Apparatus and methods for performing computer system maintenance and notification activities in an opportunistic manner

• US 20060101400A1
• Filed: 06/01/2005
• Published: 05/11/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/14/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Pickover, Clifford A., Capek, Peter G.
• Granted Patent: US 7,814,490 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/120
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/4843 by program, e.g. task dispatcher, supervisor, operating system

Abstract

The present invention concerns methods and apparatus for performing computer system maintenance and notification activities in an opportunistic manner during time periods identified by a user when the user expects not to be using the computer system. In methods and systems of the present invention, the user prioritizes computer system maintenance activities from high to low. When an opportunity arises to perform maintenance activities due to the user, for example, being away from the computer, the user specifies the length of time the user expects to be away from the computer using apparatus of the present invention. Methods of the present invention then initiate computer system maintenance activities beginning with the highest-priority maintenance activity that can be completed during the time period identified by the user. The method continues performing maintenance activities from highest to lowest priority for so long as there is enough time remaining to perform the next maintenance task. In the present invention notification activities using the computer system resource can be performed in an opportunistic manner. For example, in the present invention a user can specify a length of time the user expects to be away from the computer; during this period the computer system would automatically generate an “away from my desk” reply to anyone sending the user an e-mail.

Claims

1. A signal-bearing medium tangibly embodying a program of machine-readable instructions executable by a digital processing apparatus of a computer system to perform operations for controlling computer system actions, the operations comprising:

receiving a command entered with an input device of the computer system to begin opportunistic computer system activities, where the command specifies a time period available for opportunistic computer system activities; and

initiating at least one computer system action during the time period available for opportunistic computer system activities.

2. The signal-bearing medium of claim 1 where the operations further comprise:

after receiving the command to begin opportunistic computer system activities and prior to initiating the at least one computer system action, retrieving a list of at least one computer system action to be performed during periods for opportunistic computer system activities, where the list of at least one computer system action was pre-loaded on the computer system along with an application program that performs the at least one computer system action; and

selecting the at least one computer system action from the list.

3. The signal-bearing medium of claim 1 where the operations further comprise:

prior to receiving the command entered with an input device of the computer system, receiving a designation of the at least one computer system action, where the designation indicates that the at least one computer system action can be performed during time periods available for opportunistic computer system activities; and

saving the designation to a memory of the computer system.

4. The signal-bearing medium of claim 1 where a duration of the time period is specified using at least one item selected from the following group:

computer system button;

graphical element incorporated in an interactive graphical user interface of the computer system;

keyboard button;

monitor button;

mouse button;

dial;

slider;

spoken command.

5. The signal-bearing medium of claim 1 where a duration of the time period is specified by using at least one method selected from the following group:

depressing a computer system button several times, where the amount of time is proportional to the number of times the computer system button is depressed;

depressing a button with increasing pressure, where the amount of time is proportional to the pressure applied when depressing the button;

using a sequence of keyboard buttons;

using multiple keyboard buttons simultaneously;

voice input;

turning a dial;

moving a slider, where the amount of time is proportional to a distance the slider is moved;

holding a button depressed, where the amount of time is proportional to the time period the button is held depressed.

6. The signal-bearing medium of claim 1 where the at least one computer system action comprises an automated electronic message response to incoming electronic messages where the automated electronic message response indicates an amount of time a user expects to be away from the computer system as specified by the time period in the command to initiate opportunistic computer system activities.

7. The signal-bearing medium of claim 6 where the automated electronic message response comprises at least one selected from the following group:

an automated e-mail response;

an automated instant messaging response;

an automated telephone message response.

8. The signal-bearing medium of claim 1 where the at least one computer system action comprises performance of a distributed computation.

9. The signal-bearing medium of claim 1 where the opportunistic computer system activities comprise opportunistic computer system maintenance activities and the at least one computer system action comprises at least one computer system maintenance task.

10. The signal-bearing medium of claim 9 where the at least one computer system maintenance task is selected from the following group:

virus scanning;

disk defragmentation;

adware removal;

spyware removal;

database encryption;

file backup;

database compaction;

database reorganization;

computer reboot;

ending running tasks;

reinstallation of an application program;

repair of an application program installation;

reinstallation of an operating system;

repair of an operating system installation.

11. The signal-bearing medium of claim 9 where opportunistic computer system maintenance activities are initiated only if at least one pre-determined criterion is satisfied, the operations further comprising:

prior to initiating the at least one computer system maintenance task, determining if the at least one pre-determined criterion is satisfied.

12. The signal-bearing medium of claim 11 where the pre-determined criterion concerns whether the time period identified by the user as available for computer system maintenance activities is of sufficient duration to perform the at least one computer system maintenance task to completion, and where determining if the at least one pre-determined criterion is satisfied further comprises:

calculating an estimate of the amount of time necessary to perform the at least one computer system maintenance task to completion; and

comparing the estimate to the time period identified by the user as available for computer system maintenance activities,

whereby the at least one computer system maintenance task is initiated only if there is sufficient time to perform the at least one computer system maintenance task to completion based on the comparison of the estimate and the time period identified by the user as available for computer system maintenance activities.

13. The signal-bearing medium of claim 12 where the amount of time necessary to perform the at least one computer system maintenance task is determined by a bandwidth of a computer system resource available to the computer system.

14. The signal-bearing medium of claim 13 where the computer system resource is a network connection.

15. The signal-bearing medium of claim 9 where the operations further comprise:

prior to the initiation of the at least one computer system maintenance task, saving information concerning at least a portion of the state of the computer system to computer system memory not affected by the at least one computer system maintenance task;

completing the at least one computer system maintenance task;

retrieving the information concerning at least a portion of the state of the computer system prior to the initiation of the at least one computer system maintenance task; and

restoring the state of the computer system to that prior to the performance of the at least one computer system maintenance task as reflected in the information.

16. The signal-bearing medium of claim 9 where the operations further comprise:

prior to the initiation of the at least one computer system maintenance task, saving information concerning at least a portion of the state of the computer system to computer system memory not affected by the at least one computer system maintenance task;

receiving a command to stop the at least one computer system maintenance task before it is completed;

retrieving the information concerning at least a portion of the state of the computer system prior to the initiation of the at least one computer system maintenance task; and

restoring the state of the computer system to that prior to the performance of the at least one computer system maintenance task as reflected in the information.

17. The signal-bearing medium of claim 11 where the computer system is powered by at least one battery and where the at least one pre-determined criterion concerns the maintenance of a minimum charge state desired for the at least one battery, and where determining if the at least one pre-determined criterion is satisfied further comprises:

calculating an estimate of the charge state of the at least one battery after the at least one computer system maintenance task is performed to completion;

comparing the estimate of the charge state to the minimum charge state desired for the at least one battery,

whereby the at least one computer system maintenance task is initiated only if there will be a minimum charge remaining in the at least one battery equal to or greater than the desired minimum charge state based on the comparison of estimated of the charge state of the at least one battery after the at least one computer system maintenance task is performed to completion and the desired minimum charge state.

18. The signal-bearing medium of claim 11 where the at least one pre-determined criterion concerns whether there is sufficient time to perform the at least one computer system maintenance task to completion and where determining if the at least one pre-determined criterion is satisfied comprises:

calculating an estimate of time available for computer system maintenance activities based on historic patterns of use of the computer system by a user;

calculating an estimate of an amount of time necessary to perform the at least one computer system maintenance task to completion; and

comparing the estimate of the time available for computer system maintenance activities and the estimate of the amount of time necessary to perform the at least one computer system maintenance task to completion,

whereby the at least one computer system maintenance task is initiated only if there is sufficient time to perform the at least one computer system maintenance task to completion based on the comparison of the estimates.

19. A signal-bearing medium tangibly embodying a program of machine-readable instructions executable by a digital processing apparatus of a computer system to perform operations for controlling computer system activities, the operations comprising:

receiving a selection of at least two computer system actions to be performed opportunistically as time slots for opportunistic computer system activities arise;

saving the at least two computer system actions to a list stored in a memory of the computer system;

receiving a command to begin opportunistic computer system activities, where the command specifies a time period available for performing opportunistic computer system activities;

selecting from the list at least one of the at least two computer system actions to be performed during the time period available for opportunistic computer system activities; and

initiating the at least one computer system action.

20. The signal-bearing medium of claim 19 where the selection received of the at least two computer system actions to be performed opportunistically is user-specified.

21. The signal-bearing medium of claim 19 where the selection received of the at least two computer system actions to be performed opportunistically is made when at least one application program capable of performing the at least two computer system actions is loaded into a memory of the computer system.

22. The signal-bearing medium of claim 19 where selecting from the list which of the at least two computer system actions to be performed is done according to at least one pre-determined criterion.

23. The signal-bearing medium of claim 22 where the operations further comprise:

receiving a selection of a priority to be applied to each of the at least two computer system actions, wherein the priorities assigned to each of the at least two computer system actions will determine the order in which the computer system actions are performed; and

saving the priority selection to the list.

24. The signal-bearing medium of claim 23 where the at least one pre-determined criterion concerns selecting the highest-priority computer system action to be performed first whenever opportunistic computer system activities are initiated

25. The signal-bearing medium of claim 23 where the at least one pre-determined criterion further comprises selecting the highest-priority computer system action to be performed first only if the time period specified as being available for performing opportunistic computer system activities is of sufficient duration to perform the highest-priority computer system action to completion.

26. The signal-bearing medium of claim 25 where selecting from the list at least one of the at least two computer system actions to be performed further comprises:

calculating an estimate of the amount time necessary to perform the highest priority computer system action to completion;

comparing the estimate to the time period available to perform opportunistic computer system activities;

whereby the computer system action having the highest priority is only initiated if the comparison of the estimate and the time period available indicates that the highest priority computer system action can be performed to completion.

27. The signal-bearing medium of claim 26 where if there is insufficient time to perform the highest priority computer system action, selecting from the list at least one of the at least two computer system action to be performed further comprises:

selecting the computer system action having the next highest priority;

calculating an estimate of the amount time necessary to perform the computer system action having the next highest priority to completion;

comparing the estimate to the time period available to perform opportunistic computer system activities;

whereby the computer system action having the next highest priority is initiated only if the comparison of the estimate and the time period available indicates that the next highest priority computer system action can be performed to completion.

28. The signal-bearing medium of claim 22 where the predetermined criterion comprises selecting the at least one computer system action having a highest urgency.

29. The signal-bearing medium of claim 28 where urgency depends upon an amount of time since a computer system action was last performed, whereby the at least one computer system action selected to be performed as having the highest urgency was last performed in the most distant past when compared to any other computer system action.

30. The signal-bearing medium of claim 28 where urgency depends upon the operating condition of the computer system, whereby the at least one computer system action selected to be performed as having the highest urgency will have the greatest impact in improving the operating condition of the computer system.

31. The signal-bearing medium of claim 22 where the predetermined criterion concerns computer system resources available to the computer system for performing one of the at least two computer system actions.

32. The signal-bearing medium of claim 19 where selecting from the list at least one of the at least two computer system actions to be performed further comprises:

after receiving a command to begin opportunistic computer system activities, displaying a graphical user interface indicating the computer system actions included in the list of computer system actions that can be performed on an opportunistic basis; and

receiving a user input corresponding to a selection of at least one computer system action to be performed during the period for opportunistic computer system activities identified by the command to initiate opportunistic computer system activities.

33. The signal-bearing medium of claim 32 where the graphical user interface displays the time identified to perform opportunistic computer system activities and the time estimated to perform to completion each of the computer system actions included in the list of computer system actions that may be performed on an opportunistic basis.

34. The signal-bearing medium of claim 19 where the opportunistic computer system activities comprise opportunistic computer system maintenance activities and where the computer system actions comprise computer system maintenance tasks.

35. The signal-bearing medium of claim 34 where the computer system maintenance task is selected from the following group:

virus scanning;

disk defragmentation;

adware removal;

spyware removal;

database encryption;

file backup;

database compaction;

database reorganization;

computer reboot;

ending running tasks;

reinstallation of an application program;

repair of an application program installation;

reinstallation of an operating system;

repair of an operating system installation.

36. The signal-bearing medium of claim 19 where selecting from the list at least one further comprises selecting at least two computer system actions to be performed during the time period available for opportunistic computer system activities and where initiating the at least one computer system action further comprises initiating the at least two computer system actions, whereby the at least two computer system actions are performed simultaneously.

37. A computer system having an ability to perform opportunistic computer system activities, the computer system comprising:

at least one memory to store at least one program of machine-readable instructions, where the at least one program performs operations to control opportunistic computer system activities;

at least one input device to initiate opportunistic computer system activities; and

at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory and the at least one input device, where the at least one processor performs the following operations when the at least one program is executed;

receiving a command entered with the at least one input device of the computer system to begin opportunistic computer system activities;

receiving an identification of a time period available for performing opportunistic computer system activities; and

initiating at least one computer system action during the time period identified as available for opportunistic computer system activities.

38. The computer system of claim 37 where the opportunistic computer system activities comprise opportunistic computer system maintenance activities and the at least one computer system action comprises a computer system maintenance task.

39. The computer system of claim 37 where the at least one input device is selected from the following group:

computer system button;

graphical element incorporated in an interactive graphical user interface of the computer system;

keyboard button;

monitor button;

mouse button;

dial;

slider;

spoken command input device.

40. The computer system of claim 37 where the identification of a time period available for performing opportunistic computer system activities is received from the at least one input device.

41. The computer system of claim 37 where the identification of a time period available for performing opportunistic computer system activities is received from an associated computer system process that estimates the time period available for opportunistic computer system activities based on historic patterns of use of the computer system by a user.

42. A signal-bearing medium tangibly embodying a program of machine-readable instructions executable by a digital processing apparatus of a computer system to perform operations for controlling computer system actions, the operations comprising:

receiving a command entered with an input device of the computer system to disable scheduled computer system activities, where the command specifies a time period during which scheduled computer system activities will be disabled; and

executing the command to disable scheduled computer system actions during the time period.

43. The signal-bearing medium of claim 42 where the command further specifies that actions not initiated by a user of the computer system are to be disabled during the time period.