Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput – Computer-to-computer protocol implementing – Computer-to-computer handshaking
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-30
2001-05-22
Maung, Zarni (Department: 2756)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput
Computer-to-computer protocol implementing
Computer-to-computer handshaking
C370S229000, C709S202000, C709S219000, C709S224000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06237039
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of computer networking. Specifically, the present invention relates to the field of Internet technology.
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART
The Internet has greatly expanded the impact of computer networking on even the most unsophisticated computer users. The drastic growth of the World Wide Web (“the Web”) has contributed greatly to this increased popularity of the Internet. The Web represents all of the computers on the Internet that offer users access to information on the Internet via interactive documents or “Web pages”. These Web pages contain hypertext links that are used to connect any combination of graphics, audio, video and text, in a non-linear, non-sequential manner.
Users currently access information on the Internet over a wide variety of computer platforms, application software, and methods of network connectivity. Users with powerful workstations and high bandwidth network connections enjoy rapid response time when interacting with the computer network. These users may enter requests or commands to their client network browsers and expect near instantaneous responses from a server system coupled to the computer network. Other users, however, may not be connected to the computer network with such high bandwidth connections. For example, it is common for many network users to use a standard modem for connection to a network service provider. These modems can vary in bandwidth capability from relatively high bandwidth modems such as cable modems or Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) modems, to relatively slow modems operating in the 19.2Kbits or 28.8Kbits per second range. Although adequate for small data transfers, the transfer of large blocks of data such as digitized images common on the Web, can produce significant response time delays with low bandwidth modems or other low bandwidth network connection devices.
Thus, it is common for users, particularly those operating on the Web, to wait for a few seconds or even a few minutes while information is downloaded from a server to the client computer system across the network. While the user is waiting for the download, he or she is essentially a “captive audience”, but prior art systems do not take advantage of this situation in any meaningful manner. If, for example, the waiting period could be utilized to display advertisements or other such auxiliary information, this wait time would become a valuable source of revenue for Internet content providers who would be able to charge a premium rate for the advertisements. Given that advertising revenues on the Internet are increasing drastically as advertisers move from the traditional advertising mediums, such as television and radio, to the Internet, any additional advertising time that can be made available on the Internet is clearly a highly valuable commodity.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is a method and apparatus for downloading auxiliary data to a client during idle periods and for displaying the auxiliary data while the client is fetching information from the network. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the state of a client device is first determined, wherein the client device is in a fetching state while processing a user request and the user is waiting or in an idle state while not processing a user request and the user is not waiting for the client system. Auxiliary data is then downloaded from a server to the client device when the step of determining determines that the client device is in an idle state. Additionally, the downloaded auxiliary data is buffered in an auxiliary buffer. The auxiliary data is then processed to generate an output and the output is displayed on the client device while the client device is in a fetching state.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description.
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Lee Tammy Tak-kam
Maung Zarni
WebTV Networks Inc.
Workman & Nydegger & Seeley
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