Content synchronization among associated computing devices

• US 20080059656A1
• Filed: 08/31/2006
• Published: 03/06/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Bassam A. Saliba, John Yii, Saed H. Nashef
• Original Assignee: Bassam A. Saliba, John Yii, Saed H. Nashef
• Inventors: Saliba, Bassam A., Nashef, Saed H., Yii, John
• Application Number:
  US11/514,435
• Publication Number:
  US 20080059656A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/248
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/40 of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data retrieval of still image data G06F16/50; retrieval of audio data G06F16/60; retrieval of video data G06F16/70
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1095 Replication or mirroring of data, e.g. scheduling or transport for data synchronisation between network nodes

Abstract

Methods, apparatuses, and articles for synchronizing contents of associated computing devices are described herein. In various embodiments, the method includes receiving, by a first computing device, from a shared server, a notification that content on a second computing device has been created or updated. The first computing device may also request at least a first portion of the created/updated content from the second computing device to contribute to synchronizing the first and second computing devices with respect to the content. Further, the first computing device may receive at least a second portion of the created/updated content from the second computing device to effectuate said contribution to synchronizing the first and second computing devices with respect to the content.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving by a first computing device, from a server, a notification that content on a second computing device has been created or updated;

requesting, by the first computing device, at least a first portion of the created/updated content from the second computing device to contribute to synchronizing the first and second computing devices with respect to the content; and

receiving, by the first computing device, at least a second portion of the created/updated content from the second computing device to effectuate said contribution to synchronizing the first and second computing devices with respect to the content.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least first and at least second portions of the created/updated content are the same portion.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising monitoring, by the first computing device, creating and/or updating of content on the first computing device.

4. The method of claim 2, further comprising notifying, by the first computing device, the server of creating and/or updating of content on the first computing device.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising establishing, by the first computing device, a peer-to-peer networking connection between the first computing device and the second computing device to facilitate said requesting and receive.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said receiving is over the peer-to-peer networking connection and in accordance with a transfer protocol selected from a pluggable module which may include a file transfer protocol (FTP), BitTorrent protocol, HTTP, file copy, or other communication protocols.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising creating, by a resource transfer layer of the first computing device, a thread for each networking connection, enabling the first computing device to establish networking connections with other computing devices in addition to the second computing device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least second portion of the updated/created content comprises the differences between an updated file and a previous version of the updated file.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the created/updated content is divided into logical entities, and the at least second portion of the updated/created content comprises the entities of an updated file that were not present in a previous version of that file.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein, upon receiving notification of the created/updated content, the first computing device automatically requests the at least first portion of the created/updated content from the second computing device.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising saving, by a resource manager of the first computing device, the at least second portion of the updated/created content through a resource type extension as an instance of a resource type.

12. An apparatus comprising:

a processor; and

a computing engine operated by the processor and adapted to

receive, from a first computing device, notification that content has been created and/or updated on the first computing device;

identify one or more other computing devices to receive a notification of the creation/update, to enable the one or more other computing devices and the first computing device to be synchronized with each other with respect to the content; and

transmit the notification of the creation/update to each of the one or more identified other computing devices.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the computing engine is further adapted to enable a user to define a network of computing devices of the user.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising a list of all computing devices of the network, and a master combined list of all resources to be synchronized for each computing device, wherein said identifying of one or more other computing devices to receive a notification of the creation/update is based at least in part on contents of the list.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the computing engine is adapted to enable a user to add a computing device to the user'"'"'s network of computing devices.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the computing engine is adapted to enable a user to add a computing device of a second user to the user'"'"'s network of computing devices as if it were a computing device of the user.

17. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising programming instructions capable of implementing an agent to facilitate content synchronization operations of the first computing device and the one or more other computing devices, wherein the computing engine is further adapted to download the programming instructions capable of implementing the agent to one of the computing devices.

18. An article of manufacture comprising:

a storage medium; and

a plurality of programming instructions designed to program a first computing device and enable the first computing device to

receive, from a server, a notification that content on a second computing device has been created or updated;

request at least a first portion of the created/updated content from the second computing device to contribute to synchronizing the first and second computing devices with respect to the content; and

receive at least a second portion of the created/updated content from the second computing device to effectuate said contribution to synchronizing the first and second computing devices with respect to the content.

19. The article of claim 18, wherein the programming instructions are further designed to enable the first computing device to

monitor creating and/or updating of content on the first computing device;

and

notify the server of creating and/or updating of content on the first computing device.

20. The article of claim 18, wherein the programming instructions are further designed to enable the first computing device to establish a peer-to-peer networking connection between the first computing device and the second computing device to facilitate said request and receive.

21. The article of claim 18, wherein the at least second portion of the updated/created content comprises the differences between an updated file and a previous version of the updated file.

22. The article of claim 18, wherein the programming instructions are further designed to enable the first computing device to, upon receiving notification of the created/updated content, automatically request the at least first portion of the created/updated content from the second computing device.