Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system – Display driving control circuitry – Controlling the condition of display elements
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-16
2001-10-02
Bayerl, Raymond J. (Department: 2173)
Computer graphics processing and selective visual display system
Display driving control circuitry
Controlling the condition of display elements
C345S215000, C707S793000, C707S793000, C709S203000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06297819
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to programs and systems that enable a user to interact with sites on a network, such as World Wide Web sites on the Internet.
The term World Wide Web (the “WWW” or the “web”) is used variously to refer to (i) protocols that facilitate access to data through a web browser program presenting a graphical user interface to its user, or (ii) the set of pages that a user can access using such a web browser over the Internet. A web page will generally contain references to related material that are presented as links. By selecting (i.e., opening) a link, a user can access the referenced material. Using links, users can jump from one document (web page) to another, a process called browsing. The architecture of the web that provides these features has three parts: the server, which provides the information source, the browser, which takes the information and formats it in a particular way, and the network which provides the communication between the two.
Web pages are electronic documents are encoded in compliance with a HyperText Markup Language (“HTML”) standard. HTML standards are generally promulgated by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), although some companies have promulgated their own extensions and versions. Background and current information about HTML can be found on the web site of the World Wide Web Consortium, whose URL is http://www.w3.org. HTML documents in the web context are generally referred to as pages or web pages. Web pages are text files containing content text (i.e., the information to be displayed to a user) and HTML instructions. Programs referred to as browsers (or, if needed for clarity, web browsers)—such Netscape Navigator, NCSA Mosaic, Lynx, and Microsoft Internet Explorer—are computer program applications that interpret the HTML instructions in an HTML document and, in accordance with the instructions, display the document's content to the user.
Links are HTMI instructions used within web pages to identify or locate hypertext elements, such as images, sounds, locations within the current web page, or other web pages. A reference to a web pages is generally a URL (a Uniform Resource Locator), which contains sufficient information to allow a web browser, interacting with a web server, to obtain the specific web page. Links are often displayed graphically on a displayed web page by text of a particular format or by a clickable icons. When the browser opens a link, the browser initiates a network connection (if necessary) to obtain the referenced element, which the browser then displays or plays, according to the nature of the element.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides systems, methods, and apparatus (including computer program apparatus) that implement and constitute aspects of a browser-aware application delivery system (which will be referred to as the “System”) and of a service based on the System (the “Service”). The System provides browser extensions that are based on server processes rather than on plug-in programs, such as Netscape plug-ins or Microsoft ActiveX controls, that have to be loaded and installed on the user's machine. The System operates like a monitor for a user while the user is browsing the web, and enables the user to obtain and interact with context-sensitive services and information based on the user's browsing activity. The context is defined at least in part by what web page the user is viewing or requesting, and it is optionally defined by requests (such as search requests or the actual URL) made by the user to a site or by a history of sites visited and requests made.
In one implementation, the System includes a core of functionality to which can be added user-selectable component application tools and services. The application-specific services of the component applications tools (which may be referred to as component applications, application tools, applications, or simply as tools) are provided by an application server, which is a server process running on one or more dedicated or shared computers connected to the System, generally through a network connection. The core functionality is provided by one or more servers, which for that reason may be referred to as core servers, and a client program running on the user's computer that interacts with the user's running web browser and with the core servers. The client program of the System (which will generally be referred to simply as the “client”) runs on a user's computer and receives information about what the user is doing on the web from the user's web browser. The user can easily select and enable component application tools, whose functionality becomes available to the user through the client icons and windows. Enabled applications can and generally will present an application icon through a graphical user interface maintained by the client, and application services will generally be presented through an application tool home page and other web pages generated by an application server and displayed by a web browser operating as a program embedded in the client.
Advantages that can be seen in implementations of the invention include one or more of the following.
The System and its components are useful to users ranging from casual to serious web surfers. The System enhances the user's web surfing experience for entertainment, community-building, transaction support, and knowledge acquisition.
The value of the System to its users increases with the number of users and the number of available applications. Third-party vendors can develop and distribute component applications to users. Such component applications can provide value for the user and increased revenue for the third-party vendors. The development and distribution of applications for the System can be done in collaboration with, or independently of, the provider of core System services.
The System provides value to a user in the cumulative value of all the available application tools. Component application tools are easy to find and install. The System operates transparently as the user browses the web. When it is not actively in use, the System does not inhibit the user's web surfing environment by slowing it down, taking up too much screen real estate, or otherwise.
The System allows component application suppliers to provide supplementary value to users as the users surf the web. The System appears to travel with the user as the user browses the web. This enables the user to find at every web site additional functionality that is independent of the web site. The content served when a user visits a web site can be contextually-specific and therefore relevant to the exact web site being viewed.
The set of core servers is readily scalable to handle large numbers of active users.
Component applications can have distinct advantages over applications based at web sites. The information accessed through component applications is independent of any particular web site context both in location and in point of view. The information is contextual so a user gets information about what the user is immediately interested in. The System can be customized for each user. Users can choose to select and enable only the component applications they find useful.
The System enables sales and marketing efforts to be brought to the context of a user-selected web site, so users can find the goods and services that they might be seeking in the context in which they are currently browsing. The System brings the added value to electronic commerce of enabling the right transaction by making the user better informed. A user can augment his or her range of choice by selecting which contextual sales applications are valuable enough to warrant installation and use.
The System can be used to provide contextual sales applications as component applications having a standard form of presentation and interaction. As a consequence, transactions made using such contextual sales applications can be faster for the user than conventio
Bayerl Raymond J.
Essential Surfing Gear, Inc.
Fish & Richardson P.C.
Thai Cuong T.
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