Method and system for providing users a lower fidelity alternative until a higher fidelity experience is available

• US 20060195507A1
• Filed: 02/25/2005
• Published: 08/31/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Baek, Diane, Blois, Peter W., Wolfe, Kenneth, Shebanow, Andrew
• Granted Patent: US 7,664,870 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/612 for unicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/61 taking into account QoS or priority requirements

Abstract

A method for providing a low fidelity alternative until a high fidelity experience becomes available is provided. Upon detecting a need to download data, a download manager determines a download priority for downloading the data. The download priority specifies an amount of a low fidelity representation of data to download prior to downloading a high fidelity representation of the same data and any remaining low fidelity representation of the data simultaneously. The download manager then downloads, for example, from a content server, the low fidelity representation of the data and the high fidelity representation of the data according to the determined download priority, thus allowing the low fidelity representation of the data to be used until the high fidelity representation of the data is downloaded and becomes available.

Claims

1. A method in a client application for providing a low fidelity representation of data until a high fidelity representation of the same data becomes available, the method comprising:

establishing a communication channel between the client application and a content server providing datasets for download by the client application, wherein a dataset represents data and comprises at least a low fidelity representation of the data and a high fidelity representation of the data; and

upon detecting a need to download data from the content server,

determining a download priority for downloading the low fidelity representation of the data and the high fidelity representation of the data; and

downloading the low fidelity representation of the data and the high fidelity representation of the data according to the download priority, wherein the client application uses the low fidelity representation of the data until the high fidelity representation of the data is downloaded.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the high fidelity representation of the data is downloaded only if the communication channel exceeds a predetermined bandwidth.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the low fidelity representation of the data is downloaded only if the difference in size between an item of low fidelity content representing the data and the high fidelity representation of the data exceeds a predetermined value.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising, prior to downloading the low fidelity representation of the data, determining if there is local copy of the low fidelity representation of the data and downloading the low fidelity representation of the data if a local copy of the low fidelity representation of the data does not exist.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the download priority is determined at least in part from a use factor.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the download priority specifies an amount of the low fidelity representation of the data to download prior to starting the download of the high fidelity representation of the data.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the high fidelity representation of the data is non-streamable.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising, upon downloading of the high fidelity representation of the data, canceling the downloading of the low fidelity representation of the data.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the dataset further comprises a third fidelity representation of the data.

10. A computer-readable medium whose contents cause a client application to provide a low fidelity representation of data until a high fidelity representation of the same data becomes available by:

determining a download priority for downloading data, the download priority specifies an amount of a first fidelity representation of data to download prior to downloading a second fidelity representation of the same data and the remaining first fidelity representation of the data simultaneously; and

downloading from a content server the first fidelity representation of the data and the second fidelity representation of the data according to the download priority,

such that the first fidelity representation of the data is used by the client application until the second fidelity representation of the data is downloaded.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the download priority is determined in part from the current use of the data by the client application.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the download priority is determined in part from the size of an item of the first fidelity representation of the data.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 10, wherein the download priority is determined in part from the size of an item of the second fidelity representation of the data.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 10 further comprising content that cause the client application to, prior to downloading the first fidelity representation of the data, determining if there is local copy of the first fidelity representation of the data and downloading the first fidelity representation of the data if a local copy of the first fidelity representation of the data does not exist.

15. A computing system for providing a low fidelity representation of data until a high fidelity representation of the same data becomes available, the system comprising:

a communications component that establishes a communication channel to a content server that provides datasets for download by the computing system, wherein a dataset represents data and comprises at least a low fidelity representation of the data and a high fidelity representation of the data; and

a download manager component that detects a need to download data from the content server, and upon detecting the need to download data,

determines a download priority that specifies an amount of the low fidelity representation of the data to download prior to downloading the high fidelity representation of the data and any remaining low fidelity representation of the data; and

downloads the low fidelity representation of the data and the high fidelity representation of the data according to the download priority.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the download manager component further terminates the downloading of the remaining low fidelity representation of the data upon completing the download of the high fidelity representation of the data.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the download manager uses a download priority queue to establish the download priority.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the download manager maintains a local copy of the low fidelity representation of the data.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the download priority is determined in part by applying a weight to the low fidelity representation of the data and the high fidelity representation of the data based on the use of the data.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the high fidelity data is non-streamable.