Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • G06Q50/00—Information and communication technology [ICT] specially adapted for implementation of business processes of specific business sectors, e.g. utilities or tourism
  • G06Q50/10—Services
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
  • G06F3/01—Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer
  • G06F3/048—Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
  • G06F3/0484—Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI] for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
  • G06F3/0485—Scrolling or panning
  • G06F3/04855—Interaction with scrollbars
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F16/00—Information retrieval; Database structures therefor; File system structures therefor
  • G06F16/90—Details of database functions independent of the retrieved data types
  • G06F16/95—Retrieval from the web
  • G06F16/957—Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
  • G06F16/9574—Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation of access to content, e.g. by caching
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
  • G06F3/00—Input arrangements for transferring data to be processed into a form capable of being handled by the computer; Output arrangements for transferring data from processing unit to output unit, e.g. interface arrangements
  • G06F3/01—Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer
  • G06F3/048—Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
  • G06F3/0484—Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI] for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
  • G06F3/0485—Scrolling or panning

Definitions

• the invention relates to a system for allowing a user to actively and passively view and access cached content.
• a user typically has an active role when obtaining information from the Internet or other network.
• the user operates a mouse or keyboard, among other types of input devices, to respond to prompts generated on a computer screen by Internet browser application software (e.g., a search engine) and Web pages.
• Internet browser application software e.g., a search engine
• the user searches for and selects information that is made available on the Internet for viewing and downloading when the user is browsing.
• a user has a passive role when obtaining information via television or other broadcast technology.
• programs are broadcast via broadband television networks (e.g., via satellite, microwave, VHF/UHF or cable television (CATV) systems) at times designated by broadcast service providers.
• broadband television networks e.g., via satellite, microwave, VHF/UHF or cable television (CATV) systems
• CATV cable television
• a user must tune to a particular television channel at a predetermined time in order to view a program.
• the user can tune to different channels if desired.
• the user is limited to viewing only those programs being broadcast at the present time.
• a user typically programs a video cassette recorder (VCR) to capture and record television programs on video cassette tape. The user must program the VCR to specify when the VCR is to commence and terminate recording.
• VCR video cassette recorder
• the conventional Internet approach involves a user actively searching for Internet-type information provided by content providers 20a, 20b, 20c through 20n using browser software 22 on the user's computer (e.g., a personal computer or
• the Internet- type information is understood to be any digitizable and viewable content (e.g., Hyper-text Markup Language (HTML), web-type pages, video, audio, text, software downloads, photographs, animation and so on) from the Web, for example, or any other data source.
• Web-type pages are understood to be HTML pages or content pages created using other software languages, formats and protocols (e.g., JAVA, Graphics Interchange Format (GIF), File Transfer Protocol (FTP)) used to facilitate transfer of data files between computers.
• the Internet-type information can be stored or cached, as indicated in block 30 in Fig. 2, on the disk drive of the user's computer 24.
• the browser software 22 allows a user to view the cached information page by page by clicking on screen icons or typing an address into a Universal Resource Locator (URL) 31 using a mouse or other input device to go to other Web-type content.
• URL Universal Resource Locator
• the user watches passively while information is displayed in an entertaining format. Users prefer different methods of obtaining information, depending on the type of the content to be viewed, the amount of time the user has to view content, the user's disposition, among other factors.
• a user has the convenience of passively viewing a cache movie which provides a preview of selected content, which has been cached or stored on a computer or multimedia system or stored remotely.
• a user has the ability to suspend passive preview activity at any time using a mouse or other input device and to actively peruse content selected from the previewed content. The user may then resume passive viewing of the content preview if desired.
• the cache movie is generated by creating and assembling snap shots of the selected content.
• the snap shots are then presented sequentially on a display device.
• the rate at which the snap shots are presented is selected by the user and can be synchronized with a soundtrack of the user's choice.
• a user interface is provided for previewing selected cached content via a cached movie and accessing actual content corresponding to the snap shots in the cache movie.
• the user interface allows the user to jump to different snap shots within a cache movie by clicking on different positions in a slide bar.
• the snap shots and the content corresponding thereto can also be characterized by category names.
• the order of the snap shots in the cache movie can be arranged by category.
• the user interface can provide slide bar segments bearing the names of the categories to which the snap shots of the selected content belongs. A user can click on a slide bar segment to commence presentation of the snap shots corresponding thereto.
• snap shots are generated for selected documents and application files on a user computer and can include snap shots of control panels for devices controlled by the user's computer.
• a display frame can be configured to display more than one snap shot or cache movie. The user interface provides the user with different layout options.
• Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional system for accessing Internet-type content
• Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of the conventional manner by which information is obtained from the Internet or other information sources for browsing;
• FIG. 3 is diagrammatic illustration of a system for providing information including Internet information to users via a high-speed broadcast data stream in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
• Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of the manner by which a computer presents cached content to a user for preview and access in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention
• Fig. 5 is a block diagram of cached content in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
• Fig. 6 illustrates a cache movie and synchronization thereof with music in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
• Fig. 7 depicts an exemplary snap shot which can be a frame in a cache movie in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
• Figs.8 and 9 depict exemplary user interface computer screens presented during a cache movie in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention
• FIGs. 10 and 11 illustrate exemplary computer screens generated by a user computer in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
• Figs. 12 and 13 illustrate exemplary snap shots which can be presented in a cache movie in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
• like reference numerals will be understood to refer to like parts and components.
• a system 40 allows a user to obtain one or more types information or content such as Internet-type information for storage in a cache memory for viewing and accessing via a computer 42 or a computer-controlled system such as a set-top box in accordance with the present invention.
• Cached content is information stored in a non-volatile memory such as a hard disk drive.
• Cached content can be stored at the user's computer 42, or at a remote storage device which is accessible by the computer 42 via a network in accordance with the present invention.
• the content can be provided to the computer 42 via high-speed broadcast channels, for example.
• the broadcast methods 44, 46 and 48 described below in connection with Fig. 3 are provided for exemplary purposes.
• the present invention provides a user interface 50 to access high quality sound, data and images stored in a memory device 55 such as a hard disk drive.
• the user interface comprises an input device 54 such as a mouse and at least one output device 56 such as a loudspeaker 59 and a display device 47.
• a content aggregator or gateway 58 obtains content from various content providers via the Internet 60, as well as from other data sources (e.g., networks such as Ethernets).
• the content aggregator 58 can obtain selected content such as regional news reports, regional weather reports, stock market information, music, consumer information, distance learning programs, among other information.
• the content can be transmitted to users via a broadcast signal using one or more high-speed data transmission methods such as a satellite direct digital broadcast system 44, a CATV network
• a telephone company can employ asynchronous digital subscriber link (ADSL) technology, or other digital subscriber link technology (i.e., XDSL).
• ADSL synchronous digital subscriber link
• XDSL digital subscriber link technology
• Other transmission methods can include a VHF UHF broadcast network, a microwave network, a fiber optic network, and so on.
• the content aggregator 58 organizes data for transmission by a high-speed data stream, which is generally indicated at 66 in Fig. 3.
• a user can have two-way access to content organized by a content aggregator 58.
• a communication path such as a PSTN 68 can be used to both request and receive content.
• the conventional Internet approach typically involves connecting to a server 26 via a PSTN 68 and the Internet 60 each time a user desires to access content.
• a request for content can be sent to a content aggregator 58 via a PSTN 68 and the requested content can be received via the high-speed data stream 66 in a satellite transmission system 44, for example.
• content from a content aggregator 58 is broadcast to the user and no return link such as a PSTN 68 is provided.
• the content aggregator 58 creates a program which highlights the content available via the content aggregator.
• the program is hereinafter referred to as a teaser and is broadcast to users at least periodically with other content.
• a method of generating the teaser is described below in accordance with another aspect of the present invention.
• the user can view the teaser via the user interface to determine which content from the content aggregator 58 is to be stored in the disk drive 55.
• the computer 42 is programmed to generate screens on the display device 47 to allow a user to view stored content, as well as to make selections regarding the types of content that are to be stored in the computer memory 55.
• the computer 42 is programmed to generate snap shots (e.g., to convert images of HTML pages to non- interactive representations such as a bit map or JPEG file) from content stored on the disk drive 55 or other memory device and to generate a cache movie.
• a cache movie is a sequence of snap shots that represent the contents of a cache storage device.
• the computer 42 can also generate screens (e.g., the screens depicted in Figs. 10 and 11) which allow a user to customize the manner in which the cache movie and content is presented to the user via the output device 56.
• screens e.g., the screens depicted in Figs. 10 and 11
• the conventional way of browsing Internet-type content requires a user to have an active role, by clicking through selected content to view each Web- type page, for example.
• the process of browsing content is improved to provide a user with the ability to either actively or passively view and access cached content via the user's computer 42.
• Fig. 5 illustrates content from a data stream being provided to a computer 42.
• the computer comprises a disk drive 55 or other memory device, a portion of which can be a cache storage section 52.
• the cache storage section 52 can also be on a memory device that is separate from the disk drive 55.
• Portions of the broadcast content which is pre-selected by and for the user through a broadcast network, for example, are stored in the cache storage section 52 as data files hereinafter referred to as content segments 93.
• Content from a content aggregator 58 which has been stored in storage device 55 can be automatically updated, that is, written over when that content has been updated by the content aggregator and provided to the user's computer 42.
• One of the content segments 93 is preferably a teaser provided by a content aggregator 58.
• the disk drive also stores applications 95 (e.g., word processing and communication programs) and data files 97 such as text and image files which can enter the computer 42 by alternate means such as CDROM, a keyboard or other input device.
• applications 95 e.g., word processing and communication programs
• data files 97 such as text and image files which can enter the computer 42 by alternate means such as CDROM, a keyboard or other input device.
• the computer 42 is programmed with local movie generation software 70 in accordance with the present invention to generate a cache movie by assembling snap shots from any directories and files on the disk drive 55 or other memory device.
• the local movie generation software is hereinafter referred to as the cache movie generator (CMG) 70.
• the computer 42 is programmed to make a snap shot of one or more key pages in each content segment 93 and to store the snap shots on the disk drive 55 (block 71). Snap shots can be generated, for example, by creating a representation of Web-type page that is, converting text, images, HTML and other data to an image file using bit mapping, JPEG or other format.
• the computer 42 is programmed by the CMG 70 to generate and to assemble and display the snap shots sequentially on the output device 56 to provide the user with a cache movie to preview the content segments in the cache memory 52 (block 81). The user can therefore passively view a representation of the cached content.
• the computer 42 is also programmed in accordance with the present invention to store a number of software tools 73 which are downloaded or otherwise stored as needed.
• the software tools preferably comprise an image segue library 75, an audio library 77 and a synchronization tool 79 such as an Edit Decision List (EDL) for providing instructions to synchronize the snap shots in a cache movie to correspond with music being played during the cache movie.
• EDL Edit Decision List
• the computer 42 is programmed to permit the user to customize the cache movie by selecting music to be played or having silence (e.g., muting the loudspeaker 59) during the cache movie and the speed with which snap shots or frames in the cache movie are presented to the output device 56, among other options such as screen prompts, controls and image segues.
• the computer 42 is programmed to synchronize the display of the snap shots on a computer monitor of the output device 56 with music or other audio soundtrack selected by the user from the audio library 77.
• Instructions from the synchronization tool79 e.g., EDL instructions
• provide synchronization codes such as SMPTE time codes standardized by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) for synchronization.
• SMPTE Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers
• Cache movie generation is illustrated in Fig. 6.
• a first snap shot 96 is shown, followed by a number of other snap shots to be displayed sequentially thereafter and indicated generally at
• the snap shot 96 is to be generated on the output device 56 a selected time during the playback of the background music selected by the user such as at time 01:02:28: 16 into the music piece, as indicated by the SMPTE code 99.
• the pace at which the snap shots are presented to the output device 56 is coordinated via synchronization tool instructions with the tempo of the music selected by the user for playback during the cache movie.
• snap shots or frames in the cache movie can be presented in a more rapid succession and at a varying pace (e.g., the pace increasing more rapidly as the movie progresses) when accompanied by rock music than by chamber music.
• a content aggregator 58 can create a teaser using the same method of synchronization, that is, snap shots of content can be generated at a selected rate which is commensurate with the style of the soundtrack selected by the content aggregator.
• the user can select to view the cache movie without any sound from the loudspeaker 59.
• the snap shots can be synchronized in accordance with a user input, as opposed to a synchronization with an audio soundtrack tool.
• a slide bar 67 is provided to control the cache movie presentation rate when no soundtrack is desired.
• the user can select the pace of the cache movie to be presented more rapidly (e.g., three frames per second) or at a slower rate (e.g., one frame every three seconds), respectively.
• the computer 42 can be programmed to associate a frame or snap shot presentation rate with a particular cursor position.
• a cache movie is generated by the computer 42 which comprises applications 95 and data files 97 on the disk drive 55, for example, as well as content segments from the cache memory 52 or other memory.
• the CMG 70 selects stored files and/or applications on the basis of file type, directory location or date of origin or date of last edit, among other criteria. Snap shots are generated for the files and/or applications that a user wishes to have included in a cache movie. One such snap shot is depicted in Fig. 7. For example, a user can select to see a snap shot of each file having been created or revised before a selected date. The user can then passively view a portion of each file to determine, for example, whether or not a file can be deleted.
• a cache movie of disk drive files is also helpful when a user is looking for a particular image, text or other data and cannot remember where the data is stored.
• the user can also select the format of the snap shots. For example, a snap shot of only the first page of each selected data file can be provided to the output device 56. Snap shots which each indicate four pages or images from a stored viewable file can be used to allow the user to view several pages of each file being previewed by the cache movie, as depicted in Fig. 7.
• the cache movie can also include a snap shot of an icon or other image representing an application.
• the computer 42 is also programmed to allow the user to browse cached content actively by suspending presentation of the cache movie to click on a snap shot, which causes the CMG 70 to present the actual content corresponding to the present snap shot.
• the user can then click on any screen icons or hyper-links in the content currently on display, to jump to other content segments 93 cached anywhere that is accessible via the computer 42 (e.g., via a network 60), and to resume presentation of the cache movie as desired.
• the user can start the CMG 70 (block 83) when desired by clicking on an icon or other image on the display device 47. While the cache movie is being presented (block 85). the user can stop the cache movie, as indicated in block 87, to view the content segment represented by a snap shot.
• the user therefore can selectively transition to an active browsing role from a passive viewing role and then click on prompts or icons provided in the content and jump to other related Internet-type content, as indicated in block 89.
• the user can resume playback of the cache movie, as indicated in block 91.
• the computer 42 can commence generation of the cache movie before the user requests to view the cache movie and therefore independently of when the user desires to preview cached content.
• the computer 42 via the CMG 70 generates the cache movie in response to a user request (e.g., when the user requests to view snap shots of data files in the computer storage device 55 having a selected revision date).
• the cache movie changes from one generation thereof to a subsequent generation thereof when the content changes.
• several different cache movies can reside simultaneously in the cache memory 52 for presentation when selected by a user. Any "Entertainment" cache movie can be created using snap shots of different videos, while a "My Documents" cache move can be created for a user's professional work.
• the "Entertainment" cache movie may not change very often if the user maintains cache files to preview favorite videos, as compared with a "My Documents" cache movie.
• Figs. 8 and 9 are exemplary snap shots created via cache movie generation in accordance with the present invention.
• the screens depict windows in which snap shots of selected content are being presented.
• the screens comprise a bar 160 and a cursor 162 which traverses the bar 160 to indicate the progression of the cache movie, as well as a play/stop button 159 and a mute button 161.
• the button 159 can be eliminated by allowing the user to double click on the cursor 162 instead to alternately stop and start the cache movie.
• a user can click on the cursor 162 to "freeze" the screen and then click on the cursor 162 again to resume playback of the segment.
• the user can also click on any portion of the bar 160 to view the snap shot corresponding to that portion of the cache movie.
• the computer 42 is programmed by the CMG 70 to store data relating a snap shot among a sequence of snap shots with a cursor position on the bar 160.
• Fig. 9 illustrates a snap shot which is presented before the snap shot depicted in Fig. 8, as indicated by the respective positions of the cursor 162 on the bar 160 in both snap shots.
• the user can click on a position on the bar 160 and jump to the snap shot presented when the cursor 162 is at that position without having to view all of the snap shots that were presented between the last cursor position and the new cursor position.
• the present invention provides the user with other ways to customize snap shots and presentation of the content.
• the computer 42 is programmed to generate an audio preferences screen 100 on the display device 47 which provides a user with a number of options regarding music to accompany the cache movie.
• a user customizes his or her listening experience during presentation of the cache movie by selecting a silence button 114 or a button 104 for the soundtrack music for the cache movie.
• the audio preferences screen also provides a menu 106 of different kinds of soundtrack music such as Latin American music, Middle Eastern music, African Tribal music, South Pacific music, Southeast Asian music, and so on. The selections can also include specific artists and sound recordings.
• the user has selected the "Latin American 3" soundtrack.
• a slider button 1 12 is provided to adjust the volume of the soundtrack music.
• the snap shots 96 and 98 in Fig. 6 and the snap shots in Figs. 8 and 9 have been described as full-screen displays for exemplary purposes. Plural snap shots can be presented simultaneously in a full-screen display, as shown.
• the CMG 70 can generate more than one cache movie in a display frame.
• different framing options are provided for selection by the user, depending on the operating speed of the computer 42 and user preferences as to how many different snap shots or content segments are to be provided in one frame.
• the computer 42 is programmed to generate a layout preferences screen 130 to allow the user to create display frames having more than one content segment or cache movie and to customize the placement these items in onscreen windows at different screen destinations (i.e., coordinates on a display).
• a layout menu 132 permits the user to select from a variety of pre-designed or user-designed layouts. For example, a row of three onscreen windows can be provided along the left side of a screen for showing video data from three content segments 93 such as a broadcast news program, a broadcast regional news program and a broadcast sports highlights program, respectively. Another onscreen window can be placed at the top of the screen to display stock market information from another content segment 93 in a text format, for example.
• the onscreen windows are shown in a preview window 136 as windows “1", “2", “3” and “4" and correspond to the "alternate 2" layout option in menu 132 in the illustrated example.
• a resolution menu 134 allows the user to change the resolution of the display device 47 for the passive and active content viewing application program of the present invention.
• the computer 42 is programmed to return the resolution to the previous setting used before the active content viewing application program was initiated.
• a "switch resolutions on startup” button 138 allows the user to disable resolution changes via the menu 134.
• a “more” button 138 allows the user to go to another screen which provides more layout customization options, such as allowing the user to create custom layouts or to modify the pre-defined layouts.
• the user is provided with options to change the placement of the onscreen windows, as well as the size and shape of the onscreen windows. For example, the user can assign priorities to different content which the user has selected for viewing. For example, the content deemed to be most important to the user can be provided in the most prominent window on the screen.
• Other onscreen windows can be generated as smaller windows in the background which can be clicked on using the mouse 53 and enlarged for temporary viewing.
• a user can select from different image segue options. For example, the user can select from among different animated transition mechanisms between snap shots from the image segue library 75. Transitions between snap shots can be indicated by diminishing the size of or fading a currently displayed snap shot until the display device 47 is blank prior to presenting another snap shot. Snap shots can also be presented so as to appear to be traversing or sliding onto and then off of the display device 47.
• the computer 42 in accordance with the present invention preferably has a home screen or icon or desktop function (e.g., "WorldView " ' screen 170 depicted in Fig. 12).
• the home screen can provide the user with the option to enter a customization mode wherein the computer 42 generates screens (e.g., screens as shown in Figs. 10 and 1 1) to prompt the user to make selections regarding the customized presentation of the cache movie and cached content.
• the customization mode can be entered by clicking on the snap shot representing the control panel comprising the customization screens during the cache movie to access the control panel.
• Each screen can be provided with tabs indicated generally at 154 in Figs. 10 and 11 to guide the user when switching between screens in the application program of the present invention.
• interface elements such as a cancel button 156 and an accept button 158 can be provided on screens where user selections are entered to allow the user to control when his or her selections are to be stored and implemented by the computer 42.
• a snap shot 170 can be provided which provides a content selection mechanism on the display device 47 to guide the user when selecting broadcast deliverable content for storage.
• the snap shot 170 provides two column menus 172 and 174 listing different content.
• the menus 172 and 174 which can be scrolled using up/down buttons 176 and 178, respectively.
• the user's selections are used by the computer 42 to store the corresponding information from the content aggregator(s) 58 in the cache storage device 52, for example.
• the content in the menus 172 and 174 can be categorized by the content aggregator 58 into categories such as "Kids" and "News".
• Category names as well as content-type names such as "My Documents” and "Control Panel” can be generated by the computer 42 and displayed in the bar 160.
• the category names can be dynamically generated by the CMG 70 based on selected cached content and displayed in the bar 160. User selection of a category from the bar 160 allows the user to jump to snap shots representing content in the cache movie that correspond to the selected category.
• the cached content can include documents or applications such as control panels for devices controlled by the computer 42 such as a radio receiver card for receiving broadcast content, a television tuner card, an audio card, and a home security or environment control system, among others.
• Snap shots for control panels for external or peripheral devices can be included in a cache movie and provided a separate category (e.g., "Control Panels") in the bar 160.
• a user can scan several control panel snap shots and browse the actual content corresponding thereto in order to change control settings
• Figs. 12 and 13 illustrate the multimedia available using the CMG 70 of the present invention.
• a snap shot can be made from different media types and presented on a single snap shot.
• the different media types can be a real-time data stream to provide stock market rates, for example, HTML. .GIF, text, Quicktime. Flash. SMPTE, EDL, and so on.
• some users can have access to selected Internet-type information via a one-way broadcast system.
• the selected Internet- type data can be provided by a content aggregator 58, for example, because some types of information are desired by enough users as to make broadcasting of that information simultaneously to many users efficient in contrast with providing the data to individual users on a request-only basis in a point-to-point type of communication system.
• the system 40 delivers selected information to users without requiring an information request or other signal from the user to the content provider or aggregator.
• the computer 42 can be programmed to generate a snap shot of an HTML control/navigable page on the display device 47 which guides the user to select from a number of topics of information such as regional news reports, regional weather reports, stock market reports, and consumer information.
• Broadcast content can also include, for example, audio programs for a variety of music categories such as classical music, world music, country music, maps, feature films, television programs, distance learning programs, information from Internet sites, and so on.
• the user selects which broadcast content is to be downloaded and cached on his or her computer. Snap shots therefrom are then presented in onscreen windows on the display device 47 by the computer 42 to create a cache movie as described above.
• a preview of the selected and cached content is provided in a television or video-like format.
• the user can passively preview highlights of all of the content selected by the user from the broadcast channel 66.
• the user can also browse the content as described above on connection with Fig. 4. If a news broadcast program is selected, it is updated as often as the content aggregator updates and broadcasts the program. Content such as video can be downloaded for viewing at a later time. Thus, a user has the convenience of not having to be present to receive and store selected content.
• content can be downloaded during the night or during other periods when the computer 42 is not otherwise being used.
• the computer 42 stores snap shots of some content but not the actual content corresponding to these snap shots. The computer 42 accesses the content represented by these snap shots from remote data sources via a network, as illustrated in Fig. 3.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
• Tourism & Hospitality (AREA)
• Databases & Information Systems (AREA)
• Human Computer Interaction (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Strategic Management (AREA)
• Economics (AREA)
• Data Mining & Analysis (AREA)
• Human Resources & Organizations (AREA)
• Marketing (AREA)
• Primary Health Care (AREA)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• General Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
• Signal Processing For Digital Recording And Reproducing (AREA)
• Television Signal Processing For Recording (AREA)
• Information Transfer Between Computers (AREA)
• Indexing, Searching, Synchronizing, And The Amount Of Synchronization Travel Of Record Carriers (AREA)
• Management Or Editing Of Information On Record Carriers (AREA)
• Reverberation, Karaoke And Other Acoustics (AREA)
• Two-Way Televisions, Distribution Of Moving Picture Or The Like (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=22598696

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (15)

Families Citing this family (3)

Citations (1)

Family Cites Families (6)

• 1999
  • 1999-09-21 WO PCT/US1999/021827 patent/WO2000020957A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1999-09-21 BR BR9914243-0A patent/BR9914243A/pt not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1999-09-21 KR KR1020017004226A patent/KR20010079975A/ko not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1999-09-21 CN CN99813301A patent/CN1326562A/zh active Pending
  • 1999-09-21 AU AU62567/99A patent/AU6256799A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1999-09-21 EP EP99949762A patent/EP1116091A4/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 1999-09-21 AP APAP/P/2001/002117A patent/AP2001002117A0/en unknown
  • 1999-09-27 PE PE1999000977A patent/PE20001197A1/es not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1999-09-27 PA PA19998483001A patent/PA8483001A1/es unknown
  • 1999-09-28 AR ARP990104893A patent/AR022101A1/es unknown
  • 1999-10-01 MA MA25798A patent/MA24996A1/fr unknown
  • 1999-10-01 TW TW088116926A patent/TW484288B/zh active
  • 1999-10-01 CO CO99062301A patent/CO5140140A1/es unknown
  • 1999-10-02 EG EG122799A patent/EG21922A/xx active
  • 1999-10-02 JO JO19992150A patent/JO2150B1/en active

Patent Citations (1)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events