8. A computer system for managing device firmware, comprising: a firmware repository and wherein the firmware repository includes at least one Extensible Markup Language (XML) description file which contains the following information for a firmware contained in a firmware file distinct from the XML description file: a firmware version; a device model and family of devices supported by the firmware; a release date of the firmware; a description or release notes for said version; a location of the firmware; and a version matrix comprising a matrix of version designations of all the firmware for different components of said device and a set of interdependencies among the different components of said device; and a utility program installed on a computer to access the firmware repository, read the XML description file, and in dependence on the information in the XML description file, manage or download firmware files for a given device.
8. A computer system for managing device firmware, comprising: a firmware repository and wherein the firmware repository includes at least one Extensible Markup Language (XML) description file which contains the following information for a firmware contained in a firmware file distinct from the XML description file: a firmware version; a device model and family of devices supported by the firmware; a release date of the firmware; a description or release notes for said version; a location of the firmware; and a version matrix comprising a matrix of version designations of all the firmware for different components of said device and a set of interdependencies among the different components of said device; and a utility program installed on a computer to access the firmware repository, read the XML description file, and in dependence on the information in the XML description file, manage or download firmware files for a given device. 10. The computer system of claim 8 , wherein said family of devices is a family of multifunction printers (MFPs).