摘要 |
<p>A method and system for monitoring, controlling and diagnosing operation of a machine such as a business office machine, e.g. a facsimile machine (28), a copier (24) and/or a printer (32). When the speed of communication between the remote device (16, 18, 20, 22) and machine is not urgent, a connectionless mode of communication may be used. The preferred form of connectionless communication is an electronic mail message transmitted over the Internet. However, when a condition needs urgent action, a direct connection is used for communication such as communication via a telephone or a ISDN line. The information obtained from the machine is stored in one or more data bases within a company and information of the machine is shared between a service department, engineering and design department, manufacturing department, and marketing department. As communication over the Internet via electronic mail is not secure, the connectionless-mode messages transmitted using Internet electronic mail are encrypted.</p> |