Abstract: Embodiments of the invention provide a layered printer driver model in which, at the “bottom layer,” a rendering component provides rendering functionality to format information constituting a print job initiated according to a page description language that a printer device is designed to process, and one or more other components that provide configuration and/or user experience functionality may “sit atop” the bottom layer. Any or all of these higher-level components may support not just a single printer device, but a class of printer devices defined by one or more shared characteristics.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for facilitating web-based research among a community of users. Templates created by at least one user within the community may be modified by another user to facilitate further research on a item, such as a product and/or service, associated with the template. The modified template may be populated with data collected from at least one website and organized in such a manner so as to facilitate making a decision about the item.