FR2941835A1 - Information source surveillance method for information network i.e. internet, involves receiving information from information source followed by one of subscriptions of list, and returning received information by navigator - Google Patents

Abstract

The method involves transmitting a request by a client device during starting of a navigator permitting navigation of an information network, for a surveillance service managing a list of subscriptions. Information is received from an information source followed by one of subscriptions of the list, where the subscription is selected by the service through applying a selection policy according to information relative to a selection policy comprised in the subscription. The received information is returned by the navigator. Independent claims are also included for the following: (1) a method for managing a surveillance service on an information network (2) an information processing device functioning as a client connected to an information network.

Description

The present invention relates to the field of monitoring processes on an information network. It offers a service allowing the route of a predefined list of previously selected information sites. Today, the Internet tends to become more and more important source of information. The user accesses the information available on this network via a navigation tool now available on personal computers and also on a set of mobile terminals, phones, PDAs and others. Using this navigation tool or browser, the user can access information sources, generally called sites, using an address or URL (Uniform Resource Locator) that uniquely identifies this source of information on the network. These sources are now in very large numbers and the user is offered the opportunity to store in his browser the addresses of sources that interest him and discovered during his navigation. These stored addresses are called favorites, bookmarks or bookmarks in English depending on the system used. A user is quickly with several dozen of these stored addresses allowing access to as many sources of information of particular interest. For the sake of monitoring all these sources of information, the user must browse all of these bookmarks to access each source of information to find out if this information has been updated or not. This manual process is tedious. To facilitate this watch, a number of tools have been developed. These tools make it easier for the user to discover that new information has been put online by his favorite information sources. These techniques include RSS (Really Simple Syndication in English) and today designating a whole set of subscription techniques. This technique is based on the subscription of the user to a data stream emitted by the information source publishing the latest additions on this source. In a practical way, an RSS client module collects the subscriptions and periodically connects to the RSS feeds published by the information sources. This module can then detect the news announced on these streams and display all or part of this new information and a link to access the full content of the addition to the site of the source of information. This RSS client module can be integrated into the browser, the email client or be an independent application dedicated to this use. Although more practical than manual bookmarking, RSS feeds have the flaw that one is quickly invaded by a large number of new information notifications published as the number of subscriptions grows. Especially since it is not possible to differentiate the treatment of these flows that are treated in a uniform way. Other solutions to this watch problem have been proposed. For example, some services offer the user the possibility of constructing a page containing a summary of the information available on a set of information sites. This page is then in the form of a portal aggregating a set of modules providing an overview of said sources of information. Some of these modules can be built using the RSS feed of the information site in question. These services make it possible to obtain on the same page a global view of a set of information sources. These services have the disadvantage of drastically limiting the number of accessible sources because of the inevitably limited size of the page forming the aggregation. This page responding to a disposition chosen by the user always has the same overall appearance and it is not always easy to distinguish the new information between two updates of the page. Finally, it is directly accessible to a summary of the available information, the access to the full information requiring the activation of a link, usually present in the module rendering the preview. There are also, generally in the form of browser extension, services to randomly select at the start of the browser a bookmark in all saved bookmarks. This bookmark is then used to display the information that it references as the browser's start page. These services suffer from a uniform treatment of different bookmarks. Access to a given bookmark is not guaranteed in a limited number of starts. It can therefore take a very long time before one accesses in this way to a given source of information. On the other hand, it is possible to access repeatedly a source of information that has no new information to present. In addition, all saved bookmarks do not necessarily refer to dynamic information sources and therefore do not have vocations to be included in a standby service.

The invention aims to solve the above problems by a monitoring method allowing the user to consult a set of sources, on a regular basis. These sources are presented to him in an uncompressed integral way. The frequency of presentation of each source obeys a policy defined according to multiple criteria. This avoids representing information already presented and missing information with a high turnover rate. The invention relates to a method of monitoring an information network comprising a step of sending a request by a client device, when starting a browser for browsing the information network and access to a set of information sources available on this information network, said request being sent to a monitoring service managing a previously defined subscription list associated with the client, each subscription including the address of a source of information. information and information relating to a policy of selecting said source of information; a step of receiving information from an information source described by one of the subscriptions of the list, said subscription having been selected by said service by the application of a selection policy based on at least information relating to a selection policy included in said subscription and a step of rendering said browser received information.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises a step of reception, by said client device, of the address of the source of information associated with said subscription selected by said service and a step, by said client device, sending a request to said source of information associated with said subscription selected by said service to request the content associated with the received address. According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the information received during the step of receiving information from an information source is received from said service acting in relay of said information source. According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the rendering step 30 further comprises a step of rendering an interface giving access to a set of resident functions in addition to the information received. According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises a preliminary step of registering the user with the service comprising a step of connecting to the server by the user from the client device; a step of information intelligence relating to the identity of the user; an initialization step of the subscription list; a step of receiving login credentials and a step of modifying the client to cause the call of the service when starting the browser.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the method comprises for each subscribed subscription, a step of information parameters of an associated selection policy. The invention also relates to a method of managing a watch service on an information network comprising a step of receiving a request sent by a client device, when starting a browser allowing the navigation on the network of information and access to a set of information sources available on this information network, said monitoring service managing a list of previously defined subscriptions associated with the customer, each subscription comprising the address of an information source and information relating to a policy of selecting said source of information and a step of selecting a subscription from one of the subscriptions of the list by applying a selection policy based on at least the information relating to a selection policy included in the said subscription. According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises a step of transmitting a response to the received request comprising at least the address of the information source associated with the selected subscription. According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises a step of sending a request to the source of information associated with the selected subscription; a step of receiving information from the selected source in response to the sent request and a step of sending the received information to the client device, the service acting as a relay. According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises a step of monitoring the availability of new content offered by the information sources of the list. According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the selection policy uses the criterion of availability of new content proposed by the information sources of the list.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the selection policy uses a priority level of the information source defined by the user. According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the selection policy uses the criterion of the time elapsed since the last selection of the information source. According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the selection policy uses a probability of selecting the information source defined by the result of the application of at least one constraint in the form of a scalar function of the policy of selection associated with the subscription.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the selection policy uses at least one general criterion of the selection policy defined for all the subscriptions of the list. The invention also relates to an information processing device capable of functioning as a client connected to an information network comprising a browser allowing navigation over the information network and access to a set of available information sources. on this information network; means for sending a request, when the browser is started, said request being sent to a monitoring service managing a previously defined subscription list associated with the client, each subscription including the address of a source of data. information and information relating to a policy of selecting said source of information; means for receiving information from an information source described by one of the subscriptions of the list, said subscription having been selected by said service by the application of a selection policy according to at least information relating to a selection policy included in said subscription and means for rendering the information received. According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the device further comprises means for managing a watch service managing a previously defined subscription list associated with the customer, each subscription comprising the address of an information source. and information relating to a policy for selecting said source of information and means for selecting a subscription from one of the subscriptions of the list by applying a selection policy based on at least information relating to a selection policy included in the said subscription.

The invention also relates to an information processing device able to function as a server connected to an information network for managing a monitoring service on this information network comprising means for receiving an issued request. by a client device, when starting a browser for browsing the information network and accessing a set of information sources available on this information network, said monitoring service managing a list of subscriptions defined contract associated with the customer, each subscription comprising the address of an information source and information relating to a policy of selection of said source of information and means of selecting a subscription from one of the subscriptions of the list by applying a selection policy based on at least the information relating to a selection policy included in said subscription. The characteristics of the invention mentioned above, as well as others, will emerge more clearly on reading the following description of an exemplary embodiment, said description being given in relation to the attached drawings, among which: FIG. . 1 illustrates the architecture of the information network, FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the service registration method, FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the exchanges between the client and the server, FIG. 4 illustrates a second embodiment of the exchanges between the client and the server. The invention is defined in the context of the use of an information network. An information network is a network for exchanging data between different information processing apparatuses such as computers, mobile terminals, personal assistants, and the like. The embodiment of the invention is done in the context of the Internet where the data is exchanged using the TCP / IP protocol (Transport Control Protocol / Internet Protocol), defined in the RFCs (Request For Comment in English) 791 and 793. The invention can not be limited to this network and these protocols and can operate on any type of information exchange network. On these information networks, and especially on the Internet, there are various sources of information. We can mention Web sites, FTP servers (File Transfer Protocol in English) for example. These sources of information originally planned to make available files in the form of information pages or data files now allow access to dynamic information, databases or databases. any type of service. The notion of source of information is understood in this document in its most general sense as any resource making available to a customer on the information network or allowing a customer to interact with the source to obtain this information. information. It can therefore be web sites in the traditional sense, but also services such as a hosted e-mail service. In the latter case, the published information consists of new messages received. We can also mention RSS feeds associated with an information site or social sites such as Facebook or MySpace. The source of information can be defined as the whole site or service or as a simple sub-part of this site. For example, in the case of a social site, it is possible to define several sources of information such as messaging, the page indicating the changes in the status of our relations, the page of a specific application subscribed as part of its social account or others. This notion can not be limited to certain specific protocols such as the HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) HTTP access protocol, RFC 2616. The users of the information network access these sources of information using devices information processing capable of functioning as a client connected to the information network. On these devices is implemented a client or browser. This client is a software module for managing the exchanges with the information source, the retrieval of the information published by the source and the rendering of this information on the user's terminal. The sources of information and possibly the various information made available by these sources are referenced by addresses on the network. These addresses are used by the client to reference an information source. Typically, in the context of the Internet, these addresses are URLs, but any other form of referencing could be used. In the remainder of this document, it is necessary to understand the notion of address as being any means of referencing a source of information on the network. The address is understood in a broad sense and is not limited to the concept of URLs generally used today. Fig. 1 illustrates the context network architecture of the invention. The 1.1 clients are connected to an information network 1.2 which allows them to access a set of information sources 1.3.

The invention aims to offer the content of a source of information as a start page from a selection of sources, the registration includes the information of at least one of these sources. Subscription is defined as a set of data relating to a source of information contained in the list. A subscription includes, on the one hand, the address of the information source as well as information relating to a selection policy for this subscription as well as any necessary parameters to connect to this source, such as, for example, any authentication settings from the information source. The proposed invention is based on the offer to a user of a start page of his browser that presents the content of an information source from a collection of sources he has previously selected. The problem to be solved is to realize on the one hand the validation and the choice of the source to display and on the other hand to perform the restitution within the browser of the client as a start page in a way that is the more automatic possible by seeking the least possible intervention of the user. It is recalled that browsers typically allow to define a start page that can be a blank page or the content of an information source whose address will have been stored. Then, when the user starts his browser, this start page is automatically downloaded and displayed by the browser.

To achieve this, the invention uses the services of a dedicated server connected to the information network. The use of a server makes it possible, on the one hand, to make the different users of the service interact, but also to pool certain resources. This server manages for each user a user account. He must subscribe to the service by registering with the server. The registration process consists of at least the creation of authentication information allowing the user secure access to his account. Fig. 2 illustrates the service registration process for a user. In a first step 2.1, the user connects to the service hosted on a server accessible by the communication network. This connection is typically done using a standard browser. During a step 2.2, the user informs elements relating to his identity. It is typically an e-mail address, or its name possibly completed by any desirable item such as his personal address or his bank details in the case where the service is paid. He also chooses the information allowing then a secure access to the service, typically a password. Those skilled in the art understand that any authentication system can be used in place of a password authentication such as secure access by a smart card, biometric authentication, for example by fingerprint or others.

During a step 2.3, the user must initialize his subscription list so that the service can be operational. This step can be made mandatory when registering or can be done eventually later. In any case, it is necessary for a first use of the service. During this step, the user chooses, possibly implicitly, the address of at least one first information source and the associated selection policy parameters. These parameters and this policy are detailed below. These settings can be assigned default values that can be changed later. Advantageously, several methods can be offered to the user to easily initialize a subscription list. A first option may be to send the start page configured in the browser at the time of registration as the first subscription. Another option is to send all the addresses of sources of information stored in the browser in the form of bookmarks (bookmarks in English). Advantageously, an interface is then offered to the user allowing him to quickly select among all of these bookmarks those he wants to export to the service or conversely those he does not wish to export. Indeed, some of these bookmarks may reference information that is not intended to become subscriptions of the service. These features can be offered via a program included in the registration page for example in the javascript language or through a plug-in in the browser. During an optional step 2.4 of the registration process, the user is invited to enter general parameters, that is to say valid for all subscriptions, of the selection policy. Here again a set of default values can be offered, the user having, thereafter, the ability to customize these default values. In a step 2.5, the service validates the registration and assigns login credentials from the information given by the user to allow him subsequent secure access to the service. These identifiers can consist of a login name (login name in English) and a password, a cryptographic certificate, an identifier or any other means that can then be accessed later. securely associate the user and his account on the server. During a step 2.6, the client is modified to call the service when starting the browser. There are several ways to implement this feature. In the vast majority of browsers having the means to memorize the address of a start page, the easiest way to implement is to change this parameter to store the service address as start page. Therefore, during startup, the browser makes a call to the stored address and therefore initiates a request to the service. The order in which these steps take place is not imperative. Alternatively, some browsers offer the possibility to add extensions (plug-in English). These extensions consist of software modules external to the browser. These modules are started automatically when the browser starts. A software interface (API for Application Programm Interface in English) being defined by the browser editor, a communication between the browser and the extension is possible. In particular, the extension is prevented from starting the browser and can initialize the service. The service is typically hosted on an information processing device capable of functioning as a server connected to the information network. The server that hosts the service has several modules. These modules can be hosted on a single server or on a plurality of servers in one place or geographically distributed. A first module manages the registration process for the service as described above. A second module manages the user accounts and in particular the subscription lists of each user. A third module possibly manages the watch with the various sources of information referenced by the different subscriptions of the users. The implementation of the service on a remote server makes it possible to centralize the intelligence service of the sources of information. The same source of information, regardless of the number of subscribers, is periodically requested to test the existence of new content only once for the subscriber. On the contrary, an implementation on the client entails a solicitation by subscriber. In addition, the user account is available for all clients used by this user. For example, the user finds his account and his watch service both on his home computer and on his work computer at his workplace. The service can also, because of this implementation on a server and therefore its permanent operation, easily collaborate with third-party services. The user can also choose to give access to all or part of his subscription list to a group of people in a collaborative WEB 2.0 oriented operation. The user account management module advantageously comprises a table describing the profiles of the users. Optionally, it manages for each user the associated rights in the case where the service offers differentiated access depending on, for example a subscription level. For example, a limited rights service may be available free of charge and a more complete service may be charged. One can also imagine a free service paid by advertising on the service and a service without paid advertising. The management module manages a table or a list of subscriptions associated with each user. This list is modifiable by the user through an interface for managing his account. Advantageously, the module manages for each subscription a flag to know if the source of information referenced by said subscription offers new content since its last selection. It must be remembered here that the concept of new content is not limited to the publication of a new article on an information site or a blog. As the concept of information source has been broadly defined, it can refer to a service such as an email account for example. In this case, the notion of new content proposed by the source of information may mean the arrival of a new message on the account for example.

The availability of this new content is monitored by the third so-called standby module. This module is responsible for maintaining the flag indicating the availability of new content for the associated source. To do this, this module periodically connects to the information source and compares the available content with a stored version of this content. In case of appearance of a new content, it positions the flag. When the source is selected for presentation to the user, the flag is reset and a new content storage is performed. Other modes of detecting new content from an information source may be used instead or together with this watch.

For example, you can use RSS update feeds, or define any type of notification that can be sent by the source. Some sources of information require user authentication. This may be the case of a paid information site, a service such as an email service or a social network service. In this case, in order to be able to standby, the authentication information must be stored in the subscription. In the absence of this information, the source selection policy can not account for new content information available. It then makes the selection independently of this criterion.

A first implementation of the server is based on the use of a mySQL database, the PHP programming language and an Apache web server. A second exemplary embodiment is realized using the Python programming language in the Django development environment. These modules are free software accessible on the Internet, and widely used and known.

Those skilled in the art understand that other solutions can be used for implementation without departing from the scope of the invention. Alternatively, the functional distribution of the service between the client and the server may vary without departing from the scope of the invention. In particular, all or part of the server modules, or even only some of their functionalities, can be implemented on the client. However, in this case, a nominal operation of some of these features, including the service of monitoring the appearance of new content from the sources of information, requires that the client is connected to the information network regularly. The same goes for any social sharing functions of the WEB 2.0 type that can be associated with the service.

The source selection policy is the procedure applied to the subscription list to determine for a given launch of the browser the chosen subscription to identify the source of information to build the browser start page. This selection policy can be customized by a set of parameters. Some of these settings can be general and valid regardless of the source of information, and they are associated with the user's account. Other parameters are defined for each information source and are then associated with the subscription referencing said source of information. Indeed, one of the major problems solved by the invention is the relevance of the information presented to the user in the start page of his browser.

This information, to be relevant, must belong to the interests of the user. This is achieved by configuring the list of sources of information. It must also be new, that is to say not having already been presented to the user. But the publication of new information by a source is at very different rates depending on the sources. The selection policy intervenes here to avoid selecting a source of information that has no new information to present to the user since his last selection. Advantageously, the selection policy also takes into account a notion of priority defined by the user. This level of priority is then part of the information contained in the subscription. In this case, the selection policy favors between two sources having new information to present that of highest priority. Some sources of information have a very high turnover rate. The user does not necessarily want these sources to be presented too often. Advantageously, the user can define a minimum periodicity criterion to respect for the presentation of this source. Once the source is presented to the user, it can no longer be selected until a time at least equal to this minimum period has elapsed. This minimum periodicity is then part of the subscription data.

The user may also want access to an information source to be guaranteed, that is, none of the sources in his subscription list can ever be selected. Advantageously, the user can define when registering for the service a maximum period after which the source becomes a priority for a selection regardless of the other criteria involved in the selection policy. This maximum period is then part of the global settings of the selection policy associated with the user's account. Eventually, this function is conditional on the source having new information to present, it is accepted that a source ceasing to publish new information may never be selected. Alternatively, this maximum period can be defined for each source in a differentiated manner. This data is then part of the subscription and not the parameters associated with the user's account. The user can also specify constraints such as, for example, time slots outside which the source is not selectable, or client machines from which the source is, or is not, selectable.

For each subscription, it is possible to define a probability of selection. The probability values will provide a non-uniform distribution of the chances of being selected from the subscriptions fulfilling the other possible selection criteria. The user is then asked to define, for example by choosing an integer value between 0 and 100, this selection probability. It is also possible to define constraints that are scalar and not binary functions. These constraints then make it possible to modify the selection probability of the subscription and no longer a Boolean value authorizing or prohibiting the selection of the source. For example, constraints on time ranges can be defined according to a Gaussian type function that increases the probability of the source being selected according to the hours of the day. As another example, an information site on ski holidays will see its probability of selection increase gradually as the ski season gets closer. The actual selection consists of a procedure checking for each source whether it checks the selection criteria defined at the source itself, and then the general criteria defined for all the subscriptions of the list at the global level of the account. Then, one of all selectable sources is randomly selected from all selectable sources, i.e., fulfilling the selection criteria. In the case where priority levels are used, the random draw is performed only among the selectable sources of higher priority than the priority of the highest source having its flag on. Alternatively, the priority level just increases the chances of selecting the highest priority sources in a pseudo random draw on all the selectable sources.

Figure 3 illustrates the mode of operation of an exemplary embodiment of the invention. During a step 3.1, the browser starts on the client. A request is then sent by the client device during a step 3.2 to the server hosting the standby service. This request can be issued directly by the browser or by an extension of it as we have seen. This query contains information about the user's authentication to the service. This information can be requested from the user prior to sending the request or be provided automatically. The automatic supply can intervene by any means such as the use of a storage by the browser (cookie in English) or a security device such as a smart card reader or a fingerprint reader. In step 3.3, the server finds the account associated with the authentication data included in the request. It then applies the selection policy associated with this account to select a source from the user's subscription list. The server then responds to the request with a message 3.4 containing at least the address of the selected source. Optionally, this message also contains parameters associated with this source present in the subscription for authentication with the source or any other parameter necessary for connecting or customizing access to this source of information. Advantageously, this message has the form of a WEB page containing an embedded program that will cause the redirection to the selected information source. This program can be simply written in javascript. Alternatively, in the case where the request is issued by an extension of the browser, this request issued and the message received in response is then interpreted by this extension, the skilled person can choose any format to suit it for them. Upon receipt of this response on the client, the client analyzes this response in a step 3.5. This analysis can be done by the browser analyzing the page and the embedded program according to its nominal operating mode or the browser extension. This analysis leads to the issue by the client of a request 3.6 for the source of information. This request contains the possible authentication or other transmitted parameters, which request is in turn analyzed by the source during step 3.7 to generate the information from the information source that is transmitted in a response 3.8 to the browser. It then calculates the rendering of this information and displays it in step 3.9. Fig. 4 illustrates an alternative mode of operation of the service. In this operating mode, the steps 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 are identical to the corresponding steps 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 in the previous mode. After step 4.3 of selecting the source, the server itself sends the request 4.4 to the source, query analyzed in a step 4.5 by the source corresponding to step 3.7 of the previous embodiment. It is therefore the server hosting the service that receives the response 4.6 from the source. The server hosting the service then builds the page containing the information transmitted by the source during step 4.7 and transmits this information from the source in a response 4.8 to the client. The client then scans and displays this page in step 4.9. This embodiment allows the server hosting the service to control the layout of the information from the source.

In particular, it is then possible to include in the transmitted page information relating to the service or even advertising. Regarding the rendering by the browser of the information transmitted by the source, the simplest solution is to make the information as it is transmitted by the source. This solution corresponds to a simple operation where the page transmitted by the source is directly displayed as a start page by the browser. The page is then either obtained directly as a result of a request to the source made by the browser or retransmitted by the server hosting the service that will have previously requested from the source. The service then functions as a redirection to the address referencing the source.

However, since the user subscribed to the standby service via the start page, it may be advantageous to provide direct access to a set of service-related features directly from this start page. In particular, it can be provided with a direct link on the configuration of its account, the management of its subscription list, the management of the parameters related to the subscription of the selected source whose information is displayed in the current start page or other. It is also possible to provide the user with direct access to a set of complementary services dissociated from the service, services which the user wishes to be able to access quickly when he launches his browser. It can thus provide an interface for the rapid launch of a search on the Internet, access to a selection of social networks or other. These so-called resident features must remain accessible at all times when using the service. One of the major advantages of the invention resides in displaying the information of the source in an integral format faithful to the rendering that the user has access to when he connects directly to the source independently of the service. integration of these features should be as unobtrusive as possible. Several solutions make it possible to implement such a mechanism. A first solution uses the structure of the document. Indeed, the pages displayed by a browser such as a WEB browser implement a notion of frame. The use of these frames makes it possible to subdivide the browser rendering area into different frames whose size can be controlled either absolutely or relative to the total size of the rendering area. Each frame thus defined makes it possible to display content independently. It is then possible to associate one of the frames thus defined, which we will call main frame, with the contents of the source. Another frame may then contain the service access interface. Advantageously, this frame will have the same rendering whatever the source selected. The user will find there, always in the same place and having the same aspect, the interface allowing the control of the service. One of the interests of the invention being to present the integral content of the source in an unreduced form, it is advantageous to reserve at least ninety percent of the total rendering area of the browser, while the frame uses the remaining ten percent, for example in the form of a banner on any of the sides of the rendering area. Advantageously, this interface strip can be made maskable. In this case, it is reduced to a simple discrete icon on a rendering area integrally or almost entirely dedicated to the rendering of information of the source. An action on this icon showing the service control strip. This band is then masked either as a result of a voluntary action in the interface, or after a given time without action within this banner.

This solution is implemented by the construction of the page containing the main and control frames by the server. This page is returned by the server in response to the request issued by the browser when the service starts. It contains in the main frame either the link to the source as part of a redirection implementation according to the scheme of FIG. 3, the content of the information retrieved by the server from the source as part of a relay implementation (proxy in English) according to the diagram of FIG. 4. Optionally, the server running in relay, slight changes are made to the page relayed, when necessary, to adapt the content of the page to a rendering within a frame. Indeed, some pages may contain a structure that may break the frame structure of the host page, thereby preventing access to the framework of resident features. The interface allowing access to control functionalities and resident functionalities may alternatively be implemented in the form of interface modules (widgets in English). These modules allow greater freedom in the rendering of this interface, it can, for example, provide a semitransparent rendering that allows to see the content of the selected information source under the module. It can, here again, be maskable or use any available animation effect. The advantage of building these interface elements using widget modules is to allow third-party services to implement their own modules and that these modules are added to the on-demand service by the user to customize his interface. These modules are based on an API whose main exchanges are done for example using a network protocol based on the JSON format (JavaScript Object Notation in English defined by RFC 4627 of the IETF). In any case, it is possible to allow the user to customize this interface by playing on parameters related to the account of the user. With respect to the existing, the invention corresponds to a solution that maximizes the technical aspects of the criterion of adequacy of the information for a user. On the one hand, the selection policy that guarantees relevant information from a broad catalog, and on the other the display of unabated information, helps to maximize the quality of this information. Alternatively, in the case where the service is managed by an extension of the browser, the structure of the page is obtained by direct manipulation of this structure. The extension then manipulates the DOM (Document Object Mode) architecture of the content of the source in order to add to it the interface elements optionally desired by the user. This choice of implementation has certain advantages. We are totally free in the implementation of the interactions between the client and the server since we control the interlocutors. It is possible to rely on known network protocols such as AJAX (Asynchronous Javascript And XML) or ASN.1 (Abstract Syntax Notation One). The implementation via a browser extension also solves two problems encountered during implementation by executives. On the one hand, it is difficult to guarantee that a source of information initially traversed within a framework can not escape and change the framework structure put in place. This means that the desired rendering of a control frame and a rendering frame can not be easily guaranteed for all sources of information. On the other hand, when the user is trying to memorize a bookmark on the information he is browsing within the frame, by default he gets the reference of the global page containing the frames and not the desired reference of the main frame. These disadvantages are not prohibitive, but can be troublesome. Another advantage of the implementation by an extension consists in the possibility of customizing the browser interface and adding menus dedicated to the management of the service or a button to call the service at any time, it that is, to request the display of a new start page outside the browser launch context. A user can easily browse some sources of information without having to leave the browser and restart.

This implementation also overloads the classic function of the browser for saving a bookmark. A call to this function will have the effect of creating, on the service, a new subscription from the visited page. It also makes it possible to impose a minimum frequency of appearance, the possibility of distributing certain expensive processes, the possible possibility of monitoring the local resources of the client computer with the agreement of the user. The service may optionally include advertising. This can be included on the information page presented. Advantageously, for legal reasons in particular, this information would be inserted in the complementary interface elements such as the control strip and not in the information of the source rendered in the main frame. On the other hand, it is possible to include in the list of subscriptions, advertising sources. These sources would then be chosen and added by the service and not under the control and at the initiative of the user. Thus, the user can occasionally receive an advertising page instead of one of its sources when starting the application. This advertising has an impact all the more as it expects to receive information selected from its sources of interest at this location. The insertion frequency of these advertisements is advantageously maintained at a reduced level so as not to harm the interest of the service for the user. The invention thus defined makes it possible to provide a method for monitoring a set of information sources available on an information network to a user. Due to temporally and spatially distributed access to this set of sources, the number of these sources is potentially unlimited. The user accesses all the information published by the source and not a summary of this information. It can define a set of parameters to manage the constraints and conditions for a source to be selected as well as priority levels between these sources. It is thus ensured to access interesting information, renewed and in a frequency consistent with the frequency of renewal of information from the source. It can thus optimize an efficiency rate of this watch according to a ratio between the amount of relevant information accessed and the time spent on this access. In addition to technical elements such as the general economy of resources, the network implementation of the service has different advantages: the user has a service accessible from anywhere. Content editors have a service address, which, in terms of software architecture, facilitates the effective relay of information to interested users. Finally, because the different users interact on the service, elements of collective intelligence can be exploited in the personalized watch.

Claims (1)

CLAIMS1 / A method of monitoring an information network (1.2) characterized in that it comprises the following steps: - a step of sending a request (3.2, 4.2) by a client device (1.1), during the starting a browser allowing navigation on the information network (1.2) and access to a set of information sources (1.3) available on this information network, said request (3.2, 4.2) being issued to destination of a watch service managing a previously defined list of subscriptions associated with the customer, each subscription comprising the address of an information source and information relating to a selection policy of said source of information; a step of receiving information (3.8, 4.8) from an information source described by one of the subscriptions of the list, said subscription having been selected by said service by the application of a selection policy based on at least the information relating to a selection policy included in said subscription; - A step of rendering (3.9, 4.9) by said browser received information. 2 / A watch method according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises: - a step of receiving (3.4), by said client device, the address of the information source associated with said subscription selected by said service; a step (3.6), by said client device, of sending a request to said source of information associated with said subscription selected by said service to request the content associated with the received address. 3 / method of standby according to claim 1, characterized in that the information received in the step of receiving information (4.8) from an information source are received from said service acting in relay of said source of information. 4 / method for monitoring according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the rendering step (3.9, 4.9) further comprises a step of rendering an interfaceonnant access to a set of resident features in addition to received information. 5 / method for monitoring according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it further comprises a prior step of registration of the user with the service comprising: - a step of connecting to the server by the user from the client device a step of informing information relating to the identity of the user; a step of initialization of the list of subscriptions; a step of receiving connection identifiers; a step of modifying the client to call the service when starting the browser. 6 / method of monitoring according to claim 5, characterized in that it comprises for each subscribed subscription, a step of information parameters associated with a selection policy. 7 / A method for managing a watch service on an information network (1.2), characterized in that it comprises the following steps: a step of receiving a request (3.2, 4.2) sent by a client device (1.1), when starting a browser allowing navigation on the information network (1.2) and access to a set of information sources (1.3) available on this information network, said standby service managing a previously defined subscription list associated with the customer, each subscription including the address of an information source and information relating to a selection policy of said source of information; a step of selecting (3.3, 4.3) a subscription from one of the subscriptions of the list by the application of a selection policy based on at least the information relating to a selection policy included in said subscription. 8 / A management method of a monitoring service according to claim 7, characterized in that it further comprises: - a step of transmitting a response (3.4) to the received request comprising at least the address of the source of information associated with the selected subscription. 9 / method for managing a watch service according to claim 7, characterized in that it further comprises: a step of sending a request (4.4) to the information source associated with the selected subscription; a step of receiving (4.6) information from the source selected in response to the request sent; A step (4.8) for sending the received information to the client device, the service acting as a relay. 10 / A management method of a monitoring service according to one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that it further comprises a step of monitoring the availability of new content proposed by the information sources of the listing. 11 / A management method of a monitoring service according to claim 10, characterized in that the selection policy uses the criterion of availability of new content proposed by the information sources of the list. 12 / method for managing a monitoring service according to claim 7, characterized in that the selection policy uses a priority level of the user-defined information source. 13 / A method for managing a monitoring service according to claim 7, characterized in that the selection policy uses the criterion of the time elapsed since the last selection of the information source. 14 / A management method of a monitoring service according to claim 7, characterized in that the selection policy uses a probability of selection of the information source defined by the result of the application of at least one constraint in the form of a scalar function of the selection policy associated with the subscription. 2015 / Method for managing a monitoring service according to one of Claims 7 to 14, characterized in that the selection policy uses at least one general criterion of the selection policy defined for all the subscriptions in the list. . 16 / device (1.1) for processing information capable of functioning as a client connected to an information network (1.2), characterized in that it comprises: a navigator enabling navigation over the information network; and access to a set of information sources (1.3) available on this information network; means for sending a request (3.2, 4.2) during the start of the browser, said request (3.2, 4.2) being sent to a monitoring service managing a previously defined subscription list associated with the client, each subscription comprising the address of an information source and information relating to a policy of selection of said source of information; means for receiving information (3.8, 4.8) from an information source described by one of the subscriptions of the list, said subscription having been selected by said service by the application of a selection policy based on at least the information relating to a selection policy included in said subscription; - Render means (3.9, 4.9) information received. 17 / device (1.1) for processing information able to function as a client connected to an information network (1.2) according to claim 16, characterized in that it further comprises: - management means of a watch service managing a previously defined subscription list associated with the customer, each subscription comprising the address of an information source and information relating to a selection policy of said source of information; means for selecting (3.3, 4.3) a subscription from one of the subscriptions of the list by applying a selection policy based on at least the information relating to a selection policy included in said selection policy; subscription.18 / information processing device (1.1) able to function as a server connected to an information network (1.2) for managing a monitoring service on this information network (1.2), characterized in that it comprises: means for receiving a request (3.2, 4.2) sent by a client device (1.1), when starting a browser allowing navigation on the information network (1.2) and the access to a set of information sources (1.3) available on this information network, said monitoring service managing a previously defined list of subscriptions associated with the customer, each subscription comprising the address of an information source and information about a p selecting said source of information; means for selecting (3.3, 4.3) a subscription from one of the subscriptions of the list by applying a selection policy based on at least the information relating to a selection policy included in said selection policy; subscription.