Dual-mode and/or dual-display shared resource computing with user-specific caches

• US 8,898,398 B2
• Filed: 03/09/2010
• Issued: 11/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/09/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Izadi, Shahram, Chitsaz, Behrooz
• Primary Examiner(s): Rossiter, Sean D
• Application Number:
  US12/720,514
• Publication Number:
  US 20110225366A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,722 Days
• Field of Search: 711/130, 711147-153
• US Class Current: 711/153
• 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 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;

switching an operation mode of the portable shared-resource device from a full-power mode to a low-power mode in response to a loss of network connectivity, the low-power mode consuming less power than the full-power mode; and

granting access of each user-specific item to each respective user based on which user is currently logged-in to operate the device, wherein the granting enables presenting each user-specific item to each respective user at the low-power mode without re-activating the full-power mode of the device to re-stream each user-specific item.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the portable shared-resource device comprises a first display and a second display, the second display comprising an electronic ink display.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, 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 first user and the second user in a second mode.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 2, wherein the first display is operated 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 the second display is operated with the low-power processor.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising capturing content annotated by the first user or the second user when the operation mode of the portable shared-resource device is the low-power mode.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, further comprising transmitting the captured content to another device in response to a reestablishment of the network connectivity.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, further comprising transmitting the captured content to another device in response to a reactivation of the operation mode of the portable shared-resource device from the low-power mode to the full-power mode.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, further comprising storing the captured content in a cache of the portable shared-resource device.

5. One or more computer-readable storage media, storing processor-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, configure the one or more processors to perform acts comprising:

establishing a connection between a host shared resource computing (SRC) device and a remote SRC device;

during the established connection;

streaming, from the host SRC device, content to the remote SRC device;

receiving at the host SRC device, content transmitted from a memory of the remote SRC device associated with a user and/or a session;

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

streaming, from the host SRC device, additional content that is related to the streamed content to the remote SRC device prior to receiving a request for the additional content from the host SRC device to enable the remote SRC device to display the additional content after the host SRC device loses the established connection with the remote SRC device;

establishing one or more connections between the host SRC device and the one or more additional remote SRC devices in response to determining that one or more additional remote SRC devices are associated with the user; and

transmitting the received content of the remote SRC device to respective one or more memories of the one or more additional remote SRC devices associated with the user.

6. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 5, wherein the received content comprising bitmap images previously streamed from the host SRC device to the remote SRC device during a last session of the user on the remote SRC device.

7. A system comprising:

one or more processors;

memory storing executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising;

maintaining a plurality of cache locations in memory of a 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;

switching an operation mode of the portable shared-resource device from a full-power mode to a low-power mode in response to a loss of network connectivity, the low-power mode providing fewer functionalities than the full-power mode; and

granting access of the first user-specific item to the first user.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the portable shared-resource device comprises a first display and a second display, the second display comprising an electronic ink display.

9. The system of claim 8, the acts 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 first user and the second user in a second mode.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the first display is operated 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 the second display is operated with the low-power processor.

11. The system of claim 7, the acts further comprising capturing content annotated by the first user when the operation mode of the portable shared-resource device is the low-power mode.

12. The system of claim 11, the acts further comprising transmitting the captured content to another device in response to a reestablishment of the network connectivity.

13. The system of claim 11, the acts further comprising transmitting the captured content to another device in response to a reactivation of the operation mode of the portable shared-resource device from the low-power mode to the full-power mode.

14. The system of claim 11, the acts further comprising storing the captured content in a cache of the portable shared-resource device.