External-Network Data Content Exposure to Network-Connected Devices

• US 20060095628A1
• Filed: 12/15/2005
• Published: 05/04/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Sadovsky, Vladimir, Rosenbloom, Oren, Dooley, James H. IV, Ludwig, Charles Alan, Kelly, Sean D., Flaks, Jason S., Contreras, Jose Daniel
• Application Number:
  US11/275,159
• Publication Number:
  US 20060095628A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 710/302
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2809 indicating that an appliance service is present in a home automation network monitoring functionality H04L43/0817; discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services, H04L67/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/281 indicating a format for calling an appliance service function in a home automation network for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2812 describing content present in a home automation network, e.g. audio video content retrieval from the Internet G06F16/95
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/282 based on user interaction within the home receiver circuitry for displaying additional information being controlled by a remote control apparatus H04N21/42204
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/2849 Audio/video appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

Described herein are one or more implementations for exposing data content (e.g., digital media) of a portable digital media device over a network to one or more network-connected electronics devices, where such exposing is done via a network-connected personal computer to which the portable digital media device is directed coupled (e.g., via a USB). Also, described herein are one or more implementations for gathering a customized collection of data content from web-feeds at a web-connected personal computer and exposing that gathered web-feed data content to a network-connected electronics devices (such as a set-top box for a television).

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a data-content provider configured to discover network-external data content, which is data content which is normally unavailable to most electronic devices connected to a common network;

a network-exposer configured to expose the discovered network-external data content to multiple electronic devices on the common network.

2. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the network-external data content is stored on a portable storage device configured to be coupled to a computer, which is connected to the common network.

3. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the network-external data content is stored on a portable digital media player configured to be coupled to a computer.

4. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the network-external data content is stored on a portable digital media player configured to be coupled to a computer and wherein the data content is selected from a group consisting of digital audio, digital music, digital images, digital video, digital multimedia, and any other renderable digital content, which may be stored and distributed to and from computers and portable devices.

5. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the network-external data content is derived from multiple web-feeds.

6. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the network-external data content is derived from multiple web-feeds and is selected from a group consisting of digital audio, digital music, digital images, and digital video.

7. A system comprising:

a data-content provider configured to discover data content stored on a portable storage device that is directly coupled to a computer, the computer being connected to a common network;

a network-exposer configured to expose the discovered data content to one or more network-connected electronic devices over the common network.

8. A system as recited in claim 7, wherein the portable storage device is a portable digital media player.

9. A system as recited in claim 7, wherein the portable storage device is configured to be coupled to the computer via direct connection.

10. A system as recited in claim 7, wherein the data content is selected from a group consisting of digital audio, digital music, digital images, digital video, digital multimedia, and any other renderable digital content, which may be stored and distributed to and from computers and portable devices.

11. A system comprising:

a data-content provider configured to acquire web-feed data content from a web-feed communication network;

a network-exposer configured to expose the acquired web-feed data content to one or more network-connected electronic devices over a network, which is not the web-feed communications network.

12. A system as recited in claim 11, wherein data-content provider is further configured to collect multiple web-feeds for the acquired data content.

13. A system as recited in claim 11, wherein data-content provider is further configured to customize the collection of multiple web-feeds of the acquired data content.

14. A system as recited in claim 11, wherein acquired web-feed data content is derived from RSS formatted feeds.

15. A system as recited in claim 11, wherein the acquired web-feed data content is selected from a group consisting of digital audio, digital music, digital images, digital video, digital multimedia, and any other renderable digital content, which may be stored and distributed to and from computers and portable devices.

16. A method comprising the acts of:

discovering data content stored on a portable storage device that is directly coupled to a computer, the computer being connected to a common network;

exposing the discovered data content to one or more network-connected electronic devices over the common network.

17. A method as recited in claim 16, further comprising providing the discovered data content to one or more network-connected electronic devices over the common network.

18. A method as recited in claim 16, wherein the portable storage device is a portable digital media player.

19. A method comprising the acts of:

acquiring web-feed data content from a web-feed communication network;

exposing the acquired web-feed data content to one or more network-connected electronic devices over a network, which is not the web-feed communications network.

20. A method as recited in claim 19 further comprising collecting a customized collection of the acquired web-feed data content.

21. A method as recited in claim 19 further comprising rendering the acquired web-feed data content for display on a video screen as a “

newscrawler”

over video being presented on the video screen.

22. A method as recited in claim 19, wherein the web-feed data content comprises one or more RSS-feeds.

23. A method as recited in claim 19, wherein the web-feed data content comprises textual characters, the method further comprising presenting the web-feed data content in a computer-readable textual format to the one or more network-connected electronic devices.

24. A method as recited in claim 19 the method further comprising:

converting textual characters of the web-feed data content into a computer-readable digital image format;

presenting the web-feed data content in a computer-readable digital image format to the one or more network-connected electronic devices.

25. A method as recited in claim 19 the method further comprising:

text-to-speech converting textual characters of the web-feed data content into a computer-readable digital audio format;

presenting the web-feed data content in a computer-readable digital audio format to the one or more network-connected electronic devices.