Inventory determination for facilitating commercial transactions

Abstract

The invention provides for facilitating e-commerce transactions between a client and a server over a network. An initial operation is to contact a server over the network. Data is received which indicates categories of goods or services offered by the server. A first category of the categories is selected, and the client is searched for installed goods, and an inspection log prepared. The inspection log is submitted to the first server, and a list of goods or services offered by the first server is received, where the list is determined according to the inspection log. The received list may only list goods and services related to the first category, or it may contain suggested purchases determined according to past client purchases, relevance to client installed goods, or expected client needs. The server may be contacted by way of a web browser to a web server, through which the inspection log is submitted; a responsive web page may then contain the list of goods or services offered by the server, with the list being displayed in different browser frames according to the list contents. The inspection of the client and communication with the server may also be implemented as part of a Power On Self Test (POST), where a hardware-based client contacts a server for service if the client fails its POST; the hardware-based client may incorporate an expert system to coordinate POST interaction with the server.