Rerouting media to selected media applications

• US 7,797,442 B2
• Filed: 02/07/2008
• Issued: 09/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2000
• Status: Expired

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AOL Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.)
• Inventors: Robinson, John D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Najjar; Saleh
• Assistant Examiner(s): KOROBOV, VITALI A
• Application Number:
  US12/027,578
• Publication Number:
  US 20080133611A1
• Time in Patent Office: 950 Days
• Field of Search: 709/231, 709/232, 709/217, 709/246, 725/86, 725/135, 725/136, 725/140, 725/141, 725/142
• US Class Current: 709/231
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/40 of multimedia data, e.g. slideshows comprising image and additional audio data retrieval of still image data G06F16/50; retrieval of audio data G06F16/60; retrieval of video data G06F16/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4143 embedded in a Personal Computer [PC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/443 OS processes, e.g. booting an STB, implementing a Java virtual machine in an STB or power management in an STB
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4782 Web browsing , e.g. WebTV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8166 involving executable data, e.g. software arrangements for executing specific programs G06F9/44; broadcasting computer programmes in broadcast systems H04H20/91; involving the movement of software or configuration parameters H04L67/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

A data stream may be processed using a computer system by receiving the data stream using a browser application, detecting a content type of data in the data stream, temporarily overriding a default rendering process otherwise associated with the content type detected for the data in the data stream by associating a particular rendering process with the data stream based on the type of data in the data stream, and routing the data stream to the particular rendering process. The default rendering process may be identified in a registry of the computer system. It may be temporarily overridden by discriminating among internal and external instances of the browser application used to receive the data stream, and temporarily overriding the default rendering process only if the browser application is an internal instance.

Claims

1. A method for temporarily overriding a default rendering process associated with a data stream comprising:

receiving a data stream using a browser running on a computer system;

detecting an original Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension (MIME) type of the data stream called by the browser;

determining whether the browser is invoked within an application environment of an internet service provider to enable a subscriber of the internet service provider to access an online resource;

if it is determined that the browser is invoked within the application environment of the internet service provider, changing the original MIME type of the data stream to a different MIME type, wherein the original MIME type associates the data stream with a first rendering process identified in a registry of the computer system and the different MIME type associates the data stream with a second rendering process identified in the registry of the computer system; and

temporarily overriding the default rending process identified in the registry of the computer by handling the data stream with the second rendering process based on the different MIME type of the data stream and thereby temporarily overriding the default rendering process.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the data stream is received in response to the request from the browser.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising loading a MIME filter into an operating system of the computer system.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising receiving notification in the browser that the data stream is available for filtering by the MIME filter.

5. The method of claim 3 further comprising activating multimedia subsystem player running on the computer system to render the data stream.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising passing the data stream to the multimedia subsystem player.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising routing the data stream to the default rendering process if the browser is determined to have been invoked outside the application environment of the internet service provider.