Operating system supporting cost aware applications

• US 10,044,515 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2015
• Issued: 08/07/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Menezes, Pascal, Piumatti, Marco, Parks, Upshur, Rao, Ravi
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, David Q
• Application Number:
  US14/981,271
• Publication Number:
  US 20160112579A1
• Time in Patent Office: 953 Days
• Field of Search: 455405, 455406, 455407, 455408, 455423, 455424
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1407 Policy-and-charging control [PCC] architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1485 Tariff-related aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/72 by the user
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/80 Rating or billing plans; Tariff determination aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8016 based on quality of service [QoS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8022 Determining tariff or charge band
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/8044 Least cost routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/83 Notification aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/85 characterised by the type of condition triggering a notification
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/885 limit per application
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 15/886 limit per terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/02 Access restriction performed under specific conditions

Abstract

A mobile computing device that supports cost-aware application components for operation over a metered network. A current basis for computing usage charges over one or more networks may be made available to the cost-aware application components through an application programming interface supported by an operating system service. That service may receive a policy for charging for data usage over a network and may also obtain information defining data usage for the mobile computing device. Based on this information, the service may determine a current basis for charging for data usage. With this information, the application component can determine a manner for executing network operations that involve data transmission over the network, such as deferring the operation or selecting an alternative network.

Claims

1. A computer-readable memory storage device having instructions stored therein for causing a computing device to perform operations, the operations comprising:

receiving an indication that an update for an application is available for download;

determining, based on a size of the update relative to a user configured threshold, that the update is to be downloaded over a first network;

in response to determining that the update is to be downloaded over the first network, downloading the update over the first network;

receiving an indication that another update for another application is available for download;

determining, based on a size of the other update relative to the user configured threshold, that the update is not to be downloaded over the first network; and

deferring the download of the update until another network becomes available.

2. The computer-readable memory storage device of claim 1, wherein it is determined that the update is to be downloaded over the first network if the size of the update is less than the user configured threshold.

3. The computer-readable memory storage device of claim 1, wherein it is determined that the update is not to be downloaded over the first network if the size of the update is greater than the user configured threshold.

4. The computer-readable memory storage device of claim 1, wherein deferring the download of the update includes blocking the download.

5. The computer-readable memory storage device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving information from a user via a graphical user interface of the computing device; and

configuring the user configured threshold based on the received information.

6. The computer-readable memory storage device of claim 5, wherein the graphical user interface includes an element for selecting a network to which the user configured threshold is to be applied.

7. The computer-readable memory storage device of claim 1, wherein the user configured threshold is expressed as a percentage of a data usage cap.

8. The computer-readable memory storage device of claim 1, wherein the first network is a mobile network, and wherein the other network a lower cost network than the mobile network.

9. The computer-readable memory storage device of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable memory storage device is an article of manufacture that is remote from the computing device.

10. A method of updating an application installed on a mobile computing device, the method comprising:

receiving an indication of an availability of an update to the application that is installed on the mobile computing device;

determining whether a size of the update exceeds a user configured threshold; and

selectively obtaining the update to the application based on the determination of whether the size of the update exceeds the threshold, including;

obtaining the update over a first network if the size of the update to the application does not exceed the threshold; and

deferring the update until another network becomes available if the size of the update exceeds the threshold, including;

blocking the download of the update over the first network.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

receiving the user configured threshold via a user interface of the computing device.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein obtaining the update over the first network includes downloading the update from a server over the first network.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the first network is a mobile network, and wherein the mobile network is a metered network.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the other network is an unmetered network.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the user configured threshold is expressed as a percentage of a data usage cap.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the first network is a mobile network, and wherein the other network is a Wi-Fi network.

17. A mobile computing device, comprising:

at least one memory and at least one processor, wherein the at least one memory and the at least one process are respectively configured to store and execute instructions including instructions for causing the mobile computing device to;

receive a user selection of a threshold size for application updates to be downloaded over a first network;

determine that an update for an application on the mobile computing device is available;

receive information indicative of a size of the update;

based on comparison of the information indicative of the size of the update to the threshold size, determining whether to download the update over the first network or to defer the download of the update until another network becomes available, wherein the first network is a metered mobile network and the other network is an unmetered network; and

download the update over a first network or defer the download of the update until another network becomes available.

18. The mobile computing device of claim 17, wherein the instructions also cause the mobile computing device to download the update over the first network if the size of the update is less than the threshold size.

19. The mobile computing device of claim 17, wherein the instructions also cause the mobile computing device to defer the download if the size of the update exceeds the threshold size.

20. The mobile computing device of claim 17, wherein the instructions also cause the mobile computing device receive the user selection of the threshold size via a graphical user interface on the mobile computing device, and wherein the graphical user interface also includes elements for configuring data usage limits for the mobile computing device.

21. The mobile computing device of claim 17, wherein the first network is a mobile network, and wherein the other network is a local area network.