Method for cloning a source application with assignment of unique identifier to clone application
First Claim
1. In an electronic mail network comprising at least a source terminal and at least one clone terminal coupled together via a communications link, each of said terminals comprising a CPU, a disk drive, and a memory, the source terminal including, in memory, a source comunications package containing a source identifier uniquely identifying the source terminal from other terminals within the network, the source communications package managing and controlling communications of the source terminal upon the network, a method for producing a clone communications package operative upon a clone terminal to enable said clone terminal to communicate upon the network, said method comprising the steps of:
- activating a cloning feature at the source terminal within the source communications package;
copying the source communications package, from the source terminal, to a clone disk in the disk dxive; and
writing a clone identifier to the disk over the source identifier contained with the copy of the source communications package on the disk to convert the copy of the source communications package to a clone communications package to be installed on a clone terminal to identify the clone terminal uniquely within the network, wherein said step of writing the clone identifier to the disk comprises the substeps of;
locating an identification block containing a source identifier within the communications package stored on the disk;
determining whether said identification block contained a source identifier corresponding to the source communications package;
creating the clone identifier uniquely identifying the communications package stored on the disk; and
writing said clone identifier to said identification block on the disk over the source identifier within said identification block.
11 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An electronic communications package is provided for use upon a plurality of terminals located remote from one another. The communications package provides an electronic mail system which allows a user at an authorized site to create an unlimited number of additional copies of the application package to be installed upon separate and remote terminals. Each copy created by an authorized "source" site, when recorded on a disk, is capable of installing itself onto another terminal through a self-installing routine. Copies of the application package which are created by a source terminal are considered "clones" and are afforded all of the communications capabilities of a source terminal when communicating with a source terminal. However, clone terminals are afforded limited communications capabilities with one another. The present communications package is further configured to inform a user when new mail messages are received by flashing one of the LEDs upon the keyboard, such as the Caps Lock LED, the Nums Lock LED, and the Scroll Lock LED. This flashing LED is turned on when new messages are received and is turned off when a user views at least one of the messages newly received. The present communications system utilizes a unique calling technique implemented over non-dedicated phone lines to enable a terminal being called to identify the call as coming from a related communications packet.
61 Citations
12 Claims
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1. In an electronic mail network comprising at least a source terminal and at least one clone terminal coupled together via a communications link, each of said terminals comprising a CPU, a disk drive, and a memory, the source terminal including, in memory, a source comunications package containing a source identifier uniquely identifying the source terminal from other terminals within the network, the source communications package managing and controlling communications of the source terminal upon the network, a method for producing a clone communications package operative upon a clone terminal to enable said clone terminal to communicate upon the network, said method comprising the steps of:
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activating a cloning feature at the source terminal within the source communications package; copying the source communications package, from the source terminal, to a clone disk in the disk dxive; and writing a clone identifier to the disk over the source identifier contained with the copy of the source communications package on the disk to convert the copy of the source communications package to a clone communications package to be installed on a clone terminal to identify the clone terminal uniquely within the network, wherein said step of writing the clone identifier to the disk comprises the substeps of; locating an identification block containing a source identifier within the communications package stored on the disk; determining whether said identification block contained a source identifier corresponding to the source communications package; creating the clone identifier uniquely identifying the communications package stored on the disk; and writing said clone identifier to said identification block on the disk over the source identifier within said identification block. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A machine for reproducing a source communications package thereon to produce a clone communications package to be installed upon a remote computer terminal, said clone communications package configuring said remote terminal to operate as a remote communications terminal within a communications network which attaches a plurality of terminals to one another, each terminal containing one of a source and clone communications package enabling the terminal to use the network, said machine comprising:
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a CPU; memory; a communications package, stored in memory, which controls and manages incoming and outgoing electronic messages received from and transmitted upon the network, said source communications package including source identifying means for uniquely identifying the source package from all other communications packages in the network; a disk drive for reading and writing data, including the source identifying means, to a disk; and means for changing the source identifying means upon the disk to clone identification means which uniquely identifies the clone communications package within the network, said changing means including;
means locating an identification block containing a source identifier within the communications package stored on the disk;
means determining whether said identification block contained a source identifier corresponding to the source communications package;
means creating the clone identifier uniquely identifying the communications package stored on the disk; and
means writing said clone identifier to said identification block on the disk over the source identifier within said identification block. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification