Microsoft brings the Genius Bar to the Web with Answer Desk
Microsoft has quietly launched a new service to help Windows and Office users get the most out of their PCs. Answer Desk is an online version of the Answer Desks found in Microsoft's retail stores, which are in turn modeled on Apple's successful Genius Bars, providing users with personalized consulting on their computer problems.
Each Answer Desk consultation starts with a free chat—online or over the phone—with an Answer Desk support rep. If the free consultation isn't sufficient to answer your questions or fix your faults, you pony up some money—$49 for an hour of one-on-one Windows or Office training, $99 for an hour of Windows or Office troubleshooting, $99 for two hours of virus removal and malware protection, or $99 for two hours of PC performance tuning—and the support tech remotely controls your PC to perform their task.
