Dual-Mode, Dual-Display Shared Resource Computing

• US 20110225366A1
• Filed: 03/09/2010
• Published: 09/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Chitsaz, Behrooz, Izadi, Shahram
• Granted Patent: US 8,898,398 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 711/118
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1647 including at least an additional display G06F1/1692 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3293 by switching to a less power-consuming processor, e.g. sub-CPU
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3296 by lowering the supply or operating voltage
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0811 with multilevel cache hierarchies
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0813 with a network or matrix configuration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0873 Mapping of cache memory to specific storage devices or parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2200/1637 Sensing arrangement for detection of housing movement or orientation, e.g. for controlling scrolling or cursor movement on the display of an handheld computer
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/154 Networked environment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/161 Portable computer, e.g. notebook
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/284 being distributed
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/3042 being part of a memory device, e.g. cache DRAM
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/305 being part of a memory device, e.g. cache DRAM
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/169 Annotation, e.g. comment data or footnotes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A dual-mode, dual-display shared resource computing (SRC) device is usable to stream SRC content from a host SRC device while in an on-line mode and maintain functionality with the content during an off-line mode. Such remote SRC devices can be used to maintain multiple user-specific caches and to back-up cached content for multi-device systems.

Claims

1. A dual-mode, shared-resource portable device comprising:

memory coupled to a processor;

a first display and a second display different than the first display, the first and second displays coupled to the processor;

a user action module, stored in the memory and executable on the processor, to receive a user action for switching modes;

a mode control module, stored in the memory and executable on the processor, to;

receive an instruction from the user action module; and

determine, based at least in part on the user action, whether to activate a first mode or a second mode; and

a display control module, stored in the memory and executable on the processor, to display content on the first display when the first mode is activated and to display content on the second display when the second mode is activated.

2. The device of claim 1, the second display comprising an electronic ink display.

3. The device of claim 2, the first display comprising a display other than an electronic ink display.

4. The device of claim 2, further comprising a content control module, stored in the memory and executable on the processor, the content control module configured to:

display streamed content on the first display during the first mode;

store the content to a memory cache during the first mode; and

display content from the memory cache on the second display during the second mode.

5. The device of claim 4, the content comprising a predetermined amount of a document being streamed.

6. The device of claim 2, further comprising an annotation capture module, stored in the memory and executable on the processor, to:

capture content annotations of a user during the second mode;

store the content annotations to a memory cache during the second mode; and

transmit the content annotations from the memory cache to a host shared-resource computing device during the first mode.

7. The device of claim 1, further comprising a mode changing actuator to change a mode of the device in response to the user action of closing a lid of the device, changing a physical orientation of the device, and/or activating a switch of the device.

8. The device of claim 1, the processor comprising a full-power processor and a low-power processor, the full-power processor consuming more power than the low-power processor, the low-power processor being configured to operate on a smaller instruction set than the full-power processor.

9. The device of claim 8, the second mode being configured to provide power to the low-power processor, the second display, and/or an input device, but not to the first display or the full-power processor.

10. The device of claim 8, the first mode being configured to provide power to the full-power processor, the first display, a wireless network interface, an input device, at least another output device, and/or a peripheral device, but not to the second display or the low-power processor.

11. The device of claim 1, the processor configured to operate in a full-power mode or a low-power mode, the full-power mode consuming more power than the low-power mode, the low-power mode being configured to operate on a smaller instruction set than the full-power mode.

12. The device of claim 1, the device comprising a thin client that operates without an operating system.

13. The device of claim 12, the first mode being configured to receive streaming content from a host shared-resource computing device.

14. The device of claim 1, the second mode being configured to access only content stored in a local memory cache of the device.

15. A computer-implemented method of allocating memory cache on a portable shared-resource device comprising:

maintaining a plurality of cache locations in memory of the portable shared-resource device;

storing a first user-specific item comprising data of previously and/or currently streamed content for a first user in a first cache location in the memory;

storing a second user-specific item comprising data of previously and/or currently streamed content for at least a second user in a second cache location in the memory; and

granting access of each user-specific item to each respective user based on which user is currently logged-in to operate the device.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, the portable shared-resource device comprises a first display and a second display, the second display comprising an electronic ink display.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, further comprising:

streaming content to the device for the first user in a first mode prior to and/or during storing of the first user-specific item in the first memory cache location;

streaming content to the device for the second user in the first mode prior to and/or during storing of the second user-specific item in the second memory cache location; and

granting only cached content access to the users in a second mode.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, further comprising:

operating the first display with a full-power processor that consumes more power than a low-power processor and that is configured to operate on a larger instruction set than the low-power processor; and

operating the second display with the low-power processor.

19. One or more computer-readable storage media, storing processor-executable instructions that, when executed on a processor, configure the processor to perform acts for updating cache sessions of shared-resource computing (SRC) devices, the acts comprising:

receiving at a host SRC device, cache content transmitted from a first portable, remote SRC device associated with a user and/or a session;

storing in a memory of the host SRC device, the cache content of the first portable, remote SRC device associated with the user and/or the session;

determining when one or more additional portable, remote SRC devices are associated with the user; and

transmitting the cache content to the one or more additional portable, remote SRC devices associated with the user.

20. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 19, the cache content comprising bitmap images previously streamed from the host SRC device to the first portable, remote SRC device during a last session of the user on the first portable, remote SRC device.