Dynamic screen sharing for optimal performance

• US 9,124,657 B2
• Filed: 12/14/2011
• Issued: 09/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Bhogal, Kulvir S., Boss, Gregory J., Hamilton, Rick A. II, Sand, Anne R.
• Primary Examiner(s): DAILEY, THOMAS J
• Application Number:
  US13/326,007
• Publication Number:
  US 20130159880A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,357 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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: G09G 2340/0407 Resolution change, inclusive of the use of different resolutions for different screen areas
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2340/0428 Gradation resolution change
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2350/00 Solving problems of bandwidth in display systems
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2370/022 Centralised management of display operation, e.g. in a server instead of locally
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/04 using circuits for interfacing with colour displays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15

Abstract

Illustrative embodiments disclose sharing an area of a computer system screen. A first computer system configures a sharing session for sharing a region of the screen with a second computer system. The first computer system assesses information on performance of the sharing session, determining from the information a minimum size of the region based on the assessment, and then selects the region to share based on the assessment and a designation by a user.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method to share a region of a screen, comprising:

configuring, by a processor unit in a first computer system using a screen sharing tool, a sharing session for sharing the region of the screen with a second computer system, wherein the region is defined by a user of the first computer system to dynamically share a selected portion of the screen by creating a pixel map of the region, and wherein the region is selectively defined using regular, simple shapes, including rectangles or circles, complex irregular shapes of a usable form for selecting a useable region of screen, and a set of regular and irregular shapes, and wherein the region further comprising one or more regions defined on the screen;

assessing, by the processor unit in the first computer system, information on performance of the sharing session, including assessing performance of client devices;

determining, by the processor unit in the first computer system, from the information on performance a minimum size of the region based on the assessment; and

selecting, by the processor unit in the first computer system, the region to share based on the assessment and a designation by the user.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the information on performance of the sharing session includes latencies of the sharing session and characteristics of the second computer system.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

monitoring, by the processor unit in the first computer system, a characteristic of content in the sharing session, a constraint of the second computer system, and a feedback of performance from the second computer system; and

modifying, by the processor unit in the first computer system, the region, a characteristic of the content being shared, or a characteristic of a data stream in the sharing session as required to maintain performance.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, further comprising:

monitoring, by the processor unit in the first computer system, the second computer system, wherein the monitoring comprises periodic polling of the second computer system for information on performance or receiving a request to modify the sharing session.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the processor unit in the first computer system, characteristics of a data stream to use in the sharing session based on the information on performance of the sharing session and the region.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the assessing information on performance comprises assessing a bandwidth requirement based on a resolution characteristic, a refresh rate characteristic, and a color depth characteristic of the region.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

sharing, by the processor unit in the first computer system, the region with a plurality of other computer systems; and

determining, by the processor unit in the first computer system, a size of the region or a resolution characteristic to use based on a policy, wherein the policy comprises a mean policy, a mode policy, or a median policy.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

selecting, by the processor unit in the first computer system, one of absolute mapping and relative mapping for the region.