Method for synchronizing and updating bookmarks on multiple computer devices

• US 7,711,707 B2
• Filed: 12/14/2005
• Issued: 05/04/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: X Corp. (f/k/a Twitter, Inc.) (X Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Kelley, Edward E., Elliott, Mark E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cottingham; John R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Richardson; James E
• Application Number:
  US11/306,014
• Publication Number:
  US 20070136305A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,602 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/622
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9562 Bookmark management

Abstract

Multiple computer devices are networked, and one device is designated as a bookmark server. The bookmark server stores and maintains a master bookmark database that is available to all the networked devices. Each bookmark in the bookmark database includes a bookmark time stamp. If a bookmark is added, deleted or changed at any device, then a transaction request is sent to the bookmark server. The transaction request includes a transaction time stamp indicating the time that the transaction request was created. The bookmark server analyzes the transaction requests according to the time stamps. If multiple transaction requests are received for a single bookmark, then only the most recent transaction request is honored and other transaction requests related to the bookmark are ignored. Also, a transaction request is ignored if the transaction time stamp is older than the corresponding bookmark time stamp.

Claims

1. A method for storing bookmarks among a plurality of networked personal computer devices, wherein the plurality of networked personal computer devices forms the network wherein a plurality of said networked personal computers are associated with a given user, said method comprising the steps of:

a) designating one of the plurality of personal computer devices or a networked server as a bookmark server;

b) storing on the bookmark server a master bookmark database, wherein the master bookmark database includes bookmarks with each bookmark having a URL and a bookmark time stamp, and, if said networked server is designated as said bookmark server, an identification of said given user;

c) receiving and storing in a transaction queue at the bookmark server one or more transaction requests to delete or change an existing bookmark, or add a new bookmark to the master bookmark database, wherein the transaction requests each include a transaction time stamp indicating a time the transaction request was created at one of the networked personal computer devices associated with said given user;

d) comparing the transaction time stamp associated with said given user with the corresponding bookmark time stamp, said bookmark time stamp being the transaction time stamp of the transaction request which is overwritten on a previous bookmark time stamp when a transaction request is entered in said master bookmark database, and ignoring the transaction request if the transaction time stamp is older than the corresponding bookmark time stamp;

e) if multiple transaction requests associated with said given user are received for a single bookmark and stored in said transaction queue, then comparing time stamps of the multiple transaction requests stored in said transaction queue and ignoring all but the single most recent transaction request for each bookmark;

f) updating the master bookmark database according to non-ignored transaction requests, and

g) transmitting the master bookmark database from the bookmark server to at least one of the networked personal computer devices.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the master bookmark database identifies the personal computer device that created the most recent transaction request for each bookmark.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of storing overwritten bookmark time stamps.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein, if multiple transaction requests are received for a single bookmark, then deleting all but the single most recent transaction request for the single bookmark from said transaction queue.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the updating step can be triggered manually.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the updating step is performed every time at least one transaction request is received by the bookmark server.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein, after step (c), transaction requests are stored in a transaction queue until step (d), (e), or (f) has started.

17. The method as recited in claim 1, including further steps of

checking a time stamp of URLs in a bookmark database of a networked personal computer device against a time stamp of the URLs in said bookmark database of said bookmark server when said networked personal computer device is powered on, and

if a said time stamp of URL in said bookmark database of said bookmark server is later than a time stamp of a said URL in said bookmark database of said personal computer device, sending a copy of bookmarks in said bookmark database of said bookmark server to said personal computer device for updating the bookmark database therein.

8. A computer device for maintaining and providing a master bookmark database to other networked personal computer devices, wherein the plurality of networked computer devices forms the network and a plurality of said personal computer devices are associated with a given user, comprising:

a) a computer readable memory device storing the master bookmark database, wherein the master bookmark database includes bookmarks associated with said given user with each bookmark having a URL and a bookmark time stamp;

b) software instructions stored in the memory device for;

1) receiving and storing in a transaction queue at the bookmark server a transaction request associated with said given user or a personal computer device associated with said given user to delete or change an existing bookmark, or add a new bookmark to the master bookmark database, wherein the transaction request includes a transaction time stamp indicating a time the transaction request was created at one of the networked personal computer devices;

2) comparing the transaction time stamp associated with said given user with the corresponding bookmark time stamp, said bookmark time stamp being the transaction time stamp of the transaction request which is overwritten on a previous bookmark time stamp when a transaction request is entered in said master bookmark database, and ignoring the transaction request if the transaction time stamp is older than the corresponding bookmark time stamp;

3) if multiple transaction requests associated with said given user are received and stored in said transaction queue for a single bookmark, then comparing time stamps of the multiple transaction requests in said transaction queue, and ignoring all but the single most recent transaction request for each bookmark; and

4) updating the master bookmark database according to non-ignored transaction requests;

c) a processor device for implementing the software instructions, wherein the software instructions stored in the memory device include instructions for transmitting the master bookmark database from the bookmark server to at least one of the networked personal computer devices after instruction (4).

9. A method for storing bookmarks among a plurality of networked computer devices, wherein a plurality of networked personal computer devices associated with a given user is included in the network, said method comprising the steps of:

a) designating one of the plurality of personal computer devices or a central server as a bookmark server;

b) storing on the bookmark server a master bookmark database, wherein the master bookmark database includes bookmarks associated with said given user with each bookmark having a URL and a bookmark time stamp;

c) receiving at the bookmark server and storing in a a transaction queue one or more transaction request to delete or change an existing bookmark, or add a new bookmark to the master bookmark database, for said given user wherein the transaction request includes a transaction time stamp indicating a time the transaction request was created at one of the networked computer devices associated with said given user;

d) comparing the transaction time stamp associated with the corresponding bookmark time stamp, said bookmark time stamp being the transaction time stamp of the transaction request which is overwritten on a previous bookmark time stamp when a transaction request is entered in said master bookmark database and ignoring the transaction request if the transaction time stamp is older than the corresponding bookmark time stamp;

e) if multiple transaction requests are received and store in said transaction queue for a single bookmark associated with said given user, then comparing time stamps of the multiple transaction requests, and ignoring all but the single most recent transaction request for each bookmark associated with said given user;

f) updating the master bookmark database according to non-ignored transaction requests; and

g) after step (f), transmitting the master bookmark database from the bookmark server to at least one of the networked computer devices devices associated with said given user.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the master bookmark database identifies the personal computer device that created the most recent transaction request for each bookmark.

11. The method of claim 9 further comprising the step of storing overwritten bookmark time stamps.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein, if multiple transaction requests are received and stored in said transaction requests queue for a single bookmark associated with a given user, then deleting from said transaction queue all but the single most recent transaction request for the single bookmark.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein the updating step can be triggered manually.

14. The method of claim 9 wherein the updating step is performed every time at least one transaction request is received by the bookmark server.

15. The method of claim 9 wherein, after step (c), transaction requests are stored in a transaction queue until step (d), (e), or (f) has started.

16. The method as recited in claimed 9, including further steps of

checking a time stamp of URLs in a bookmark database of a networked personal computer devise against a time stamp of the URLs in said bookmark database of said bookmark server when said networked personal computer device is powered on, and

if a said time stamp of a URL in said bookmark database of said bookmark server is later than a time stamp of a said URL in said bookmark database of said personal computer device, sending a copy of bookmarks in said bookmark database of said bookmark server to said personal computer device for updating the bookmark database therein.