DYNAMICALLY EXCHANGING COMPUTER USER'S CONTEXT

• US 20070168502A1
• Filed: 12/07/2006
• Published: 07/19/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Tangis Corporation
• Inventors: Newell, Dan, Swapp, Ken, Abbott, Kenneth, Freedman, Joshua, Robarts, James
• Granted Patent: US 7,647,400 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

Techniques for providing information about a current state modeled with multiple attributes is described. The providing of information can include receiving from a first source an indication of an ability to supply values for one of the state attributes of the modeled current state, and supplying to a client a value for the one attribute received from the first source. After the supplying of the value, the providing can include receiving from a second source a value supplying ability for the one attribute and supplying of a value for the one attribute based on values received for the one attribute from the first and second sources. After the supplying of that value, the providing can include receiving from the first source an indication of a value supplying inability for the one attribute and supplying a value for the one attribute received from the second source.

Claims

1-7. -7. (canceled)

8. A method in a computer for providing information about a current state that is modeled with multiple attributes, the method comprising:

receiving from a first source an indication of an ability to supply values for an indicated one of the state attributes of the modeled current state;

after receiving an indication from a client for a value of the one attribute, supplying to the client a value for the one attribute received from the first source;

after the supplying of the value received from the first source, receiving from a second source an indication of an ability to supply values for the one attribute;

after receiving an indication from the client for a value of the one attribute, supplying to the client a value for the one attribute based on values received for the one attribute from the first and second sources;

after the supplying of the value based on the values received for the one attribute from the first and second sources, receiving from the first source an indication of an inability to supply values for the one attribute; and

after receiving an indication from the client for a value of the one attribute, supplying to the client a value for the one attribute received from the second source.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the receiving of a value for the one attribute from the first source includes receiving descriptive information about the received value.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the descriptive information includes a time at which the received value is most accurate.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the descriptive information includes a confidence factor indicating a likelihood of accuracy of the received value.

12. The method of claim 9 including supplying the descriptive information about the received value to the client.

13. The method of claim 8 wherein the supplying of a value for the one attribute to the client includes supplying an indication of the source from which the supplied value was received.

14. The method of claim 8 wherein a received indication from the client for the value of the one attribute additionally include an indication of a source for the value, and wherein the value of the one attribute that is supplied to the client in response is received from the indicated source.

15. The method of claim 8 wherein the supplied value based on the values received from the first and second sources is a mediated value.

17. The method of claim 8 including storing values for attributes that are received from sources so that the stored values can be later supplied to clients.

18. The method of claim 8 wherein the one attribute represents information about a user of the computer.

20. The method of claim 8 wherein the one attribute represents information about the computer.

21. The method of claim 8 wherein the one attribute represents information about a physical environment of a user of the computer.

22. The method of claim 8 wherein the one attribute represents information about a cyber-environment of a user of the computer.

23. The method of claim 8 including:

after the supplying of the value that is received from the second source,

receiving from the second source an indication of an inability to supply values for the one attribute; and

after receiving an indication from the client for a value of the one attribute, indicating to the client that the value of the one attribute is not currently available.

26. The method of claim 8 including, after receiving an indication from the client for a value of a second indicated attribute, supplying to the client a value for the second attribute.

27. The method of claim 26 wherein the supplied value for the second attribute is received from the first source.

28. The method of claim 8 including, after receiving an indication from a second client for a value of an attribute, supplying to the second client a value for the attribute.

29. The method of claim 28 wherein the attribute whose value is indicated by the second client is the one attribute.

36. The method of claim 8 wherein the received indications from the first and second sources of the ability to supply values for the one attribute are registration messages.

37. The method of claim 36 wherein each of the received indications from the client for the value of the one attribute are requests, and including receiving from the client a registration message before receiving any of the requests, the registration message indicating an interest of the client in receiving values for the one attribute.

38. The method of claim 8 wherein security information for a source must be received before any values of state attributes are received from the source.

39. The method of claim 8 wherein security information for a client must be received before any values of state attributes are supplied to the client.

40. The method of claim 8 wherein the indications from the client for the value of the one attribute are based on an indication of a desire to receive values for the one attribute that is received before the receiving of the indications of ability and inability to supply values from the first and second sources, and wherein the supplying of the values to the client is in response to receiving of values for the one attribute from the first or second sources.

41. The method of claim 8 wherein the received indications from the client for the value of the one attribute are requests received from the client, and wherein the supplying of the values to the clients are in response to the receiving of the requests.

42. The method of claim 41 including:

sending requests to the first or second sources for a value of the one attribute in response to the receiving of the requests from the clients; and

receiving values for the one attribute from the first or second sources in response to the sent requests.

43. The method of claim 8 wherein the first source is at a location remote from the computer, and wherein the indications from the first source of the ability and the inability to supply values for the one attribute are received based on proximity of the computer to the location of the first source.

44. The method of claim 8 wherein the first source is software executing on the computer, and wherein the indications from the first source of the ability and the inability to supply values for the one attribute are received based on availability of input information to the first source.

45. The method of claim 8 wherein the providing of the information about the modeled current state is performed by an operating system of the computer.

46. The method of claim 8 wherein the providing of the information about the modeled current state is performed by a software module, and including, upon commencement of execution of the software module, commencing execution of multiple sources that are each to supply values for at least one of the state attributes.

47. The method of claim 46 wherein the multiple sources that are to be executed are determined based on previous received indications of ability to supply values for at least one state attribute.

48. The method of claim 8 wherein the state attributes are part of a predefined taxonomy of attributes.

49. The method of claim 8 wherein the state attributes are dynamically defined by sources who indicate an ability to supply values for the defined attributes.

50. The method of claim 8 including receiving from the client an indication of another state attribute and an indication that a source for a value for the indicated another state attribute is to be a same source as for the supplied value for the one attribute, and selecting a value to be sent to the client for the another state attribute that is received from the same source.

51. The method of claim 8 including receiving from the first source an indication of a group of at least one authorized client, and wherein a value received from the first source is supplied to the client only if the client is one of the authorized clients.

52. The method of claim 8 wherein the first source includes a group of instructions to be executed to produce a value for the one attribute, and including loading and executing the group of instructions in response to the receiving of the indication from the client for a value of the one attribute, the loading and executing so that the first source can produce the first value.

53. The method of claim 8 wherein receiving of the supplied value by the client prompts the client to present information to a user of the client.

16. (canceled)

19. (canceled)

24-25. -25. (canceled)

30-35. -35. (canceled)

54. A computer-readable medium whose contents cause a computing device to provide information about a current state that is modeled with multiple attributes, by performing a method comprising:

receiving from a first source an indication of an ability to supply values for an indicated one of the state attributes of the modeled current state;

after receiving an indication from a client for a value of the one attribute, supplying to the client a value for the one attribute received from the first source;

receiving from a second source an indication of an ability to supply values for the one attribute;

after receiving an indication from the client for a value of the one attribute, supplying to the client a value for the one attribute based on values received for the one attribute from the first and second sources;

receiving from the first source an indication of an inability to supply values for the one attribute; and

after receiving an indication from the client for a value of the one attribute, supplying to the client a value for the one attribute received from the second source.

55. The computer-readable medium of claim 54 wherein the computer-readable medium is a memory of the computing device.

56. (canceled)

57. A computing device for providing information about a current state that is represented with multiple attributes, comprising:

an attribute mapping module that is capable of receiving from each of a first source and a second source an indication of an ability to supply values for an indicated one of the attributes of the current state, and that is capable of later receiving from the first source an indication of an inability to supply values for the one attribute;

an attribute value receiver module that is capable of receiving values for the one attribute from the first and second sources; and

an attribute value supplier module that is capable of,

after the indication is received from the first source of the ability to supply values for the one attribute and before the indication is received from the second source, supplying to a client a value for the one attribute received from the first source,

after the indications are received from the first and second sources, supplying to the client a value for the one attribute based on values received for the one attribute from the first and second source; and

after the indication is received from the second source and after the indication is received from the first source of the inability to supply values for the one attribute, supplying to a client a value for the one attribute received from the second source.

58. The computing device of claim 57 wherein the attribute mapping module, the attribute value receiver module, and the attribute value supplier module are components of an intermediary module executing in memory, and further comprising multiple sources and multiple clients executing in the memory.

59-94. -94. (canceled)