System for providing content, management, and interactivity for thin client devices
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system is provided for delivering Internet and digital content to a variety of thin client devices. A web portal for accessing and selecting content is used in conjunction with graphical user interfaces on a personal computer for setting up and controlling the content channels. The user interfaces, scheduling, and communication management are controlled by a system control software application running on a local server with an Internet connection. A high speed local area network provides for streaming content from the Internet or local server to thin client devices. A digital audio playback device is connected to the local server via the local area network connection and decodes streamed audio files, and converts them into analog audio signals for input into a conventional stereo. Digital content is streamed automatically from the local server to another Internet playback device, based on end user content preferences and schedule selections.
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Citations
63 Claims
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1-20. -20. (Cancelled).
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21. An apparatus, comprising:
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a first interface capable of coupling to a wide area network (WAN);
a second interface capable of coupling at least one device via a local area network (LAN); and
a server having a storage device, the server coupled to the first and second interfaces to retrieve content specified by a user via the first interface from a remote facility over the WAN, to store the content in the storage device, and to deliver the content to the at least one device via the second interface over the LAN under the control of or as specified by the user. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method, comprising:
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automatically downloading content specified by a user from a remote facility over a wide area network (WAN); and
delivering the content to at least one device via a local area network (LAN) under the control of or as specified by the user. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A machine-readable medium having executable code to cause a machine to perform a method, the method comprising:
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automatically downloading content specified by a user from a remote facility over a wide area network (WAN); and
delivering the content to at least one device via a local area network (LAN) under the control of or as specified by the user. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A method for acquiring content, the method comprising:
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receiving one or more preferences from a user via a user interface for the content to be downloaded from a content server over a wide area network (WAN);
downloading the content from the content server over the WAN to a server capable of coupling one or more client devices via a local area network (LAN) according to a schedule; and
delivering the downloaded content from the server to at least one of the one or more client devices under a control of the user. - View Dependent Claims (41)
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42. A method for presenting content, the method comprising:
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receiving one or more selections from a user for the content to be downloaded from a content server over a wide area network (WAN);
automatically downloading the content from the content server based on an availability of the content during the respective period; and
delivering the downloaded content to one or more client device via a local area network (LAN) under a control of the user. - View Dependent Claims (43)
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44. A method for presenting content, the method comprising:
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selecting content from a Web site using a content selection interface at a local system according to a first time;
downloading the content based on an availability of the content at the Web site at a second time; and
delivering the downloaded content to one or more client devices at a third time specified by the user, wherein the first time, the second time, and the third time are different. - View Dependent Claims (45)
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46. An apparatus for viewing content, the apparatus comprising:
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a first data processing system capable of communicating with a remote facility over an Internet, the first data processing system having a first interface to select content stored at the remote facility and a scheduling mechanism to schedule a transaction for acquiring the selected content from the remote facility over the Internet; and
a second data processing system communicably coupled to the first data processing system over a local area network (LAN), the second data processing system having a second interface to activate a delivery of the acquired content from the first data processing system over the LAN. - View Dependent Claims (47)
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48. An apparatus, comprising:
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a computing device capable of communicatively coupling to a wide area network (WAN) and capable of communicatively coupling to at least one client device over a local area network (LAN);
a first user interface executable at the computing device, the first user interface allowing a user to select content to be downloaded from a remote facility over the WAN;
a storage device associated with the computing device to store the downloaded content; and
a second user interface executable at the at least one client device for activating delivery of the stored downloaded content from the computing device to the at least one client device over the LAN. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51)
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52. A method, comprising:
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selecting, at a computing device, content to be downloaded from a remote facility over a wide area network (WAN) at a first time;
downloading the selected content from the remote facility and storing the downloaded content in a storage of the computing device; and
activating the delivery of the downloaded content stored in the computing device to at least one client device communicatively coupled to the computing device over a local area network (LAN) at a second time that is different than the first time. - View Dependent Claims (53, 54, 55)
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56. A machine-readable medium having executable code to cause a machine to perform a method, the method comprising:
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selecting, at a computing device, content to be downloaded from a remote facility over a wide area network (WAN) at a first time;
downloading the selected content from the remote facility and storing the downloaded content in a storage of the computing device; and
activating the delivery of the downloaded content stored in the computing device to at least one client device communicatively coupled to the computing device over a local area network (LAN) at a second time that is different than the first time. - View Dependent Claims (57, 58, 59)
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60. A method, comprising:
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a server receiving a request for content, the request including a schedule for periodically delivery of the requested content;
the server periodically downloading the requested content from a remote facility over a wide area network (WAN);
storing the downloaded content at a storage associated with the server; and
delivering the stored content from the server to at least one client device over a local area network (LAN) according to the schedule. - View Dependent Claims (61)
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62. A machine-readable medium having executable code to cause a machine to perform a method, the method comprising:
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a server receiving a request for content, the request including a schedule for periodically delivery of the requested content;
the server periodically downloading the requested content from a remote facility over a wide area network (WAN);
storing the downloaded content at a storage associated with the server; and
delivering the stored content from the server to at least one client device over a local area network (LAN) according to the schedule. - View Dependent Claims (63)
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Specification