Portable computing environment

• US 7,493,487 B2
• Filed: 10/15/2004
• Issued: 02/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Myers, Mark A, Schoppa, Christopher A, Phillips, Thomas G, Westerinen, William J
• Primary Examiner(s): Zand; Kambiz
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jackson; Jenise E
• Application Number:
  US10/966,428
• Publication Number:
  US 20060085638A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,586 Days
• Field of Search: 713/168, 713/182, 713/1, 713/2
• US Class Current: 713/168
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/042 using digital processors G05B19/05 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31241 Remote control by a proxy or echo server, internet - intranet
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/34 involving the use of external additional devices, e.g. dongles or smart cards
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/57 Certifying or maintaining trusted computer platforms, e.g. secure boots or power-downs, version controls, system software checks, secure updates or assessing vulnerabilities
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/71 to assure secure computing or processing of information
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2129 Authenticate client device independently of the user
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2149 Restricted operating environment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2153 Using hardware token as a secondary aspect
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0853 using an additional device, e.g. smartcard, SIM or a different communication terminal cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving additional secure or trusted devices H04L9/3234
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3234 involving additional secure or trusted devices, e.g. TPM, smartcard, USB or software token network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using an additional device in a packet data network H04L63/0853
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3297 involving time stamps, e.g. generation of time stamps

Abstract

The described systems, methods and data structures are directed to a portable computing environment. A communication link is established between a portable device and a host device. The portable device is equipped with a processing unit and is configured to execute a process that is accessible by the host device. The host device includes an application configured to interact with the process on the portable device. The process on the portable device provides data to the application on the host device using the communication link. The application uses the data to provide a computing environment.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

connecting a portable device to a host device, wherein the portable device is configured to execute a process;

establishing a communication link between the portable device and the host device;

identifying the portable device to the host device;

executing the process with a computing module of the portable device, the process configured to generate a computing environment;

determining a first timing identifier;

determining a second timing identifier associated with the process;

enabling an application on the host device to interact with the process based, at least in part, on a protocol when the second timing identifier is valid relative to the first timing identifier, wherein enabling the application on the host device to interact with the process includes providing the computing environment to an application executing on the host device; and

denying access to the process when the second timing identifier is invalid relative to the first timing identifier, wherein the second timing identifier is invalid when the second timing identifier represents a time that is after another time represented by the first timing identifier.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the process is an application service.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the application is a browser.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein connecting the portable device to the host device is performed using a Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

determining states associated with the process; and

configuring the computing environment based, at least in part, on the states.

6. The method as recited in claim 5, wherein the states represent customizations selected by a user for the computing environment.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising identifying the portable device as a network device.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising configuring the host device to communicate with the portable device based, at least in part, on a protocol that allows processes on two different computing devices to communicate.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an address from the host device; and

associating the address with the host device.

10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the address includes at least one of an Internet Protocol (IP) address or a Uniform Resource Locator (URL).

11. The method as recited in claim 9, further comprising communicating with the process using the address.

12. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

connecting the portable device to a USB port of the host device;

determining an initiation procedure in the portable device, the initiation procedure including instructions to open a browser to an address associated with the portable device; and

automatically executing the initiation procedure in the host device.

13. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the initiation procedure includes at least one of identifying an IP address, identifying a URL, establishing a connection with a server through a network, or launching a browser.

14. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the user-interface is configured to send a request to an address associated with the portable device.

15. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

determining a key associated with the portable device; and

authenticating the portable device based, at least in part, on the key.

16. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

retrieving an indicator within the portable device, the indicator specifying whether a condition of use associated with the process is valid; and

if the indicator indicates that the condition is not valid, denying access to the process.

17. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the indicator represents at least one of a time, an authentication state, or a version state.

18. One or more computer-readable media encoded with computer-executable instructions which, when executed, cause at least one processor to perform the method as recited in claim 1.

19. An apparatus comprising:

a computing module having at least one processor;

an interface module configured to communicate with a host device;

a timing apparatus configured to provide a first timing identifier;

a memory module comprising instructions which, when executed, cause the at least one processor to;

identify the apparatus to the host device;

establish a communication link with the host device;

execute a process on the computing module;

determine a second timing identifier associated with the process;

enable an application on the host device to interact with the process based, at least in part, on a protocol when the second timing identifier is valid relative to the first timing identifier, and

deny access to the process when the second timing identifier is invalid relative to the first timing identifier, wherein the second timing identifier is invalid when the second timing identifier represents a time that is after another time represented by the first timing identifier.

20. The apparatus as recited in claim 19, wherein the process includes an application service configured to provide a computing environment.

21. The apparatus as recited in claim 20, wherein the application service is configured to provide data to an application executing on the host device.

22. The apparatus as recited in claim 21, wherein the data is provided to the application on the host device using at least one of extensible markup language (XML), simple object access protocol (SOAP), web services description language (WSDL), or universal description, discovery and integration (UDDI).

23. The apparatus as recited in claim 20, wherein the memory module further comprises data representing states associated with the application service.

24. The apparatus as recited in claim 23, wherein the instructions further cause the at least one processor to configure the application service based, at least in part, on the states.

25. The apparatus as recited in claim 23, wherein the web service is configured to provide a computing environment and the states represent customizations of the computing environment.

26. The apparatus as recited in claim 19, wherein the memory module includes at least one of flash memory, Random Access Memory (RAM), a hard drive, or an optical drive.

27. The apparatus as recited in claim 19, wherein the instructions further cause the at least one processor to identify the apparatus to the host device as a network device.

28. The apparatus as recited in claim 19, wherein the communication link includes at least one of a universal serial bus (USB) connection, a radio frequency (RE) connection, a Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) connection, a Bluetooth connection, a fire wire (IEEE 1394) connection, an infrared connection, or an optical connection.

29. The apparatus as recited in claim 19, wherein the protocol includes at least one of simple object access protocol (SOAP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), a transmission control protocol (TCP), or remote procedure call (RPC) protocol.

30. An apparatus comprising:

a computing module having at least one processor;

an interface module configured to communicate with a portable device;

a timing apparatus configured to provide a first timing identifier;

a memory module comprising instructions which, when executed, cause the at least one processor to;

detect the portable device;

establish a communication link with the portable device;

determine a web service provided by the portable device, wherein the web service is a process executable on the portable device; and

when a second timing identifier associated with the web service is valid relative to the first timing identifier, provide a user-interface for interacting with the web service, wherein access to the web service is denied to the apparatus when the second timing identifier is invalid relative to the first timing identifier, wherein the second timing identifier is invalid when the second timing identifier represents a time that is after another time represented by the first timing identifier.

31. The apparatus as recited in claim 30, wherein the instructions further cause the at least one processor to provide a computing environment based, at least in part, on data provided by the web service.

32. The apparatus as recited in claim 31, wherein the instructions further cause the at least one processor to retrieve states from the portable device.

33. The apparatus as recited in claim 32, wherein the instructions further cause the at least one processor to configure the computing environment using the retrieved states.

34. The apparatus as recited in claim 30, further comprising a network device configured to establish a connection to a network.

35. The apparatus as recited in claim 34, wherein the network device is further configured to provide the connection for use by the portable device.

36. A method of communicating between a portable device and a host device, the method comprising:

sending, by the portable device to the host device, a message identifying the portable device as a network device;

sending, by the portable device to the host device, an identifier associated with a process executing on the portable device;

sending, by the host device to the portable device, a request to interact with the process, the request including the identifier;

determining a first timing identifier;

determining a second timing identifier associated with the process;

enabling an application on the host device to interact with the process based, at least in part, on a protocol when the second timing identifier is valid relative to the first timing identifier, wherein enabling the application on the host device to interact with the process includes sending, by the portable device to the host device, states associated with the process; and

denying access to the process when the second timing identifier is invalid relative to the first timing identifier, wherein the second timing identifier is invalid when the second timing identifier represents a time that is after another time represented by the first timing identifier.

37. The method as recited in claim 36, further comprising sending, by the portable device to the host device, instructions for interacting with the process.

38. The method as recited in claim 36, wherein the identifier includes at least one of an IP address or a uniform resource locator(URL).

39. An apparatus comprising:

means for connecting a portable device with a host device;

means for executing an application service on the portable device;

means for determining a first timing identifier;

means for determining a second timing identifier associated with the process;

means for enabling an application on the host device to interact with the process based, at least in part, on a protocol when the second timing identifier is valid relative to the first timing identifier, wherein means for enabling the application on the host device to interact with the process includes means for accessing the application by a browser executing on the host device; and

means for denying access to the process when the second timing identifier is invalid relative to the first timing identifier, wherein the second timing identifier is invalid when the second timing identifier represents a time that is after another time represented by the first timing identifier.

40. The apparatus as recited in claim 39, further comprising means for the application to access the process using a web services protocol.

41. The apparatus as recited in claim 39, further comprising means for the portable device to connect to the host device as a network device.

42. The apparatus as recited in claim 39, further comprising means for the process to provide a computing environment for the host device.

43. The apparatus as recited in claim 41, further comprising means for determining states associated with the portable device.

44. The apparatus as recited in claim 42, further comprising means for the portable device to customize the computing environment using the states.