Patent Application
20090251407
Technological advances in computer hardware, software and networking have lead to increased demand for electronic information exchange rather than through conventional techniques such as paper and telephone correspondence, for example. Such electronic communication can provide split-second, reliable data transfer between essentially any two locations throughout the world. Many industries and consumers are leveraging such technology to improve efficiency and decrease cost through web-based (e.g., on-line) services. For example, consumers can purchase goods or services, review bank statements, research products and companies, obtain real-time stock quotes, download pictures, download video, communicate in real-time, etc. with the click of a mouse and at the convenience of home.
As the amount of available electronic data grows, it becomes more important to interact and/or utilize such data in a manageable and user-friendly manner. As a result, computing devices have incorporated a variety of techniques and/or methods for inputting information. Computing devices facilitate entering information employing devices such as, but not limited to, keyboards, keypads, touch pads, touch-screens, speakers, stylus' (e.g., wands), writing pads, voice recognition hardware, and the like. Yet, such conventional data input techniques have not adapted to keep pace with the technological advances in the devices for which they are used. In addition, a typically input device such as a mouse, a pointing device, a stylus, a touch pad, and the like can be difficult to use while in motion (e.g., walking, running, driving, flying, etc.). Although wireless headsets have mitigated the difficulties in regards to interacting with devices and/or device data, such devices tend to be uncomfortable, non-private (e.g., communications and interactions can be overheard), and an eye-sore for most.
The following presents a simplified summary of the innovation in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects described herein. This summary is not an extensive overview of the claimed subject matter. It is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of the claimed subject matter nor delineate the scope of the subject innovation. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the claimed subject matter in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
The subject innovation relates to systems and/or methods that facilitates controlling and interacting with computing devices in a more convenient and efficient manner. A ring component can be worn on a digit or a toe on a user, wherein such ring component can be utilized to communicate with a device using one or more rings as inputs. For instance, the ring component can detect conductance, inductance, resistance, and other properties related to one or more digits (e.g., fingers) or toes. The ring component can further identify motions, gestures, or interactions for wireless data input or wireless interaction in connection with the device, a display (e.g., user interface) on the device, or displayed data. In one example, the ring component can detect a twisting motion from a user's hand, which can correspond to moving a scroll bar displayed by a user interface (UI) on the device.
Furthermore, the ring component can incorporate various sensors in order to collect data in real-time associated with the user. In general, the ring component can enable data collection and communication such as receiving inputs from a user and communicating outputs to a user. Additionally, the ring component can provide proximity alerts in connection with a friend or contact being within a determined geographic proximity of the user wearing the ring component. In another instance, the rings can be extended to other parts of the body (e.g., waist, neck, legs, etc.) to enable full-body data collection. Moreover, the device or display on the device can integrate physical feedback in connection with the rings to optimize usability. In other aspects of the claimed subject matter, methods are provided that facilitate incorporating one or more sensors into a ring component worn by a user to collect information for device interaction.
The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative aspects of the claimed subject matter. These aspects are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the innovation may be employed and the claimed subject matter is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. Other advantages and novel features of the claimed subject matter will become apparent from the following detailed description of the innovation when considered in conjunction with the drawings.
The claimed subject matter is described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the subject innovation. It may be evident, however, that the claimed subject matter may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate describing the subject innovation.
As utilized herein, terms “component,” “system,” “device,” “sensor,” “store,” “engine,” “aggregator,” and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, software (e.g., in execution), and/or firmware. For example, a component can be a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, a program, a function, a library, a subroutine, and/or a computer or a combination of software and hardware. By way of illustration, both an application running on a server and the server can be a component. One or more components can reside within a process and a component can be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers.
Furthermore, the claimed subject matter may be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programming and/or engineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof to control a computer to implement the disclosed subject matter. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or media. For example, computer readable media can include but are not limited to magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips . . . ), optical disks (e.g., compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk (DVD) . . . ), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., card, stick, key drive . . . ). Additionally it should be appreciated that a carrier wave can be employed to carry computer-readable electronic data such as those used in transmitting and receiving electronic mail or in accessing a network such as the Internet or a local area network (LAN). Of course, those skilled in the art will recognize many modifications may be made to this configuration without departing from the scope or spirit of the claimed subject matter. Moreover, the word “exemplary” is used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs.
Now turning to the figures,
The ring component 102 can aggregate data from the user 102 such as, but not limited to, conductance, inductance, resistance, motions, gestures, and the like. For example, a specific motion can be detected by the ring component 102 in which such specific motion can initiate a particular control, feature, or function of the device 106. In another example, the ring component 102 can be activated by identifying a level of conductance related to a specific user. Thus, a conductance level can be a security measure which prevents other users from interacting with the device 106 with the ring component 102. In other words, real-time data collected by the ring component 102 from the user 104 can be utilized to interact with the device 106 and/or data displayed or associated with the device 106. Moreover, the user 104 can be employed as an input and/or an output in connection with the device 106.
In an example, the user 104 can link a detectable input received by the ring component 102 to a function or feature on the device 106, wherein the device is a mobile communication device. Such detectable input can be a particular motion received by the ring component 102 being worn on a finger or toe of the user 104. For instance, the simulated motion of twisting a knob can be detected by the ring component 102 and can interact with the device 106 by providing a scrolling, volume adjustment, data browsing, zooming, any suitable data interaction or control, etc. In another example, the ring component 102 can detect a shaking motion by the user 104 in which such shaking motion can initiate a speed dial for a particular contact. It is to be appreciated that the above examples are not to be limiting on the subject innovation and any suitable detected activity from the ring component 102 can be employed to interact with the device 106.
In addition, the system 100 can include any suitable and/or necessary interface component (not shown), which provides various adapters, connectors, channels, communication paths, etc. to integrate the ring component 102 into virtually any operating and/or database system(s) and/or with one another. In addition, the interface component can provide various adapters, connectors, channels, communication paths, etc., that provide for interaction with the ring component 102, the user 104, the device 106, and any other device and/or component associated with the system 100.
The ring component 102 can provide inputs to the device 106 as well as outputs to the user from the device 106. The device 106 can be, but is not limited to being, a computing device, a smartphone, a mobile communication device, a machine, a computer, a laptop, a portable digital assistant (PDA), a data browsing device, a display (e.g., a television, a plasma display, an LCD, a flat screen, a computer display, a CRT, a monitor, etc.), a gaming device, a portable device, a portable gaming device, a two-way communication device, a hand-held, a global positioning system (GPS) device, a media player, a media device (e.g., audio player, video player, etc.), a cellular device, a wireless device, etc.
The ring component 102 can further include a sensor 202 that can collect data from the user 104 in real-time. It is to be appreciated that the sensor 202 can be incorporating into the ring component 102, attached to the ring component 102, a stand-alone component that can communicate with the ring component 102, and/or any other suitable combination thereof. For example, the sensor 202 can be, but is not limited to being, an accelerometer, a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, a biometric sensor (e.g., heart rate, blood pressure, breathing patterns, retinal activity, skin tone, neural activity, etc.), temperature sensor, pressure sensor, motion sensor, speed sensor, light sensor, sound sensor, moisture sensor, weight sensor, conductance sensor, resistance sensor, etc. In other words, the sensor 202 can be any suitable sensor that can collect data from a digit on a hand or a toe on a foot associated with the user 104. Moreover, the sensor 202 can collect data from the user 104 which can be utilized to indicate a mood or emotion. For example, the sensor 202 can gather the biometric measurements related to temperature, perspiration, heart rate, breathing pattern, skin tone (e.g., more red indicates increased blood pressure, etc.), and the like to identify whether the user 104 is happy, sad, nervous, angry, agitated, annoyed, stressed, excited, etc. Based on such emotion, the device 106 can change functionality, features, modes, and/or displayed data. In still another example, the ring component 102 can be a sensor itself to provide at least one of radio frequency identification (RFID) functionality, proximity detection, Wi-Fi capabilities, context awareness, etc.
For instance, a user can wear a first ring component and a second ring component, wherein the ring components can detect parameters in connection with one another. In other words, orientation, distance, location, contact, proximity, motion, etc. between two or more ring components can be utilized as an input for the device 106. In one example, the first ring component can be on a digit on a first hand and the second ring component can be on a digit on a second hand, in which the orientation and interaction between the two rings can control and/or communicate with the device 106. In still another example, a first motion used to make a first ring component contact a second ring component can be a first input for the device whereas a second motion to make the first ring component contact a second ring component can be a second input. In yet another example, the type of contact (e.g., location between rings, force, pressure, frequency, etc.) between the first ring component and the second ring component can be a particular input for the device. Moreover, it is to be appreciated that the two or more rings can be worn on at least two or more digits on at least one hand or two or more toes on at least one foot.
Furthermore, the ring component 102 can receive an input and/or gesture in order to interact with at least one of the device 106 or a portion of displayed data 302. In general, the ring component 102 can associate a detected input or gesture to a feature or a function with the device 106 or the displayed data 302. In other words, a user can perform a gesture or motion with a hand, finger, toe, or foot to control or interact with the device 106 or the displayed data 302. For example, the gesture can be, but is not limited to being, a squeeze, a pressure, a turning, a spinning, a speed in any suitable direction on a 3-dimensional axis, a linear movement, a movement or motion, an acceleration in a direction, a drawing of a character, a simulated portion of writing, a simulation of typing on a keyboard, a shaking motion, a stretching of fingers, a grabbing motion, a sign associated with sign language, a sign (e.g., an “OK” sign, a thumbs up, a thumbs down, a peace sign, stop signal, waive, etc.), a combination of displaying certain digits and not other digits, a gesture involving two hands (e.g., clapping, rubbing of hands together, etc.), a gesture involving a first finger on a first hand a second finger on a second hand (e.g., itsy-bitsy spider, a cross made with two index fingers, etc.), etc.
For instance, a shaking gesture can be linked to activate a speed dial for a particular individual with a mobile device. In another example, an “OK” sign can indicate to answer an incoming call. In another example, the stretching of fingers can clear a display of displayed data 302. Additionally, a disparate user can set the stretching of fingers motion to be for closing an application. It is to be appreciated that any suitable gesture detected by the ring component 102 can be linked to any suitable function or feature related to the device 106 or the displayed data 302, wherein such linkage can be a default setting (e.g., defined by the ring component 102, defined by the device 106, etc.), a user-defined setting, and/or any suitable combination thereof.
Moreover, the device 106 or display on the device can integrate physical feedback in connection with the ring component 102 to optimize usability. For instance, while scrolling through data on a device by a detected twisting motion from the ring component, the end of data and ability to scroll can be communicated to the user 104 by resistance in the twisting motion (e.g., making it harder for the user to perform the twisting motion). It is to be appreciated that any suitable output for physical feedback can be utilized and the above example is not to be limiting on the claimed subject matter.
The system 300 can further include a data store 304 that can include any suitable data related to the ring component 102, the device 106, a user (not shown), the displayed data 302, etc. For instance, the ring component 102 can include the data store 304 in order to provide portable storage worn on a digit on a hand for a user. For example, the data store 304 can include, but not limited to including, roaming identity, profiles, roaming profile, modes for inputs/outputs (e.g., meeting mode with non-disturbing alerts, outside mode with louder alerts, etc.), control definitions for the ring component 102 (e.g., motion linked to which controls on a device), user preference data, user defined controls, settings for the ring component 102, security information (e.g., username, passwords, log in, etc.), input settings for the ring component 102, output settings for the ring component 102, wireless settings, connectivity settings for the device to the ring component 102, sensor settings/configurations, user defined gestures, user defined linkage with device functionality, and/or any other suitable data related to the system 300 and/or features described in connection with the subject innovation.
It is to be appreciated that the data store 304 can be, for example, either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. By way of illustration, and not limitation, nonvolatile memory can include read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory can include random access memory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM is available in many forms such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), Rambus direct RAM (RDRAM), direct Rambus dynamic RAM (DRDRAM), and Rambus dynamic RAM (RDRAM). The data store 304 of the subject systems and methods is intended to comprise, without being limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory. In addition, it is to be appreciated that the data store 304 can be a server, a database, a hard drive, a pen drive, an external hard drive, a portable hard drive, and the like.
As discussed, the ring component 102 can be employed as an input to a device or for interaction of data on a device. Furthermore, the ring component 102 can be an output to communicate information to the user 104 from the device or data displayed on a device. In other words, a functionality or feature associated with a device can be linked to an output on the ring component 102 in order to communicate information. In general, an output related to a device can be mapped to an output available on the ring component 102 in order to transmit information to the user 104. The ring component 102 can provide an output such as, but not limited to, a vibration, a color change, a temperature change (e.g., an increase in ring temperature, a decrease in temperature, etc.), a sound, a portion of visual data, a scrolling marquee (e.g., text, graphics, etc.), a light, an attraction to a disparate ring, a repelling force to a disparate ring, and/or any other suitable output that can be incorporated into a ring worn on a digit on the user 104.
The ring component 102 can further leverage a proximity alert component 402 that can provide an alert to the user 104 (via the ring component 102) in the event that a friend or a contact from a collection of friends/contacts 404 is within a geographic proximity. The proximity alert component 402 can analyze geographic data related to the collection friends/contacts 404 and based on such analysis, an alert can be provided to the user 104 if a friend or contact is within a pre-determined geographic distance. It is to be appreciated that the friend or contact list can be created in accordance with the user's preferences. In addition, the user 104 can populate the friend/contact collection 404 with an address book, contact list, a data file, a social network, a network, and the like. Moreover, the geographic distance can be selected on a granular basis for each friend (e.g., a large distance for a close friend, a disparate distance for another friend, etc.). Still further, the type of output or alert to the user 104 can be specific for each friend or contact within a geographic proximity. Thus, a vibration output on the ring component 102 can be set as the alert for a first friend within a defined proximity, whereas a color change on the ring component 102 can be the alert for a second friend.
For example, an image can be viewed at a default view with a specific resolution. Yet, the display engine 502 can allow the image to be zoomed and/or panned at multiple views or scales (in comparison to the default view) with various resolutions. Thus, a user can zoom in on a portion of the image to get a magnified view at an equal or higher resolution. By enabling the image to be zoomed and/or panned, the image can include virtually limitless space or volume that can be viewed or explored at various scales, levels, or views with each including one or more resolutions. In other words, an image can be viewed at a more granular level while maintaining resolution with smooth transitions independent of pan, zoom, etc. Moreover, a first view may not expose portions of information or data on the image until zoomed or panned upon with the display engine 502.
A browsing engine 504 can also be included with the system 500. The browsing engine 504 can leverage the display engine 502 to implement seamless and smooth panning and/or zooming for any suitable data browsed in connection with at least one of the Internet, a network, a server, a website, a web page, and the like. It is to be appreciated that the browsing engine 504 can be a stand-alone component, incorporated into a browser, utilized with in combination with a browser (e.g., legacy browser via patch or firmware update, software, hardware, etc.), and/or any suitable combination thereof. For example, the browsing engine 504 can be incorporate Internet browsing capabilities such as seamless panning and/or zooming to an existing browser. For example, the browsing engine 504 can leverage the display engine 502 in order to provide enhanced browsing with seamless zoom and/or pan on a website, wherein various scales or views can be exposed by smooth zooming and/or panning.
The system 500 can further include a content aggregator 506 that can collect a plurality of two dimensional (2D) content (e.g., media data, images, video, photographs, metadata, trade cards, etc.) to create a three dimensional (3D) virtual environment that can be explored (e.g., displaying each image and perspective point). In order to provide a complete 3D environment to a user within the virtual environment, authentic views (e.g., pure views from images) are combined with synthetic views (e.g., interpolations between content such as a blend projected onto the 3D model). For instance, the content aggregator 506 can aggregate a large collection of photos of a place or an object, analyze such photos for similarities, and display such photos in a reconstructed 3D space, depicting how each photo relates to the next. It is to be appreciated that the collected content can be from various locations (e.g., the Internet, local data, remote data, server, network, wirelessly collected data, etc.). For instance, large collections of content (e.g., gigabytes, etc.) can be accessed quickly (e.g., seconds, etc.) in order to view a scene from virtually any angle or perspective. In another example, the content aggregator 506 can identify substantially similar content and zoom in to enlarge and focus on a small detail. The content aggregator 506 can provide at least one of the following: 1) walk or fly through a scene to see content from various angles; 2) seamlessly zoom in or out of content independent of resolution (e.g., megapixels, gigapixels, etc.); 3) locate where content was captured in relation to other content; 4) locate similar content to currently viewed content; and 5) communicate a collection or a particular view of content to an entity (e.g., user, machine, device, component, etc.).
The ring component 102 can be utilized as an input and/or an output in connection with at least one of the display engine 502, the browsing engine 504, and/or the content aggregator 506. For example, the ring component 102 can be worn on a finger or toe associated with the user 104 in which inputs and/or outputs collected therewith can enable interaction with the display engine 502 for seamless zooming, panning, etc. with displayed data having multiple scales or views. For example, a grabbing and pulling motion towards the user detected by the ring component 102 can indicate a zooming in on a portion of data using the display engine. In another example, the ring component 102 can enable exploration of data browsed with the browsing engine 504. Moreover, the content aggregator 506 can be controlled with the ring component 102 and the respective real-time data collected.
The intelligent component 602 can employ value of information (VOI) computation in order to identify real-time collected data. For instance, by utilizing VOI computation, the most ideal and/or appropriate real-time collected data can be determined and employed to interact with the device. Moreover, it is to be understood that the intelligent component 602 can provide for reasoning about or infer states of the system, environment, and/or user from a set of observations as captured via events and/or data. Inference can be employed to identify a specific context or action, or can generate a probability distribution over states, for example. The inference can be probabilistic—that is, the computation of a probability distribution over states of interest based on a consideration of data and events. Inference can also refer to techniques employed for composing higher-level events from a set of events and/or data. Such inference results in the construction of new events or actions from a set of observed events and/or stored event data, whether or not the events are correlated in close temporal proximity, and whether the events and data come from one or several event and data sources. Various classification (explicitly and/or implicitly trained) schemes and/or systems (e.g., support vector machines, neural networks, expert systems, Bayesian belief networks, fuzzy logic, data fusion engines . . . ) can be employed in connection with performing automatic and/or inferred action in connection with the claimed subject matter.
A classifier is a function that maps an input attribute vector, x=(x1, x2, x3, x4, xn), to a confidence that the input belongs to a class, that is, f(x)=confidence(class). Such classification can employ a probabilistic and/or statistical-based analysis (e.g., factoring into the analysis utilities and costs) to prognose or infer an action that a user desires to be automatically performed. A support vector machine (SVM) is an example of a classifier that can be employed. The SVM operates by finding a hypersurface in the space of possible inputs, which hypersurface attempts to split the triggering criteria from the non-triggering events. Intuitively, this makes the classification correct for testing data that is near, but not identical to training data. Other directed and undirected model classification approaches include, e.g., naïve Bayes, Bayesian networks, decision trees, neural networks, fuzzy logic models, and probabilistic classification models providing different patterns of independence can be employed. Classification as used herein also is inclusive of statistical regression that is utilized to develop models of priority.
The ring component 102 can further utilize a presentation component 604 that provides various types of user interfaces to facilitate interaction between a user and any component coupled to the ring component 102. As depicted, the presentation component 604 is a separate entity that can be utilized with the ring component 102. However, it is to be appreciated that the presentation component 604 and/or similar view components can be incorporated into the ring component 102 and/or a stand-alone unit. The presentation component 604 can provide one or more graphical user interfaces (GUIs), command line interfaces, and the like. For example, a GUI can be rendered that provides a user with a region or means to load, import, read, etc., data, and can include a region to present the results of such. These regions can comprise known text and/or graphic regions comprising dialogue boxes, static controls, drop-down-menus, list boxes, pop-up menus, as edit controls, combo boxes, radio buttons, check boxes, push buttons, and graphic boxes. In addition, utilities to facilitate the presentation such as vertical and/or horizontal scroll bars for navigation and toolbar buttons to determine whether a region will be viewable can be employed. For example, the user can interact with one or more of the components coupled and/or incorporated into the ring component 102.
The user can also interact with the regions to select and provide information via various devices such as a mouse, a roller ball, a touchpad, a keypad, a keyboard, a touch screen, a pen and/or voice activation, a body motion detection, for example. Typically, a mechanism such as a push button or the enter key on the keyboard can be employed subsequent entering the information in order to initiate the search. However, it is to be appreciated that the claimed subject matter is not so limited. For example, merely highlighting a check box can initiate information conveyance. In another example, a command line interface can be employed. For example, the command line interface can prompt (e.g., via a text message on a display and an audio tone) the user for information via providing a text message. The user can then provide suitable information, such as alpha-numeric input corresponding to an option provided in the interface prompt or an answer to a question posed in the prompt. It is to be appreciated that the command line interface can be employed in connection with a GUI and/or API. In addition, the command line interface can be employed in connection with hardware (e.g., video cards) and/or displays (e.g., black and white, EGA, VGA, SVGA, etc.) with limited graphic support, and/or low bandwidth communication channels.
At reference numeral 704, an input from the ring can be collected in real-time, wherein the input is at least one of a gesture, a motion, information related to a motion, a conductance, a resistance, or a portion of biometric information. In particular, the ring can aggregate data from a user utilizing various sensors that can sense information such as, but not limited to, position, speed, direction, motion, orientation in comparison to another ring, temperature, moisture, biometric data, pressure, speed, light, sound, acceleration, weight, user emotions, etc.
At reference numeral 706, a device can be interacted with wirelessly based at least in part upon the input received via the ring. The wireless interaction can be with the device or a portion of data displayed by a device, wherein the device can be, but is not limited to being, a computing device, a smartphone, a mobile communication device, a machine, a computer, a laptop, a portable digital assistant (PDA), a data browsing device, a display (e.g., a television, a plasma display, an LCD, a flat screen, a computer display, a CRT, a monitor, etc.), a gaming device, a portable device, a portable gaming device, a two-way communication device, a hand-held, a global positioning system (GPS) device, a media player, a media device (e.g., audio player, video player, etc.), a cellular device, a wireless device, and the like.
At reference numeral 806, data from the device can be transmitted via the ring to the user. In other words, the ring can be utilized as an output component for the device. The output can be, but is not limited to being, a vibration, a color change, a temperature change (e.g., an increase in ring temperature, a decrease in temperature, etc.), a sound, a portion of visual data, a scrolling marquee (e.g., text, graphics, etc.), a light, an attraction to a disparate ring, a repelling force to a disparate ring, and/or any other suitable output that can be incorporated into a ring worn on a digit on the user. At reference numeral 808, an alert can be provided to the user based upon the detection of a friend being within a geographic range of the user.
In order to provide additional context for implementing various aspects of the claimed subject matter,
Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the inventive methods may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including single-processor or multi-processor computer systems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, as well as personal computers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based and/or programmable consumer electronics, and the like, each of which may operatively communicate with one or more associated devices. The illustrated aspects of the claimed subject matter may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where certain tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. However, some, if not all, aspects of the subject innovation may be practiced on stand-alone computers. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in local and/or remote memory storage devices.
One possible communication between a client 910 and a server 920 can be in the form of a data packet adapted to be transmitted between two or more computer processes. The system 900 includes a communication framework 940 that can be employed to facilitate communications between the client(s) 910 and the server(s) 920. The client(s) 910 are operably connected to one or more client data store(s) 950 that can be employed to store information local to the client(s) 910. Similarly, the server(s) 920 are operably connected to one or more server data store(s) 930 that can be employed to store information local to the servers 920.
With reference to
The system bus 1018 can be any of several types of bus structure(s) including the memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus or external bus, and/or a local bus using any variety of available bus architectures including, but not limited to, Industrial Standard Architecture (ISA), Micro-Channel Architecture (MSA), Extended ISA (EISA), Intelligent Drive Electronics (IDE), VESA Local Bus (VLB), Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), Card Bus, Universal Serial Bus (USB), Advanced Graphics Port (AGP), Personal Computer Memory Card International Association bus (PCMCIA), Firewire (IEEE 1394), and Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI).
The system memory 1016 includes volatile memory 1020 and nonvolatile memory 1022. The basic input/output system (BIOS), containing the basic routines to transfer information between elements within the computer 1012, such as during start-up, is stored in nonvolatile memory 1022. By way of illustration, and not limitation, nonvolatile memory 1022 can include read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory 1020 includes random access memory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM is available in many forms such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), Rambus direct RAM (RDRAM), direct Rambus dynamic RAM (DRDRAM), and Rambus dynamic RAM (RDRAM).
Computer 1012 also includes removable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer storage media.
It is to be appreciated that
A user enters commands or information into the computer 1012 through input device(s) 1036. Input devices 1036 include, but are not limited to, a pointing device such as a mouse, trackball, stylus, touch pad, keyboard, microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, TV tuner card, digital camera, digital video camera, web camera, and the like. These and other input devices connect to the processing unit 1014 through the system bus 1018 via interface port(s) 1038. Interface port(s) 1038 include, for example, a serial port, a parallel port, a game port, and a universal serial bus (USB). Output device(s) 1040 use some of the same type of ports as input device(s) 1036. Thus, for example, a USB port may be used to provide input to computer 1012, and to output information from computer 1012 to an output device 1040. Output adapter 1042 is provided to illustrate that there are some output devices 1040 like monitors, speakers, and printers, among other output devices 1040, which require special adapters. The output adapters 1042 include, by way of illustration and not limitation, video and sound cards that provide a means of connection between the output device 1040 and the system bus 1018. It should be noted that other devices and/or systems of devices provide both input and output capabilities such as remote computer(s) 1044.
Computer 1012 can operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as remote computer(s) 1044. The remote computer(s) 1044 can be a personal computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a workstation, a microprocessor based appliance, a peer device or other common network node and the like, and typically includes many or all of the elements described relative to computer 1012. For purposes of brevity, only a memory storage device 1046 is illustrated with remote computer(s) 1044. Remote computer(s) 1044 is logically connected to computer 1012 through a network interface 1048 and then physically connected via communication connection 1050. Network interface 1048 encompasses wire and/or wireless communication networks such as local-area networks (LAN) and wide-area networks (WAN). LAN technologies include Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), Copper Distributed Data Interface (CDDI), Ethernet, Token Ring and the like. WAN technologies include, but are not limited to, point-to-point links, circuit switching networks like Integrated Services Digital Networks (ISDN) and variations thereon, packet switching networks, and Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL).
Communication connection(s) 1050 refers to the hardware/software employed to connect the network interface 1048 to the bus 1018. While communication connection 1050 is shown for illustrative clarity inside computer 1012, it can also be external to computer 1012. The hardware/software necessary for connection to the network interface 1048 includes, for exemplary purposes only, internal and external technologies such as, modems including regular telephone grade modems, cable modems and DSL modems, ISDN adapters, and Ethernet cards.
What has been described above includes examples of the subject innovation. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the claimed subject matter, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinations and permutations of the subject innovation are possible. Accordingly, the claimed subject matter is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications, and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
In particular and in regard to the various functions performed by the above described components, devices, circuits, systems and the like, the terms (including a reference to a “means”) used to describe such components are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any component which performs the specified function of the described component (e.g., a functional equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure, which performs the function in the herein illustrated exemplary aspects of the claimed subject matter. In this regard, it will also be recognized that the innovation includes a system as well as a computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing the acts and/or events of the various methods of the claimed subject matter.
There are multiple ways of implementing the present innovation, e.g., an appropriate API, tool kit, driver code, operating system, control, standalone or downloadable software object, etc. which enables applications and services to use the advertising techniques of the invention. The claimed subject matter contemplates the use from the standpoint of an API (or other software object), as well as from a software or hardware object that operates according to the advertising techniques in accordance with the invention. Thus, various implementations of the innovation described herein may have aspects that are wholly in hardware, partly in hardware and partly in software, as well as in software.
The aforementioned systems have been described with respect to interaction between several components. It can be appreciated that such systems and components can include those components or specified sub-components, some of the specified components or sub-components, and/or additional components, and according to various permutations and combinations of the foregoing. Sub-components can also be implemented as components communicatively coupled to other components rather than included within parent components (hierarchical). Additionally, it should be noted that one or more components may be combined into a single component providing aggregate functionality or divided into several separate sub-components, and any one or more middle layers, such as a management layer, may be provided to communicatively couple to such sub-components in order to provide integrated functionality. Any components described herein may also interact with one or more other components not specifically described herein but generally known by those of skill in the art.
In addition, while a particular feature of the subject innovation may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several implementations, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other implementations as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “includes,” “including,” “has,” “contains,” variants thereof, and other similar words are used in either the detailed description or the claims, these terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as an open transition word without precluding any additional or other elements.
