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• US 8,204,937 B2
• Filed: 05/24/2010
• Issued: 06/19/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2003
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Blagsvedt, Sean O., Kabir, Ahsan S., Deeds, Roman L., Oreizy, Peyman, Van Dok, Cornelis K., Otnes, Kevin M., Anthony, Colin R., Schofield, Mark, Araman, Christopher J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Etienne, Ario
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lai, Michael C
• Application Number:
  US12/786,379
• Publication Number:
  US 20100235761A1
• Time in Patent Office: 757 Days
• Field of Search: 709/204, 709/206, 709/223, 715/736, 715/748, 715/752, 715/753, 715/758
• US Class Current: 709/204
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/04 Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/234 for tracking messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1083 In-session procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/54 Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users

Abstract

Methods, systems, and computer program products for tracking real-time communication data within a single contact tracking application for diverse communication providers and applications. A global data store is synchronized with real-time communication data, such as presence, status, unread messages, and unread notifications, from each application/provider. Real-time communication data for contacts dynamically determined to be recent contacts is retrieved from the data store, based on properties such as a most recent communication time, a communication count, and the like. Real-time communication data corresponding to contacts identified as pinned contacts for which display of real-time communication data is preferred, also may be retrieved. A user interface is generated for displaying the one or more recent and/or pinned contacts, which may vary in size based on the number of contacts identified as pinned contacts, from which a contact may be selected for real-time conversation or e-mail.

Claims

1. A method of displaying real-time communication data tracked from a plurality of diverse real-time communication providers and applications, the method comprising acts of:

receiving real-time communication data and e-mail communication data from a plurality of diverse communication providers and that correspond to one or more contacts;

displaying a contact listing on a user interface that lists the one or more contacts;

displaying a number next to a particular contact of the one or more contacts, the number identifying a quantity of unread real-time communication notifications that have been received from the particular contact; and

providing a user input section which, upon receiving corresponding user input, will initiate a real-time communication with the particular contact.

2. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the method further includes displaying a second number next to the particular contact and wherein the second number identifies a quantity of unread email communication notifications that have been received from the particular contact.

3. The method recited in claim 1, wherein an ordering of the listed one or more contacts is based on a communication count associated with each of the one or more listed contacts and wherein the communication count for each of the one or more listed contacts comprises a total number of real-time communication notifications received from each of the one or more listed contacts, respectively.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein an ordering of the listed one or more contacts is based on a combination of both a most recent communication time in which a communication was received from each of the one or more contacts, respectively, as well as a communication count for each of the one or more listed contacts which comprises a total number of communications received from each of the one or more listed contacts, respectively.

5. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the user interface comprises separate pinned contact and recent contact portions, and wherein the contact listing is listed in the pinned contact portion of the user interface.

6. The method recited in claim 5, wherein a first list of contacts included in the pinned contact portion of the user interface is ordered differently than an ordering of a second listing of contacts included in the recent contact portion of the user interface.

7. The method recited in claim 6, wherein the first list of contacts is ordered alphabetically.

8. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the method further includes displaying, within the user interface, a selectable object for initiating a search of one or more contact.

9. The method recited in claim 1, wherein the method further includes displaying, within the ricer interface, a selectable object for initiating the entry of contact to add to the list of one or more contacts.

10. A method of displaying real-time communication data tracked from a plurality of diverse real-time communication providers and applications, the method comprising acts of:

receiving real-time communication data and e-mail communication data from a plurality of diverse communication providers and that correspond to one or more contacts;

displaying a contact listing on a user interface that lists the one or more contacts;

displaying a number next to a particular contact of the one or more contacts, the number identifying a quantity of unread email communication notifications that have been received from the particular contact;

displaying a second number next to a second particular contact of the one or more contacts, the second number identifying a quantity of unread real-time communication notifications that have been received from the second particular contact; and

providing a user input section which, upon receiving corresponding user input, will initiate an email communication with the particular contact.

11. The method recited in claim 10, wherein an ordering of the listed one or more contacts is based on a communication count associated with each of the one or more listed contacts and wherein the communication count for each of the one or more listed contacts comprises a total number of email communication notifications received from each of the one or more listed contacts, respectively.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein an ordering of the listed one or more contacts is based on a combination of both a most recent communication time in which a communication was received from each of the one or more contacts, respectively, as well as a communication count for each of the one or more listed contacts which comprises a total number of communications received from each of the one or more listed contacts, respectively.

13. The method recited in claim 12, wherein the most recent communication time and the communication count is based on email communications.

14. The method recited in claim 10, wherein the user interface comprises separate pinned contact and recent contact portions, and wherein the contact listing is listed in the pinned contact portion of the user interface.

15. The method recited in claim 14, wherein a first list of contacts included in the pinned contact portion of the user interface is ordered differently than an ordering of a second listing of contacts included in the recent contact portion of the user interface.

16. A method of displaying real-time communication data tracked from a plurality of diverse real-time communication providers and applications, the method comprising acts of:

receiving real-time communication data and e-mail communication data from diverse communication providers corresponding to one or more contacts;

displaying a first contact listing on a user interface that lists the one or more contacts that have been determined to be recent contacts, determining the one or more contacts to be recent contacts comprising at least determining a most recent communication time;

displaying a second contact listing on the user interface comprising one or more pinned contacts, each pinned contact having been designated as a pinned contact by receipt of a corresponding user input;

distinguishing between the first and the second contact listings;

displaying a first number next to an email contact of the one or more contacts included in either of the first or the second contact listing, the first number identifying a quantity of unread email communication notifications that have been received from the email contact; and

displaying a second number next to a real-time communication contact of the one or more contacts included in either of the first or second contact listing, the second number identifying a quantity of unread real-time communication notifications that have been received from the real-time communication contact.

17. The method recited in claim 16, wherein the email contact and the real-time communication contact are a same contact and such that the same contact is displayed with the first and the second numbers next to the same contact.