Computer system with environmental manager for detecting and responding to changing environmental conditions
First Claim
1. A method of controlling operation of a computer, comprising the steps of:
- detecting changes in an environment associated with the computer wherein one of said changes in environment is a change in location of use of the computer;
determining an optimum configuration based on the new environment; and
modifying the configuration of the computer based on the optimum configuration.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A computer uses an environmental manager (20) to detect and respond to changing environmental conditions, in order to enhance and simplify a users interaction with the computer. Environment changes are detected by a plurality of informants (22), each of which has a specified function. Informants communicate through a CIM (26). The CIM (26) establishes communication channels with each informant regarding which information will be provided by the informant and which information that informant needs from other informants. Informants (22) may receive environmental information from a number of sources, including physical location detectors, hardware configurations, software configurations, and network connections. As environmental conditions change, the informants and applications may respond to the changes. A particular capability to respond is the autolaunch capability which detects user behavior and uses this knowledge to automatically load a program responsive to changing environmental conditions.
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Citations
56 Claims
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1. A method of controlling operation of a computer, comprising the steps of:
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detecting changes in an environment associated with the computer wherein one of said changes in environment is a change in location of use of the computer; determining an optimum configuration based on the new environment; and modifying the configuration of the computer based on the optimum configuration. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method of controlling operation of a computer, comprising the steps of:
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detecting changes in an environment associated with the computer wherein one of said changes in environment is a change in the user of the computer; determining an optimum configuration based on the new environment; and modifying the configuration of the computer based on the optimum configuration. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of controlling operation of a computer, comprising the steps of:
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detecting changes in an environment associated with the computer wherein one of said changes in environment is a change in a desktop screen used as a graphical user interface; determining an optimum configuration based on the new environment; and modifying the configuration of the computer based on the optimum configuration. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A computer system with an environmental manager for controlling operation of a computer, comprising:
processing circuitry for; detecting changes in an environment associated with the computer wherein one of said changes in environment is a change in location of use of the computer; determining an optimum configuration based on the new environment; and modifying the configuration of the computer based on the optimum configuration. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A computer system with an environmental manager for controlling operation of a computer, comprising the steps of:
processing circuitry for; detecting changes in an environment associated with the computer wherein one of said changes in environment is a change in the user of the computer; determining an optimum configuration based on the new environment; and modifying the configuration of the computer based on the optimum configuration. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A computer system with an environmental manager for controlling operation of a computer, comprising the steps of:
processing circuitry for; detecting changes in an environment associated with the computer wherein one of said changes in environment is a change in the desktop screen used as a graphical user interface; determining an optimum configuration based on the new environment; and modifying the configuration of the computer based on the optimum configuration. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A method of executing programs in a computer, comprising the steps of:
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detecting a change from one desktop to another desktop; determining in the computer whether each of a set of programs associated with said change is currently loaded; and automatically loading the programs in said set which are not currently loaded. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. A method of executing programs in a computer, comprising the steps of:
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determining whether the user changed desktops in a user interfaces determining in the computer whether each of a set of programs associated with said change is currently loaded; and automatically loading the programs in said set which are not currently loaded. - View Dependent Claims (44)
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45. A method of executing programs in a computer, comprising the steps of:
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detecting a change in environment associated with the computer being operated in a new location; determining in the computer whether each of a set of programs associated with said change is currently loaded; and automatically loading the programs in said set which are not currently loaded. - View Dependent Claims (46)
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47. A computer comprising:
processing circuitry for; detecting a change from one desktop to another; determining in the computer whether each of a set of programs associated with said change is currently loaded; and automatically loading the programs in said set which are not currently loaded. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54)
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55. A computer comprising:
processing circuitry for; detecting a change in environment by determining whether the user changed desktops in a user interface associated with the computer; determining in the computer whether each of a set of programs associated with said change is currently loaded; and automatically loading the programs in said set which are not currently loaded.
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56. A computer comprising:
processing circuitry for; detecting a change in environment by determining that the computer is being operated in a new location; determining in the computer whether each of a set of programs associated with said change is currently loaded; and automatically loading the programs in said set which are not currently loaded.
Specification