Patent ID: 7716158

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for using state information of components in a computing environment as context to modify retrieved information, the method comprising: creating a plurality of state associations that relate any particular state with at least one result, wherein at least one association comprises an association to exclude information corresponding to a first state, wherein a particular state comprises at least one of a hardware state, an operating system condition, a user preference, or a software application operating parameter; receiving a search request; retrieving, from a database, information related to the search request; and modifying the information retrieved in accordance with the at least one state association if the at least one result is related to the retrieved information, wherein the association to exclude prevents information corresponding to a first state from appearing as modified information; wherein context is applied to the retrieved information using the state information of the components in the computing environment, wherein the state information comprises the group consisting of a hardware component state and a software component operating mode state; and presenting the modified information on a computer display.