Method and apparatus for maintaining a unified view of multiple mailboxes
First Claim
1. A method comprising performing a machine-executed operation involving instructions for presenting a unified view of a first message sent to a first mailbox on a second client using a low cost communication channel and a high cost communication channel, a first client having a second communication channel with a second mailbox and a low cost communication channel with the second client, the second client capable of being coupled in communication with the second mailbox using the high cost communication channel, wherein the machine-executed operation is at least one of:
- A) sending said instructions over transmission media;
B) receiving said instructions over transmission media;
C) storing said instructions onto a machine-readable storage medium; and
D) executing the instructions;
wherein said instructions are instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of;
receiving the first message at the first client;
generating a distinguishing identifier for the first message;
sending at least a portion of the first message and the distinguishing identifier to the second mailbox using the second communication channel;
responsive to an action on the first message on the first client, creating a second message including the distinguishing identifier and a description of the action;
sending the second message to the second mailbox using the second communication channel; and
selectably causing updating the unified view of the first message on the second client using either the high cost communication channel or the low cost communication channel.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of presenting a unified view of two mailboxes, each mailbox associated with a client is described. The unified view allows the user to see all actions she/he performed on a message in one mailbox performed in all other unified mailboxes. One of the clients has both a high cost, e.g. wireless, communication channel and a low cost, e.g. synchronization, communication channel. When a message is received by a client from its respective mailbox without an identifier, an identifier is generated and a copy of the message is sent to the other mailboxes with the identifier. When the user performs actions on a message with a client, the identifier for the message and the action can be conveyed to the other clients in a message to the other mailboxes. The unified view can be selectably updated either over the high cost communication channel or the low cost communication channel. The presence of two communication channels enables the cost of performing the unification to be contained. The user can select options to control the unification process and the use of the high cost communication channel, e.g. summarize messages over 250 words and/or remove attachments.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method comprising performing a machine-executed operation involving instructions for presenting a unified view of a first message sent to a first mailbox on a second client using a low cost communication channel and a high cost communication channel, a first client having a second communication channel with a second mailbox and a low cost communication channel with the second client, the second client capable of being coupled in communication with the second mailbox using the high cost communication channel, wherein the machine-executed operation is at least one of:
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A) sending said instructions over transmission media;
B) receiving said instructions over transmission media;
C) storing said instructions onto a machine-readable storage medium; and
D) executing the instructions;
wherein said instructions are instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of;
receiving the first message at the first client;
generating a distinguishing identifier for the first message;
sending at least a portion of the first message and the distinguishing identifier to the second mailbox using the second communication channel;
responsive to an action on the first message on the first client, creating a second message including the distinguishing identifier and a description of the action;
sending the second message to the second mailbox using the second communication channel; and
selectably causing updating the unified view of the first message on the second client using either the high cost communication channel or the low cost communication channel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method comprising performing a machine-executed operation involving instructions for presenting a unified view of messages in a first mailbox and a second mailbox, wherein the first mailbox is hosted by a first host and the second mailbox is hosted by a second host, wherein the machine-executed operation is at least one of:
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A) sending said instructions over transmission media;
B) receiving said instructions over transmission media;
C) storing said instructions onto a machine-readable storage medium; and
D) executing the instructions;
wherein said instructions are instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of;
a first client of the first mailbox receiving a first message addressed to the first mailbox;
determining whether the first message has been assigned an identifier;
if the first message has not been assigned an identifier, then;
generating a first identifier that is unique relative to other identifiers assigned to the messages by the first client of the first mailbox and a second client of the second mailbox, and sending at least a portion of the first message to the second mailbox;
detecting an action taken on the first message by the first client; and
in response to detecting the action, transmitting a second message to the second client that includes the first identifier and a description of the action. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification