RSS hostable control

• US 7,979,803 B2
• Filed: 03/06/2006
• Issued: 07/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Kim, Jane T., Gandhi, Amar S., Lyndersay, Sean O.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pesin, Boris
• Assistant Examiner(s): ABDUL-ALI, OMAR R
• Application Number:
  US11/276,584
• Publication Number:
  US 20070245251A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,954 Days
• Field of Search: 715/762, 715/764, 715/866
• US Class Current: 715/762
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/958 Organisation or management of web site content, e.g. publishing, maintaining pages or automatic linking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail

Abstract

The embodiments described above utilize and leverage RSS to enable a user to interact more easily with different types of data, or data from different sources that are available over the web. In accordance with at least some embodiments, a hostable and/or customizable control is provided and gives the user the ability to interact with RSS feeds to store and further manipulate collections of items from different RSS feeds.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable media embodying computer-executable instructions which, when executed, implement an RSS hostable control configured to:

provide a user with the ability to interact with RSS feeds to build a user-defined RSS feed that contains a number of items selected from different RSS feeds, the number of the selected items being capable of being less than a total number of items furnished by the different RSS feeds, wherein the user-defined RSS feed includes XML for each of the selected items and wherein the items comprise different types of content; and

wherein the hostable control is configured to;

enable write access to one or more of the selected RSS items; and

enable a user-selectable control associated with at least one custom action to be programmed on the hostable control, wherein the at least one custom action includes at least one XML-definable custom action that is described in an RSS feed from which an item is selected.

2. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the RSS hostable control can be hosted by a web page.

3. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the RSS hostable control can be hosted by an application.

4. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 3, wherein the application resides in the form of a browser.

5. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the hostable control supports a feature that comprises default actions.

6. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the hostable control supports features that comprise one or more of:

multiple views or custom views.

7. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the hostable control supports features comprising:

default actions, file system interactions, multiple views and custom views.

8. A computer-implemented method comprising:

enabling a user, via a user interface, to select a number of individual RSS items from different RSS feeds, the number of the selected RSS items being capable of being less than a total number of RSS items furnished by the different RSS feeds, wherein the enabling is performed, at least in part, utilizing an RSS hostable control that supports features comprising;

one or more user-selectable controls associated with at least one custom action programmed on the hostable control, wherein the at least one custom action includes an XML-definable custom action that is described in an RSS feed from which an item is selected; and

file system interactions that include enabling conversion of RSS items to a file within a particular file system;

establishing a user-defined feed comprising a collection that contains the selected RSS items;

wherein the act of establishing comprises parsing XML associated with said different RSS feeds and selecting XML that is associated with individual items selected by the user; and

enabling write access to one or more of the RSS items.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the acts of enabling and establishing are performed, at least in part, by a browser.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the RSS hostable control can bind to an RSS feed or a local store.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the RSS hostable control can be hosted by a web site.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the selected RSS items can comprise different types of items.

13. The method of claim 8 further comprising enabling the user to perform default actions.

14. The method of claim 8 further comprising enabling the user to view the items of a collection in one or more of:

a list view, an icon view, a detail view, or a template view.

15. A computer-implemented method comprising:

providing one or more RSS hostable controls, individual controls being configured to enable a user to select a number of different types of items from different RSS feeds and build a user-defined RSS feed from the selected items, the number of the selected different types of items being capable of being less than a total number of items furnished by the different RSS feeds, the user-defined RSS feed comprising XML from the different RSS feeds, the XML describing individual items of the user-defined RSS feed;

enabling write access to one or more of the items of the user-defined RSS feed; and

assigning one or more actions to items of the user-defined RSS feed, wherein at least some actions are custom actions that are associated with at least one user-selectable control programmed on the one or more RSS hostable controls, and wherein at least some actions are described in XML that forms part of at least one RSS feed from which at least one item comes.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the act of providing is performed by a browser.