Disclosed is a computer having a plurality of adapter cards which are insertable in adjacent bus segments, which are routed interleaved in the middle of a backplane and standard connectors are provided with connections alternating between the two bus segments. The system provides activity information describing the number of instant messaging sessions one or more remote users are currently involved in, the identities of participants in those sessions, activity levels, time period information, and other information. Through holes are provided in the optical element packaging region of the semiconductor substrate, passing from its upper face to its lower face, and the optical element chip and the semiconductor integrated circuit are connected via the through holes. If the device driver is not locally present, then the host system establishes a connection with a server system that includes a database with the device driver needed for operation of the device.