staff), and (3) a section where you can download the latest free updates to the vendor's software (see: "Take Note: Staying Up To Date").

However vendor technical support, by definition, is focused on the product the vendor publishes. It is not prepared to answer questions about more general problems you may have. Occasionally, vendor technical support may even be unaware of some problem with their own product (or unwilling to talk about it). At these times, you'll want to look to independent sources of information for help. Again, the most popular place to find these independent sources is on the World Wide Web.