Device-specific content versioning

• US 7,864,186 B2
• Filed: 01/29/2010
• Issued: 01/04/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: DigiMedia Tech, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: Farodall Mgmt NY LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Weiss, Howard P., Robotham, John S., Johnson, Charles Lee
• Primary Examiner(s): Sajous; Wesner
• Application Number:
  US12/696,413
• Publication Number:
  US 20100194753A1
• Time in Patent Office: 340 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 345/581
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9577 Optimising the visualization of content, e.g. distillation of HTML documents
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2209/509 Offload
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/1454 involving copying of the display data of a local workstation or window to a remote workstation or window so that an actual copy of the data is displayed simultaneously on two or more displays, e.g. teledisplay
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/5055 considering software capabilities, i.e. software resources associated or available to the machine
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/39 Control of the bit-mapped memory
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

Embodiments relate to display of visual content on a client device using server-side rasterization of visual content. According to some embodiments, visual content is rendered on a server system, transformed into bitmaps compatible with the display attributes of a client device, and transmitted for display on the client device. The server system can perform, in effect, as a remote browser for displaying Web pages, e-mail, e-mail attachments, electronic document and forms, database queries and results, drawings, presentations, images at the client device, and so on. The approach can be “remote” because the server does the rendering and the client provides the interface; “multi-level” because rendered visual content is represented as a multi-level set of raster representations; and constitutes a “browsing system” because the client and server share data about the source visual content element being browsed, and the client performs a specific browsing function assisted by the server.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

maintaining versions of visual content, the versions representing individual views of the visual content at different resolutions;

receiving a representation of a display attribute from a client device;

selecting a version of the visual content based on the representation of the display attribute received from the client device;

generating a rendered version of the selected version of the visual content;

transforming the rendered version into a bitmap; and

communicating the bitmap for receipt by the client device, the bitmap being configured for display by the client device.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein receiving the representation of the display attribute includes receiving a representation of one or more of a pixel resolution of the client device, a pixel aspect ratio of the client device, or a tonal range of the client device.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein receiving the representation of the display attribute from the client device is responsive to receiving a request from the client device to initiate a remote web browsing session.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein generating the rendered version of the selected version of the visual content comprises representing the selected version of the visual content on a proxy display surface remote from the client device.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising performing a multi-level raster transformation of the rendered version of the selected version prior to transforming the rendered version into a bitmap.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising performing a raster extraction of the rendered version of the selected version prior to transforming the rendered version into a bitmap.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein transforming the rendered version into a bitmap comprises embedding a watermark into the bitmap, the watermark indicating a source of the selected version of the visual content.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein transforming the rendered version into the bitmap comprises:

generating a first bitmap portion of the rendered version; and

generating a second bitmap portion of the rendered version,

wherein communicating the bitmap for receipt by the client device comprises communicating the first bitmap portion, the second bitmap portion, and a data element for receipt by the client device, the data element indicating a relationship between the first bitmap portion and the second bitmap portion.

9. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving at a client device an indication of versions of visual content available from a remote device, the versions of visual content representing individual views of the visual content at different resolutions;

communicating a representation of a display attribute of the client device for receipt by the remote device; and

receiving, at the client device, a bitmap configured for display on the client device based on the display attribute of the client device.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein communicating the representation of the display attribute includes communicating a representation of one or more of a pixel resolution of the client device, a pixel aspect ratio of the client device, or a tonal range of the client device.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, wherein receiving the bitmap for display comprises first receiving an overview representation of the version of the visual content and then receiving a detailed representation of the version of the visual content.

12. A computing device comprising:

a computer-readable memory; and

computer-executable instructions that, in response to execution by the computing device, cause the computing device to;

maintain versions of visual content, the versions representing individual views of the visual content at different resolutions;

select a version of the visual content based on a display attribute of a client device and generate a rendered version of the selected version of the visual content;

transform the rendered version into a bitmap for display at the client device; and

communicate the bitmap for receipt by the client device.

13. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the display attribute comprises one or more of a pixel resolution of the client device, a pixel aspect ratio of the client device, or a tonal range of the client device.

14. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the computer-executable instructions, in response to execution by the computing device, cause the computing device to generate the rendered version of the selected version of the visual content by representing the selected version of the visual content on a proxy display surface remote from the client device, wherein the proxy display surface acts as a proxy for a display surface of the client device.

15. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the computer-executable instructions, in response to execution by the computing device, cause the computing device to communicate the bitmap for receipt by the client device by first communicating an overview representation of the selected version of the visual content and then communicating a detailed representation of the selected version of the visual content.

16. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the computer-executable instructions, in response to execution by the computing device, cause the computing device to communicate the bitmap for receipt by the client device as part of a remote web browsing session.

17. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the computer-executable instructions, in response to execution by the computing device, cause the computing device to:

communicate a visual component associated with the bitmap for receipt by the client device;

receive an indication of a manipulation of the visual component from the client device;

generate a different rendered version of the selected version of the visual content;

transform the different rendered version into a different bitmap for display at the client device; and

communicate the different bitmap for receipt by the client device.

18. A tangible computer-readable memory having instructions stored thereon, the instructions comprising:

instructions to maintain versions of visual content, the versions representing individual views of the visual content at different resolutions;

instructions to select a version of the visual content based on a display attribute of a client device;

instructions to generate a rendered version of the selected version of the visual content;

instructions to transform the rendered version into a bitmap, the bitmap being configured for display by the client device; and

instructions to communicate the bitmap for receipt by the client device.

19. The tangible computer-readable memory of claim 18, wherein the bitmap comprises an overview representation of the selected version of the visual content, and wherein the instructions further comprise:

instructions to generate a different rendered version of the selected version of the visual content;

instructions to transform the different rendered version into a different bitmap, the different bitmap being configured for display by the client device and comprising a detailed representation of the selected version of the visual content; and

instructions to communicate the different bitmap for receipt by the client device.

20. The tangible computer-readable memory of claim 18, wherein the bitmap comprises a visual representation of a web page, and wherein the instructions to communicate the bitmap for receipt by the client device are configured to communicate the bitmap as part of a remote web browsing session for the client device.