APPLICATION INSTALL AND LAYOUT SYNCING
First Claim
1. A method performed by a network service, the network service comprising an application repository service, the method comprising:
- maintaining a set of user accounts by a user account service accessible via a network by devices associated with the user accounts, wherein the user accounts are authorized to install applications from the application store service, wherein the user account service maintains device lists for the user accounts, respectively, wherein each device list lists whichever devices are linked to a corresponding user account, and wherein the maintaining comprises adding and removing devices to the device lists;
providing an application store service comprising a database storing application install packages, application identifiers, and associations between the application install packages and the application identifiers, wherein some of the application identifiers each have associations with multiple application install packages that are configured for different and incompatible operating systems, the database further storing, for each user account, each application install list listing, for a respective user account, application identifiers of respective applications that have been installed in association with the respective user account; and
providing a synchronization service that synchronizes application installations according to the device lists and the install lists such that when a device list lists two devices with different and incompatible operating systems, an application identifier in the corresponding install list is applied to the associations to select application installation packages specific to the operating systems of the two devices, respectively, for installation thereto.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Embodiments described herein relate to synchronizing configuration information between devices associated with a user. The synchronized configuration information can relate to application installations and uninstallations as well as to user modifications to user interfaces for managing and invoking the applications. For example, layouts of application representations provided by respective application launchers on a user'"'"'s respective devices are kept automatically synchronized when the user modifies any of the layouts. Installations and uninstallations are similarly synchronized between the user'"'"'s devices. Installations and uninstallations that might stem from synchronization may be circumscribed in various ways, such as by allowing the user to specify whether specific applications are to be installed/uninstalled only on specific devices or globally, by filtering propagation of synchronization updates according to hardware or software features and incompatibilities, or others.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method performed by a network service, the network service comprising an application repository service, the method comprising:
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maintaining a set of user accounts by a user account service accessible via a network by devices associated with the user accounts, wherein the user accounts are authorized to install applications from the application store service, wherein the user account service maintains device lists for the user accounts, respectively, wherein each device list lists whichever devices are linked to a corresponding user account, and wherein the maintaining comprises adding and removing devices to the device lists; providing an application store service comprising a database storing application install packages, application identifiers, and associations between the application install packages and the application identifiers, wherein some of the application identifiers each have associations with multiple application install packages that are configured for different and incompatible operating systems, the database further storing, for each user account, each application install list listing, for a respective user account, application identifiers of respective applications that have been installed in association with the respective user account; and providing a synchronization service that synchronizes application installations according to the device lists and the install lists such that when a device list lists two devices with different and incompatible operating systems, an application identifier in the corresponding install list is applied to the associations to select application installation packages specific to the operating systems of the two devices, respectively, for installation thereto. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of synchronizing software installations between devices, the method comprising:
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providing application packages of applications from an application installation service, each application associated with one or more application packages, wherein some applications each have associated therewith application packages for different and incompatible operating systems, the application installation service comprising a network-based service that;
stores the application packages for installation to user devices, tracks which applications are associated with which user identities, and accesses user identities and user device associations indicating which user devices are associated with which user identities;accessing groups of synchronization settings, the groups associated with the user identities, respectively, wherein each group of a corresponding user identity comprises synchronization settings for respective applications associated with the corresponding user identity, each synchronization setting indicating whether a corresponding application is to be synchronized among the devices associated with the corresponding user identity, and wherein the groups are updated to reflect installations of applications to the user devices via the application installation service; and using the synchronization settings to automatically control installations of the application packages to the user devices, the using including; whenever any synchronization setting is modified to indicate that a corresponding application is to be installed on all user devices of the corresponding user identity; automatically determining that two user devices associated with the corresponding user identity do not have an application package of the application installed and signaling for installation of one or more application packages of the application to the determined user devices, selecting the application packages for installation to the determined user devices by identifying operating systems of the respective determined user devices and selecting the application packages accordingly, wherein the selected application packages are for the different and incompatible operating systems of the respective determined user devices, and automatically initiating installation of the selected application packages to the respectively corresponding determined user devices. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification