Component for Accessing and Displaying Internet Content

• US 20080229217A1
• Filed: 10/31/2007
• Published: 09/18/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/26/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DoDots Licensing Solutions LLC (Strategic Intellectual Solutions, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Mainstream Scientific, LLC (Innovation Management Sciences, LLC)
• Inventors: Russell, John, Kembel, George Andrew, Kembel, John Albert, Wobbrock, Jake, Gabbay, Lynn D., Kim, Daniel S., Kembel, Geoffrey S., Kembel, Jeremy L.
• Granted Patent: US 8,510,406 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/760
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/957 Browsing optimisation, e.g. caching or content distillation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/134 Hyperlinking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/186 Templates
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/221 Parsing markup language streams streaming G06F40/149
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/60 Network streaming of media packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416

Abstract

A software component for accessing and displaying Internet content includes a definition for rendering a graphical user interface within which Internet content may be presented outside of and without utilization of a web browser application. The component also includes a network reference, such as a URL, pointing to the Internet content such that the Internet Content may be downloaded and presented within said user interface. A component provider may thus create customized displays within which intended web-content may be rendered. An application component may be used in association with the software component to manage the collection, organization, sharing, and rendering of a plurality of such software components.

Claims

1. A physical memory device having stored thereon a first computer software component comprising:

a definition of a graphical user interface within which content in a web browser-readable language may be presented;

a network reference to said content;

an element for causing said user interface to be rendered outside of and without utilization of a web browser application; and

an element for causing said content to be presented in said graphical user interface.

2. The physical memory device of claim 1, wherein said definition further comprises the definition of at least one control for controlling an aspect of said graphical user interface.

3. The physical memory device of claim 2, wherein said aspect is the location at which said user interface is rendered on a display device.

4. The physical memory device of claim 2, wherein said aspect is the size of said user interface when rendered on a display device.

5. The physical memory device of claim 1, wherein said definition is in extensible markup language (XML) format.

6. The physical memory device of claim 1, wherein said definition specifies the appearance of said graphical user interface.

7. The physical memory device of claim 6, wherein said definition specifies an image to be rendered in said graphical user interface.

8. The physical memory device of claim 7, wherein said definition causes said content to be presented in association with said image.

9. The physical memory device of claim 7, wherein said definition causes said content to be rendered at least in part within said image.

10. The physical memory device of claim 6, wherein said definition further includes the definition of at least one control permitting the modification of the appearance of said graphical user interface.

11. The physical memory device of claim 1, wherein said definition further includes the definition of at least one control permitting the modification of the network reference in order to permit a change in the content for presentation within said user interface.

12. The physical memory device of claim 1, wherein said content is in a format selected from the group consisting of:

audio data, video data, graphics data, and still image data.

13. The physical memory device of claim 1, wherein said physical memory forms a portion of a general purpose client computer, and further wherein said content is stored on a physical memory device of a general purpose server computer.

14. The physical memory device of claim 13, wherein said definition includes code which, when invoked by said client device, causes said client device to render the graphical user interface, obtain the content from said general purpose server computer, and to present said content in association with said graphical user interface.

15. The physical memory device of claim 1, wherein said physical memory device forms a portion of a first general purpose server computer, and further wherein said content is stored on a physical memory device of a second general purpose server computer.

16. The physical memory device of claim 15, wherein said physical memory devices of said first and second general purpose server computers are accessible to a general purpose client computer, and further wherein said definition may be downloaded to said general purpose client computer and, when invoked:

cause said general purpose client computer to display said graphical user interface; and

cause said content to be downloaded from said second general purpose server computer to said general purpose client computer and to be displayed by said general purpose client computer within said graphical user interface.

17. The physical memory device of claim 16, further having stored thereon a second computer software component which includes code capable of rendering said graphical user interface on said general purpose client computer and capable of causing said content to be downloaded from said second general purpose server computer and presented within said graphical user interface.

18. The physical memory device of claim 1, further having stored thereon a second computer software component which includes code capable of rendering said graphical user interface and capable of causing said content to be accessed at said network reference and presented within said user interface.

19. The physical memory device of claim 1, wherein said physical memory device has stored thereon a plurality of software components, and said definition further includes a mechanism permitting said first software component to exchange messages with at least one other of said plurality of software components.

20. The physical memory device of claim 1, wherein said definition includes code for causing content to be periodically downloaded from network reference for presentation within said graphical user interface.

21. The physical memory device of claim 1, wherein said definition further comprises an identifier uniquely identifying the definition.

22. The physical memory device of claim 21, wherein said identifier may be shared between a plurality of users such that a user receiving said identifier may access said first software component.

23. The physical memory device of claim 1, wherein said definition further comprises a category label which permits the first computer software component to be sorted with other such software components by category.

24. A physical memory device, forming a part of a general purpose client computer having an output device, said physical memory having stored thereon:

a first computer software component comprising;

a definition of;

a graphical user interface within which content in a web browser-readable language may be presented;

at least one control for controlling an aspect of said graphical user interface;

an element for causing said graphical user interface to be rendered outside of and without utilization of a web browser application;

an element for causing said content to be presented in said graphical user interface;

a network reference to said content for presentation within said graphical user interface; and

a second computer software component comprising;

code capable of instantiating said definition in order to render a graphical user interface on said output device; and

code capable of causing said content to be accessed at said network reference and presented within said graphical user interface.

25. A physical memory device, forming a part of a general purpose client computer having an output device, said physical memory having stored thereon:

a first computer software component comprising;

XML code comprising a definition of;

a graphical user interface;

an image to be rendered within said graphical user interface;

at least one control for controlling an aspect of said graphical user interface;

an element for causing said graphical user interface to be rendered outside of and without utilization of a web browser application;

an element for causing said content to be presented in said graphical user interface;

a network reference to said content for presentation within said user interface; and

a second computer software component comprising;

code capable of instantiating said definition in order to render an image within a graphical user interface on said output device; and

code capable of causing said content to be accessed at said network reference and presented within said graphical user interface and associated with said image.