Method and system for facilitating usage of local content at client machine

• US 7,222,161 B2
• Filed: 07/30/2001
• Issued: 05/22/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: C. Douglass Thomas, Robert C. Yen
• Original Assignee: C. Douglass Thomas, Robert C. Yen
• Inventors: Thomas, C. Douglass, Yen, Robert C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lim; Krisna
• Assistant Examiner(s): NASH, LASHANYA RENEE
• Application Number:
  US09/919,335
• Publication Number:
  US 20020023141A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,122 Days
• Field of Search: 709217-219, 709/203, 707/3, 707/10
• US Class Current: 709/217
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9574 of access to content, e.g. by caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/06 specially adapted for file transfer, e.g. file transfer protocol [FTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/1001 for accessing one among a plurality of replicated servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/289 Intermediate processing functionally located close to the data consumer application, e.g. in same machine, in same home or in same sub-network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]

Abstract

Improved techniques for data delivery from a server machine to client machines through a network are disclosed. The techniques reduce the demands on connection bandwidth between the client machines and the network, and thus enable media-rich data to be delivered with reduced amounts of network bandwidth. The techniques also reduce the bandwidth demands on network servers and overall network infrastructure. According to one aspect, web pages (e.g., markup language documents) can be modified to cause local content to be used or at least preferred over remotely located content.

Claims

1. A method for modifying a web page at a server computer to point to local content instead of remote content, said method comprising:

receiving, at the server computer, a web page to be modified;

scanning, at the server computer, the web page to locate an image in the web page;

determining, at the server computer, whether the image is supported by an image database that stores images associated with exclusively portable computer readable storage products distributed to users; and

modifying, at the server computer, the web page to direct retrieval of content for the image to be retrieved locally from the portable computer readable storage products instead of from the remote content,

wherein subsequently the modified web page can be delivered to a requestor'"'"'s computer such that the requestor'"'"'s computer never needs to receive the remote content for the image over a network connection;

instead, the focal content for the image is retrieved locally from the portable computer readable storage product.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the image has an image tag that provides a remote address for the remote content for the image, and

wherein said modifying operates to modify the image tag to point to the portable computer readable storage products instead of the remote content.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said method further comprises:

adding the image to the image database when said determining determines that the image is not yet supported by the image database.

4. A method for modifying a web page at a server computer to point to local content on an exclusively portable computer readable storage product instead of remote content, said method comprising:

receiving at the server computer, a web page to be modified, the web page including at least one image, and the source for the content for the image being linked to a remote location; and

modifying, at the server computer, the web page to direct retrieval of content for the image to be retrieved locally from the portable computer readable storage product instead of from the remote content,

wherein subsequently the modified web page can be delivered to a requestor'"'"'s computer such that the requestor'"'"'s computer never needs to receive the content for the image from the remote location over a network connection;

instead, the content for the image is retrieved locally from the portable computer readable storage product.

5. A method for creating portable computer readable storage products to be distributed to users, said method comprising:

receiving web pages to be modified;

scanning the web pages to locate high-bandwidth content on the web pages;

determining whether the high-bandwidth content is supported by a database that stores high-bandwidth content associated with exclusively portable computer readable storage products to be created;

adding the high-bandwidth content to the database when said determining determines that the high-bandwidth content is not yet supported by the database;

creating exclusively portable computer readable storage products for distribution to users by storage of the high-bandwidth content from the database to the portable computer readable storage products, whereby when the exclusively portable computer readable storage products are distributed to users, the high-bandwidth content is already stored to the exclusively portable computer readable storage products; and

modifying the web pages to direct retrieval of content for the high-bandwidth content locally from the portable computer readable storage products.

6. A method as recited in claim 5, wherein the high-bandwidth content is images.

7. A method as recited in claim 5, wherein said method further comprises:

distributing the portable computer readable storage products that have been created to users.

8. A method as recited in claim 5, wherein the portable computer readable storage products are either compact discs or memory cards.

9. A method as recited in claim 5, wherein said distributing the portable computer readable storage products comprises mailing the portable computer readable storage products to its users.

10. A method as recited in claim 9, wherein the portable computer readable storage products are either compact discs or memory cards.

11. A method as recited in claim 10, wherein the portable computer readable storage products are read-only memory devices.

12. A computer readable medium including at least computer program code for automatically modifying a web page to point to local content on an exclusively portable computer readable storage product instead of remote content, said computer readable medium comprising:

computer program code for receiving a web page to be modified, the web page including at least one high-bandwidth content component, the source for the content for the high-bandwidth content component being linked to a remote location; and

computer program code for modifying the web page to direct retrieval of content for the high-bandwidth content component to be retrieved locally from the portable computer readable storage product instead of from the remote content,

wherein subsequently the modified web page can be delivered to a requestor'"'"'s computer such that the requestor'"'"'s computer never needs to receive the high-bandwidth content component over a network connection;

instead, the high-bandwidth content component is retrieved locally from the portable computer readable storage product.

13. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 12, wherein the remote location is a remote server that is accessed through a network.

14. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 13, wherein the network includes the internet.

15. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 12, wherein the least one high-bandwidth content component has a source location provided within the web page, and

wherein said modifying operates to alter the source location for the least one high-bandwidth content component to point to data previously stored to the portable computer readable storage product.

16. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 15, wherein the least one high-bandwidth content component is an image.

17. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 16, wherein the remote location is a remote server that is accessed through a network.

18. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 17, wherein the network includes the internet.

19. A computer readable medium as recited in claim 12, wherein the portable computer readable storage product is a read-only memory device.