Patent Application
20100088746
There has always been a dilemma on how much access a user should have to confidential content, such as trade secrets and the like. The security of confidential content is often compromised, especially for smaller companies, when the secret is handed out to workers in hard copy or electronic formats. Loss or theft of such documents may often result in a leak of the confidential content. Even when the document is in a computer, the confidential content can still be easily stolen by copying it onto an external storage media. Accordingly, an affordable and more secure way is needed to keep confidential content from leaking out easily, especially by an insider.
Embodiments of the present technology are directed toward techniques for delivering content to electronic book computing devices (ebooks). In one embodiment, a computing system for delivering content includes one or more servers communicatively coupled to one or more ebooks. The server streams a specified portion of the content on demand to the ebook, if the ebook is allowed to access the content.
In another embodiment, a request for content at a specified location is sent from an ebook to a server. The request is received at the server with an identifier of the ebook. The server determines if the ebook can access the content at the specified location based on the identifier of the ebook. If the ebook is allowed to access the content, the server streams a predetermined portion of the content to the ebook for display to a user.
In another embodiment, one or more ebooks are configured with an identifier of each piece of content on one or more servers and one or more servers are configured with an identifier of the ebooks. Thereafter, a given ebook may request a given content at a given identifier. A server, that stores the given content at the given identifier, then streams a predetermined portion of the given content to the ebook if the server is configured with the identifier of the given ebook. Upon receipt, the predetermined portion of the given content is output on the given ebook to a user.
Embodiments of the present technology are illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which:
Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present technology, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the present technology will be described in conjunction with these embodiments, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the invention to these embodiments. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents, which may be included within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, in the following detailed description of the present technology, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present technology. However, it is understood that the present technology may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, and circuits have not been described in detail as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the present technology.
Referring now to
The content for output on the ebook 110 is streamed from a server 130 as opposed to being stored locally in the ebook's memory (e.g., hard disk). In one implementation, the content is streamed over an internet connection from the server 130, and is not stored locally on the ebook 110. The content may be streamed using a streaming protocol such as user datagram protocol (UDP), real-time streaming protocol (RTSP), real-time transport protocol (RTP), transmission control protocol (TCP), unicast protocol, multicast protocol or the like.
Referring now to
The memory 220 may be used to store one or more sets of instructions and data that, when executed by the processor 210, cause the ebook 110 to perform the functions described herein. The memory 220 may include one or more well-known computing device-readable media, such as volatile and/or non-volatile memory. The memory 220, for example, may include read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, magnetic memory (e.g., hard disk drive), optical memory (e.g., optical disk drive) and/or the like.
The memory 220 is configured so that no more than a predetermined portion of some or all received content can be stored on the ebook 110 at any given time. In particular, no more than a predetermined portion of content received from one or more predetermined servers can be stored on the ebook 110 at any given time. In another implementation, the amount of memory 220 is limited to prevent more than a predetermined portion of content from being stored on the ebook 110 at any given time.
The communication interface 230 may be a wired or wireless communication interface. For example, the communication interface 230 may be an Ethernet communication interface, third generation (3G) cellular network interface, WIFI interface, or the like that allows access to the internet, an intranet, local area network or the like. The communication interface 230 may be configured to limit access by the ebook 110, such that the ebook is restricted to send and receive data to and from one or more servers at locations specified in a configuration file. The content access configuration file, that specifies one or more servers that the ebook 110 is permitted to access, can be configured through a setup routine on a computing device that can be coupled to the ebook. Generally, the computing device used to configure the content access configuration file on the ebook 110 is controlled by the same entity that controls the server that stores particular content. The configuration file may be protected by various security techniques, such a public key encryption of the uniform resource locators (URLs) or the like.
The display 240 may be an electronic-paper or e-ink display that uses ink particles and a reflective surface that provides a sharp high-resolution screen that looks and reads like paper. The display 240 of the ebook 110 may also include a touch screen interface for inputting control commands and/or data. The touch screen may be controlled by the touch of a user or via a stylus if minimal user contact with the screen is desirable. The stylus of the touch screen display is particularly useful for operating environments where it is inconvenient for the user (e.g., a cook or mechanic) to use his/her hands to touch the screen.
The additional input/output interfaces 250 may include one or more electromechanical buttons, keys and/or switches, referred to hereinafter as interface buttons, operable to receive commands and data from a user. The interface buttons may include buttons, keys and/or switches for turning the ebook on and off, paging forward or backwards through content, jumping to a specific chapter, section, page or the like, scrolling up, down, left and right on a page, and the like. The interface buttons may include discrete buttons, multifunction buttons, context configurable buttons, and/or the like. A subset of the interface buttons may be arranged to implement a ten key pad, keyboard, and/or the like. One or more input/output interfaces 250 may be disposed on a retractable, closeable surface or the like, such as a slide out alphanumeric ten-key pad, keyboard and/or the like. The additional input/output interfaces 250 may also include speakers, a microphone, camera, or the like and/or one or more connectors for removably coupling an earphone, headphone, camera, external speaker and/or external microphone.
The power supply 260 may be a disposable battery, rechargeable battery, power chord and/or the like. The power supply 260 provides power for operation of the processor 210, memory 220, communication interface 230, display 240 and additional input/output interfaces 250.
Referring again to
The user may readily change the format of the content and/or navigate through the content, which may have all the navigation and formatting benefits of a portable document format (PDF), Microsoft word document format or the like. For example, the font size and face can be adjusted based upon the display characteristics and/or user preferences. Backlighting and special displays can allow the content to be read in low light or even total darkness. In addition, a text-to-speech application can be used to convert the text based content into an audio output. Furthermore, the ebook may be easier to use because it does not need to be held open.
Users can bookmark and annotate passages of the content. The user can also do a text search to find one or more particular passages within the content. In one implementation, the user can search the portion of the content streamed to the ebook 110. In another implementation, the user can search the entire content on the server 130. In yet another implementation, an incremental text search can be performed. For example, the text search is first performed locally on the portion of the content streamed to the ebook 110. If the local search results in a match, the results may be indicated in the currently streamed portion of the content by highlighting the matching text and/or jumping to the matching text. If the local search does not find a match, the ebook 110 may send a text search request to the server which will perform a search on the entire content and then stream another portion of the content that includes the next portion providing a match to the search request. If the result of the search on the server is also negative, the ebook 110 continues displaying the currently streamed portion of the content and an indication that no match was found for the search request.
The ebook 110 does not store more than the predetermined amount of the content in its memory 220. The predetermined portion of the content may be streamed in fixed blocks or in a moving window. For example, the server 130 may stream the content in five page blocks. The ebook 110 stores the most recent five pages of content received from the server 130 in its volatile memory. When the server 130 streams an additional five pages of the content, the ebook 110 overwrite the previous page of content with the new five pages of content received from the server. Alternatively, the server 130 may begin by steaming a first portion of the content. When the user access a page beyond a predetermine page, the ebook 110 may request that a next page be streamed. The next page streamed by the server 130 will replace the first one of the pages in the predetermined portion of the content temporarily stored on the ebook. For example, when the user access the first three pages of content streamed by the server 130 to the ebook 110, nothing happens. However, when the user access the fourth page, the ebook 110 sends a request to the server 130 for page six. The server 130 streams page six to the ebook 110 in response to the request. The ebook 110 overwrites page one, temporarily stored thereon, with page six. As a result, the current page accessed by the user is in the middle of the predetermined portion of the streamed content temporarily stored on the ebook 110. Streaming the predetermined portion of the content in a moving window may improve performance and the user experience. For example, the next page can be requested during system idle time and edge effects (e.g., where the user navigates between page 5 and 6 when pages a streamed in blocks of 5 page) can be eliminated.
In the case of a search requests, an indication of the predetermined portion of the content currently streamed to the ebook 110, at the time of the search request is made or in response to a jump to a “next” search result, may be stored on the server. Therefore, if a “back” request is received, the server 130 can re-send the particular predetermined portion of the content that was being viewed before the portion of the content containing the current search result was streamed. The content streamed in response to a search request may be streamed in block or in a sliding window as described above.
Streaming the content from the server 130 to the ebook 110 is useful for users that need access to content that may include trade secrets and other confidential information. For example, restaurant employees can access recipes and the like. Similarly, field technicians can access technical data necessary for performing their jobs. In other examples, medical personnel and legal professionals can access patient or client confidential records. In the event that the ebook is lost or stolen, the entity can simply remove the ebook's identifier, such as the ebook's MAC address, from the server thereby preventing access to content on the server. Although the user may still manually copy the data a portion at a time, the means of data possession is made harder. For example, the server may be configured to stream five pages of content at a time and the ebook may be configured to only store five pages of content at a time in volatile memory. Therefore, if the content is 100 pages long, the user would have to copy the content five pages at a time to another media. More importantly, if the ebook was lost or stolen only a portion of the content would be stored in the ebook while power was still on, and would be gone once the power was turned off if the streamed content was only buffered in volatile memory.
Similarly, streaming the content from the server to the ebook 110 is useful for delivery of subscription based content, such as news papers, magazines, journals, bulletins, prospectuses and the like. In such cases, if the user does not renew the subscription the identifier of their ebook may be removed from the subscription service's server.
Referring now to
The ebook receives the client authentication acknowledgement or denial, at 310. At 312, the ebook sends a request, including a resource indicator to the server if the client was authenticated. At 314, the request including the resource indicator is received by the server. At 316, a data list is streamed to the ebook in response to receipt of the resource indicator. At 318, the ebook receives the streaming data list from the server. At 320, the data list is output to the user on one or more user interfaces of the ebook. At 322, selection by the user of an asset identifier from the data list is received on one or more user interfaces of the ebook. At 324, the selected asset identifier is sent from the ebook to the server.
At 326, the server receives the asset identifier. At 328, the server may determine if the client is authorized to access the asset. At 330, a resource identifier of the selected asset is sent to the ebook. At 332, the ebook receives the resource identifier of the selected asset. At 334, the ebook sends a request including the resource identifier of the selected asset to the server.
At 336, the server receives the request for the content at the resource identifier of the selected asset. At 338, the server streams the content at the resource identifier to the ebook one portion at a time. At 340, the ebook receives the portion of the content streamed from the server. The content is streamed from the server and is not stored locally on the ebook. At 342, the ebook outputs the portion of the content on one or more input/output interfaces. The user may readily navigate through the content, which may have all the navigation benefits of a portable document format (PDF), Microsoft word document format or the like, at 344. If a navigation request is received for another portion of the content, the ebook sends a navigation request for another portion of the content, at 346. At 348, the server receives the navigation request for another portion of content. At 350, the server streams the other portion of the content to the ebook. At 352, the other portion of content is received by the ebook. The other portion of the content may then be displayed and navigated within in accordance with processes 342-352.
Referring now to
Embodiments of the present technology may advantageously be utilized to protect trade secrets and other confidential content. Users who require access to confidential content are able to access the required content using electronic navigation and search techniques. Embodiments also offer a mobile, lightweight, condensed and secure solution for accessing content The ebook is useful for users such as a salesman who wish to easily access their content such as client lists when they are constantly on the move, but at the same time, wish to keep the content secure in the event that the ebook is lost or stolen. In the event that the ebook reader is lost or stolen, removing the identifier of the ebook from the server renders the ebook useless as it can no longer access the content.
The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present technology have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the present technology and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the present technology and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the Claims appended hereto and their equivalents.
