Automatic computer program customization based on a user information store
First Claim
1. A method implemented at least in part by a computing device comprising:
- receiving a bill of materials that includes user-specific information describing identity of a prospective user of an operating system, the user-specific information comprising the user'"'"'s name and profession; and
developing an image of an operating system to be installed on a computer, the image of the operating system being pre-populated with the user-specific information;
installing the operating system on the computer for the prospective user based on the developed image of the operating system, the installing comprising;
retrieving the user-specific information for the prospective user from the image of the operating system through a setup application;
integrating the user-specific information into the operating system on the computer;
determining, based at least in part on the profession of which the user-specific information is comprised, which one or more functionalities of the operating system to install on the computer for the prospective user, the one or more functionalities of the operating system being related to the profession of the prospective user; and
installing, upon the determining, the one or more functionalities of the operating system on the computer, wherein;
the setup application is an integrated program of the operating system; and
the determining and the installing the one or more functionalities of the operating system occur concurrently during installation of the operating system.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Software programs, such as an operating system or other application programs, are automatically customized to a specific user(s) based on data corresponding to the specific user(s) that is maintained in a user information store. In one embodiment, the information store is a unified store that is accessible by multiple programs including the operating system. Thus, new information or information changes can be made available to multiple programs by the user adding (or changing) the information only once. In another embodiment, the operating system image to be installed on a computer is pre-populated with user-specific information at the factory. The user-specific information can be integrated into the operating system at the factory or alternatively upon an initial boot of the computer by the user.
36 Citations
37 Claims
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1. A method implemented at least in part by a computing device comprising:
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receiving a bill of materials that includes user-specific information describing identity of a prospective user of an operating system, the user-specific information comprising the user'"'"'s name and profession; and developing an image of an operating system to be installed on a computer, the image of the operating system being pre-populated with the user-specific information; installing the operating system on the computer for the prospective user based on the developed image of the operating system, the installing comprising; retrieving the user-specific information for the prospective user from the image of the operating system through a setup application; integrating the user-specific information into the operating system on the computer; determining, based at least in part on the profession of which the user-specific information is comprised, which one or more functionalities of the operating system to install on the computer for the prospective user, the one or more functionalities of the operating system being related to the profession of the prospective user; and installing, upon the determining, the one or more functionalities of the operating system on the computer, wherein; the setup application is an integrated program of the operating system; and the determining and the installing the one or more functionalities of the operating system occur concurrently during installation of the operating system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method implemented at least in part by a computing device comprising:
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receiving a bill of materials that includes user-specific information describing the identity of an intended user of a computer, the bill of materials being available to customize a plurality of programs; using a setup application program to automatically access the bill of materials; and customizing automatically an operating system to be installed on a computer based at least in part on the bill of materials, the customizing comprising; integrating the user-specific information from the bill of materials into the operating system; determining, based at least in part on the user-specific information in the bill of materials, what one or more functionalities of the operating system to install for the intended user; and installing, upon the determining, the one or more functionalities of the operating system to facilitate the intended user utilizing the operating system on the computer, the one or more functionalities comprising one or more of files and components for use by the intended user, wherein; the setup application program is an application program integrated within the operating system, and the determining and the installing are conducted concurrently during installation of the operating system without human intervention. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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18. A method implemented at least in part by a computing device comprising:
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receiving a request to install one or more application programs on a computer for a user; and customizing automatically the plurality of programs based on user-specific information stored in a bill of materials, the customizing comprising; accessing and extracting, via a setup application program, the user-specific information from the bill of materials, the user-specific information comprising the user'"'"'s name and profession; determining, based at least in part on the profession of which the user-specific information in the bill of materials is comprised, which one or more components of the one or more application programs to install for the user, the one or more components of the one or more application programs being related to the profession of the user; and installing, upon the determining, the one or more components of the one or more application programs on the computer, wherein; the setup application program is configured to have access to the bill of materials, and the determining and the installing are conducted concurrently during installation of the one or more application programs after an operating system is installed on the computer. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. One or more computer-readable media having stored thereon a computer program that, when executed by one or more processors of a computer, causes the one or more processors to perform acts comprising:
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receiving a bill of materials that includes user-specific information describing identity of an intended user of a computer, the bill of materials being available to customize a plurality of programs; using a setup application program to automatically access the bill of materials; and customizing automatically an operating system to be installed on a computer based at least in part on the bill of materials, the customizing comprising; integrating the user-specific information from the bill of materials into the operating system; determining, based at least in part on the user-specific information in the bill of materials, what one or more functionalities of the operating system to install for the intended user; and installing, upon the determining, the one or more functionalities of the operating system to facilitate the intended user utilizing the operating system on the computer, the one or more functionalities comprising one or more of files and components for use by the intended user, wherein; the setup application program is an application program integrated within the operating system, and the determining and the installing are conducted concurrently during installation of the operating system. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A system implemented at least in part by a computer comprising:
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a processor; memory coupled to the processor; a computer readable store having a record of user information stored in a bill of materials, the record of user information describing a user and being available to configure a plurality of programs; and an interface communicatively coupled to the record of user information, the interface being configured to; receive information requests from one or more application programs; obtain the requested information from the record of user information; and facilitate customizing the one or more application programs during installation of the one or more application programs, the customizing comprising; determining, based at least in part on the requested information, what one or more components of the one or more application programs to install on the computer; and installing, upon the determining, the one or more components of the one or more application programs on the computer, the one or more components comprising one or more of files and functionalities to facilitate the user utilizing the one or more application programs, wherein the determining and the installing are conducted concurrently during installation of the one or more application programs. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A system comprising:
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one or more processors; and memory communicatively coupled to the one or more processors, the memory having stored thereon a plurality of instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors of the system, configure the one or more processors to perform a method comprising; automatically obtaining, over a network when the computer is initially booted, a record of user information describing a user, the record being stored in a bill of materials and being available to customize an operating system; customizing automatically an operating system to be installed on the computer based at least in part on the record of user information, the customizing comprising; integrating the record of user information into the operating system; determining, based at least in part on the record of user information, what one or more functionalities of the operating system to install for the user; and installing, upon the determining, the one or more functionalities of the operating system on the computer, the one or more functionalities comprising one or more of files and components to facilitate the user utilizing the operating system, wherein the determining and the installing are conducted concurrently during installation of the operating system. - View Dependent Claims (37)
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Specification