GB2366884A

GB2366884A - Storage medium with pointers to remote sites

Info

Publication number: GB2366884A
Application number: GB0105042A
Authority: GB
Inventors: William Tolson
Original assignee: Iomega Corp
Current assignee: Iomega Corp
Priority date: 2000-03-07
Filing date: 2001-03-01
Publication date: 2002-03-20
Also published as: GB0105042D0

Abstract

A data storage medium 14 has stored thereon a site pointer that corresponds to a remote network site. The site pointer can be an Internet address. A processor 60 reads the site pointer, and provides a visual representation of the remote network site corresponding to the site pointer via a user interface. The processor connects to the remote network site corresponding to the site pointer by providing the site pointer to a network browser.

Description

<Desc/Clms Page number 1> REMOVABLE MAGNETIC STORAGE MEDIA WITR POINTERS TO REMOTE NETWORK SITES FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates in general to magnetic storage media. More particularly, the present invention relates to removable magnetic storage media having imbedded pointers to remote network sites.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A personal computer (PC), laptop computer (LC) , digital set top box (DSTB) , satellite receiver, or other similar data processing system, interfaced to a communications network such as the Internet, can function as a network client and receive downloaded digital information from servers on the network. Typical network applications in which clients and servers are interconnected via a communications network are local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), intranets, or the Internet. Application software on the client is typically adapted to request downloads from one or more of the servers in response to commands entered by the client user.

The Internet is a worldwide computer network via which host computer systems communicate with one another using the well-defined Internet Protocol (IP). Typically, each host has a unique Internet address. To further define the addresses of resources on the Internet, the Universal Resource Locator system was created. A Universal Resource Locator (URL) is a descriptor that specifically defines a type of Internet resource and its location. The user of a client, therefore, can access a Web server simply by entering the server's URL.

In an Internet application, a network browser running on the client typically includes programming for downloading content, or program data, from the World Wide Web (the "Web"). The browser is an operating system component or application program that allows the user to retrieve documents from the Web using simple point-and-click commands. Typical browsers allow for multimedia presentation of stored data including text, audio, and video.

Currently, most removable magnetic storage media are delivered to the user blank. It would be advantageous in certain circumstances if the ability were provided to offer the user of new media a menu of specific network sites to which the user could connect automatically simply by selecting one of the sites from the menu. For example, companies selling new products would have a new vehicle for advertising and for drawing new customers to their internet sites.

Thus, there is a need in the art for a removable magnetic storage medium that gives the user the ability to connect to a remote network site simply by selecting the site from a menu that is provided automatically when the medium is inserted into a drive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, apparatus for displaying a visual representation of a remote network site includes a data storage medium having stored thereon a site pointer that corresponds to the remote network site, and a processor coupled to the data storage medium. The site pointer can be an Internet address that corresponds to the remote network site The processor includes computer executable instructions for reading-the site pointer from the data storage medium, and for providing the visual representation of the remote network site corresponding to the site pointer via a user interface coupled to the processor.

The processor can also include computer executable instructions for launching a network browser, and for connecting the processor to the remote network site corresponding to the site pointer by providing the site pointer to the network browser.

The data storage medium can have stored thereon a plurality of site pointers, each of which corresponds to a respective remote network site. In this case, the processor can include computer executable instructions for connecting the processor to a selected remote network site that corresponds to a selected site pointer selected from the plurality of site pointers.

Preferably, the processor includes computer executable instructions for providing to the user via the user interface a representation of the site pointer; accepting an indicator from the user via the user interface; and determining, based on the indicator, whether to connect the processor to the remote network site corresponding to the site pointer. Based on the indicator, the processor can determine whether to remove the site pointer from the data storage medium.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in the drawings an embodiment that is presently preferred, it being understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the specific methods and instrumentalities disclosed. In the drawings: Figure 1 shows a system in which the apparatus and methods of the present invention can be used; Figure 2 is a flowchart of a method according to the present invention; and Figure j depicts an exemplary menu that can be provided to a user of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS AND BEST MODE As shown in Figure 1, a host device 90 is connected via a communications network 130 to one or more remote network sites 30. Host device 90 can be one of a number of various types of computer-based processing systems such as a personal computer (PC), laptop computer (LC), digital set-top box (DSTB), satellite receiver, or the like.

Communications network 130 can be any network linking host device 90 to remote sites 30, such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), an intranet, or the Internet. In an application where communications network 130 is the Internet, host device 90 can be a client, while remote sites 30 can be Web servers.

Host device 90 can communicate with remote sites 30 via communications network 130 using any protocol defined for the network. For example, where communications network 130 is the Internet, host device 90 and remote sites 30 can communicate with each other using the well known Internet Protocol (IP) , File Transfer Protocol (FTP) , Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), or the like.

Preferably, host device 90 includes a storage drive 50 for storing and retrieving digital information, a central processing unit (CPU) 60 that controls the functions of the host device, and a user interface (UI) 70 via which a user can communicate with the host device 90. CPU 60 can communicate with drive 50 via a bus 91 by sending commands to write or read digital information to or from data storage medium 14. Bus 91 can be any of the various buses such as parallel, generic serial, USB, SCSI, and so on.

Data storage medium 14 can be any of the various digital data storage media such as magnetic, optical, or magneto-optical. Medium 14 can be fixed in drive 50, or removable therefrom. Where medium 14 is removable from drive 50, medium 14 can be encased in an outer shell 18 to protect medium 14 from damage. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, data storage medium 14 is a nonvolatile, removable, magnetic medium, such as a magnetic disk, for use with a portable data storage drive, such as a "ZIP" or "CLIK!" drive (Iomega Corporation, Roy, Utah) . Data'storage medium 14 can also be a floppy disk.

In a preferred embodiment, drive 50 comprises a controller 88 that provides an interface with CPU 60 as well as controlling the overall operation of drive 50. Preferably, controller 88 is a microprocessor-based controller. Drive 50 also comprises a read channel 82 for conditioning signals read from medium 14, an actuator controller 84 for providing servo control and tracking, a motor controller 86 for controlling the

spin rate of medium 14 via a spindle motor 40, and an actuator assembly for reading the data from medium 14.

The actuator assembly comprises a read/write head 46 that is connected to a distal end of the actuator assembly. The actuator assembly also comprises a suspension arm 44 and an actuator 49 that cooperate to move the read/write head 46 over the surface of medium 14 for reading and writing digital information. Read/write head 46 is electrically coupled to read channel 82 by way of electrical conductor 92. Preferably, actuator 49 comprises an electro -magnetic motor, such as a voice coil motor, stepper motor, or the like. Actuator 49 can be a linear actuator or a rotary actuator.

Host device 90 can also comprise a user interface 70 that includes one or more input devices 74 and one or more output devices 76. For example, where host device 90 is a PC, input device 74 can be a mouse 74A or a keyboard 74B, and output device 76 can be a video display terminal (VDT) . Similarly, where host device 90 is a DSTB, output device 76 can be a television screen, while input device 74 can be a remote control unit.

According to the invention, data storage medium 14 includes one or more site pointers, each of which corresponds to a remote network site 30. When storage medium 14 is inserted into drive 50, an engine, such as an autostart application, causes the pointers to be read from medium 14, and a menu of links to be displayed at user interface 70. If the user wants to connect to one of the remote sites provided, the user selects one of the sites from the menu. The engine then causes the host device to connect to the selected remote site. Preferably, the user is also provided with the option of erasing the pointers from medium 14.

In a preferred embodiment, data storage medium 14 includes a memory location 16 at which one or more site pointers are stored. In an application where communications network 130 is the Internet, the site pointers represent the IP addresses or URLs corresponding to the remote Internet sites or Web servers 30.

The engine basically comprises a set of computer executable instructions for performing a method according to the present invention. Although the engine preferably resides in drive controller 88, The engine can reside in any computer

readable medium, such as the CPU of the host device, or even on the disk itself.

Figure 2 is a flowchart of a method 400 according to the present invention. Whenever the data storage medium is inserted into the drive, the engine reads the memory on the disk where the site pointers would be stored. If there are no pointers, the engine terminates silently (i.e., transparently to the user).

If the engine determines that there are site pointers in memory, the engine reads the site pointers at step 402. At step 404, a visual representation of the site pointers is provided to the user via the user interface. In a preferred embodiment, a menu including links to each of the remote network sites found on the disk is displayed on the output device (e.g., VDT or TV screen) . Figure 3 depicts an exemplary site pointer list that can be provided to a user of the present invention.

The user can then elect to connect to one of the remote network sites using the input device to select the button corresponding to the selected site. If the input device is a mouse, for example, the user could select the site of interest by clicking on the visual representation of the site. As shown in Figure 3, the visual representations of the remote network sites are buttons on which the URL of each Internet site is displayed. The visual representation could be any visual representation that would attract the user to the site. For example, corporate logos could be displayed so that the user could simply click on the logo of the corporate site the user wishes to visit.

If the user elects not to connect to any of the sites, the user can simply select the "cancel" button. Preferably, the user is also provided with the option of erasing the site pointers from the medium by selecting the "erase menu" button. The user interface passes to the controller an indicator of which button the user selected. The indicator can be any datum that enables the engine to distinguish between cancelling, erasing, and connecting. For example, the indicator can be a simple integer, n, indicating that the user selected site n, with the indicator for "cancel" being 0, for example, and the indicator for "erase" being -1.

At step 406, the engine accepts the indicator from the user interface and determines, based on the the indicator, whether or not to connect to one of the remote network sites. If, at step 408, the indicator indicates that the user elected to connect to one of the remote network sites, the engine determines, at step 410, whether a network browser is running on the host device. If the engine determines at step 410 that a network browser is not running on the host device, the engine launches the network browser on the host device at step 412.

At step 414, the engine passes the appropriate connection data to the browser. In an application where the communications network is the Internet, the engine can pass, for example, the IP address or URL to the network browser. Preferably, the connection data is stored in memory with the list of site pointers. In some cases, the site pointer itself can include all the connection data that the browser needs to establish the connection via the network (e.g., in an Internet application wherein the site pointer is the URL of the remote site).

At step 416, the browser uses the connection data to establish a connection between the host device and the selected remote network site. At this point, the engine terminates.

If, at step 418, the indicator indicates that the user elected to erase the site pointers from the data storage device, the engine removes the pointers from memory at step 420 and then terminates. In this case, the next time the disk is inserted into the drive, the engine will not detect any site pointers and, consequently, no menu will be presented to the user.

If, at step 422, the indicator indicates that the user elected to cancel, the engine simply terminates. In this case, the next time the disk is inserted into the drive, the engine will detect the site pointers in memory and cause the menu to be displayed again.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous changes and modifications may be made to the preferred embodiments of the invention and that such changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is therefore intended that the appended

claims cover all such equivalent variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

I claim: 1. Apparatus for displaying a visual representation of a remote network site comprising: a data storage medium having stored thereon a site pointer that corresponds to the remote network site; and a processor coupled to the data storage medium; wherein the processor includes computer executable instructions for reading the site pointer from the data storage medium, and for providing the visual representation of the remote network site corresponding to the site pointer via a user interface coupled to the processor. 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor further includes computer executable instructions for connecting the processor to the remote network site corresponding to the site pointer. 3. Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the computer executab le instructions for connecting the processor to the remote network site comprise computer executable instructions for providing the site pointer to a network browser. 4. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the computer executable instructions for connecting the processor to the remote network site further comprise computer executable instructions for launching the network browser. S. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor further includes computer executable instructions -for removing the site p6inter from the data storage medium. 6. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data storage medium has stored therein a plurality of site pointers, each of which corresponds to a respective remote network site. 7. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the processor further includes computer executable instructions for connecting the processor to a selected remote network site that corresponds to a selected site pointer selected from the plurality of site pointers.

<Desc/Clms Page number 10>

8. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the site pointer is an Internet address that corresponds to the remote network site. 9. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor further includes computer executable instructions for providing to the user via the user interface a representation of the site pointer; accepting an indicator from the user via the user interface; and determining, based on the indicator, whether to connect the processor to the remote network site corresponding to the site pointer. 10. Apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the processor further includes computer executable instructions for determining, based on the indicator, whether to remove the site pointer from the data storage medium. ii. A method for displaying on a host device a visual representation of a remote network site comprising: reading from a data storage medium a site pointer that corresponds to the remote network site; and providing the visual representation of the remote network site corresponding to the site pointer via a user interface coupled to the processor. 12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: connecting the host device to the remote network site corresponding to the site pointer. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein connecting the host device to the remote, network site comprises providing the site pointer to a network browser. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein connecting the host device to the remote network site further comprises launching the network browser. is. The method of claim 11, further comprising: removing the site pointer from the data storage medium.

<Desc/Clms Page number 11>

16. The method of claim 11, wherein reading from a data storage medium comprises reading therefrom a plurality of site pointers, each of which corresponds to a respective remote network site. 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: connecting the host device to a selected remote network site that corresponds to a selected site pointer selected from the plurality of site pointers. 18. The method of claim 11, wherein the site pointer is an Internet address that corresponds to the remote network site. 19. The method of claim 11, further comprising: providing to the user via the user interface a representation of the site pointer; accepting an indicator from the user via the user interface; and determining, based on the indicator, whether to connect the host device to the remote network site corresponding to the site pointer. 20. The method of claim 19, further comprising: determining, based on the indicator, whether to remove the site pointer from the data storage medium.