Patent ID: 7917862

Claim:
A system for improving the performance of a plurality of peripheral devices, comprising: a first peripheral device comprising a first software component and having a first functionality; and a second peripheral device coupled to the first peripheral device via a network, the second peripheral device comprising a second software component and having a second functionality, the second peripheral device being coupled to the first peripheral device without being directly connected to an intermediate computing device positioned along the communication path between the peripheral devices, the first and second peripheral devices together performing a third functionality in addition to the first and second functionalities; wherein the first peripheral device comprises a peripheral device display on which can be presented a graphical user interface that presents the third functionality to a user for selection wherein the first software component of the first peripheral device and the second software component of the second peripheral device allow the first and second peripheral devices to exchange information over a network pertaining to the identity of the first peripheral device and the second peripheral device.