The new service is equal parts Genius Bar and DoubleMySpeed.com, minus the pretentious title or stupid radio ads.
Microsoft has stealthy launched a new premium tech help service called AnswerDesk.com on Thursday with no hype or fanfare, an odd move given the potential for such a service.Microsoft has Answer Desk’s at its growing number of retail stores, the equivalent to the Genius Bar at Apple stores, minus the arrogant sounding name. At the same time, there are a number of online services with monumentally annoying commercials offering online PC tune-up services.
It’s a pretty quiet launch for a Microsoft product. A Microsoft spokesperson would only say “Microsoft is always looking for ways to make support easier for customers to access and this is part of that commitment. We have no additional plans to share at this time; stay tuned for more information.”
AnswerDesk.com appears – from what is available, and it’s not much – to be a premium service available on demand 24/7 that connects customers with “Answer Techs” who can help customers with Microsoft software-related problems. You can get a complimentary consultation but there will also be premium (read: paying) services.The Answer Techs are listed by their specialty/area of knowledge and how many issues they have helped in the past, which might make it hard for new people to get traction against veterans, but we’ll see how that plays out. The About Us page states that “Answer Desk Answer Techs are trained to diagnose and troubleshoot your Microsoft software related issues. Answer Techs are also knowledgeable to train you in Microsoft’s latest software, such as Microsoft Windows 7 and Microsoft Office 2010.”This service won’t be cheap. An Answer Tech can sweep your system for viruses/malware and install Microsoft Security Essentials software on your system for $99, which is a lot considering MSE is free and you can download and run it yourself. An AAdvanced PC Tune-Up” for $99 adds a disk cleanup and removal of temporary Internet files, along with disabling unnecessary services and applications and running Windows Update, something you can do for free. The Answer Desk concept is a good idea, but that pricing is pretty steep for something someone with half a brain can do for free.
