Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput – Remote data accessing
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-28
2001-07-17
Najjar, Saleh (Department: 2154)
Electrical computers and digital processing systems: multicomput
Remote data accessing
C709S202000, C709S203000, C709S212000, C709S216000, C709S219000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06263363
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to computers, and more particularly to systems and methods for allowing a user who is away from his or her home computer to access a replica of the home computer via the Internet.
BACKGROUND
Many people travel and when they do, from time to time they have the need to access a computer, typically their home computer. If the need is anticipated, appropriate files from the home computer can be imported into a portable computer such as a laptop computer or a palmtop computer running the Microsoft Windows CE® operating system, and the user can then operate the portable computer. However, it will readily be appreciated that the need might not be anticipated, or that the user might not travel with a portable computer, and that under such circumstances the user will not have the necessary files and applications immediately available. Even when the user has a portable computer and has tried to anticipate what work might be undertaken on it, the user might nonetheless discover that additional files or applications from the home computer are needed.
Systems have been provided for communicating with remote computers via the Internet, but existing systems only partially address the above-noted problem. For example, the remote access server (RAS) feature provided by Microsoft's Windows NT 4.0 operating system allows a user to transfer files from a remote computer, but it provides neither application support nor faithful reproduction of the home computer's desktop and other settings. Indeed, Microsoft Windows RAS simply facilitates the transfer of files between computers. Accordingly, any applications sought to be executed must be executed by the remote computer. Consequently, the remote computer cannot be any computing device such as, e.g., a so-called “thin client” that might have only a Web browser program and a generic computing protocol application available to it, but rather the remote computer must be a computer sufficiently powerful to execute the home computer's applications.
The system marketed under the trademark “PCAnywhere” allows a user at a remote computer to access and control a home computer via the Internet, but this system, like other existing computer communication systems, requires that the home computer be on, operating, and accessible from the Internet. Thus, if the home computer has been turned off, or if the PCAnywhere application has not been invoked on the home computer, or if the home computer Internet connection has been lost or terminated, access to the home computer is not possible.
We have considered the above-noted problems and have understood that it is desirable and possible to enable a person to virtually operate their home computer using any available computing device, including a thin client computer and public kiosks such as are found at airports, regardless of whether the home computer itself is available. More specifically, the present invention understands that the remote computer file backup systems disclosed in the present assignee's issued U.S. Pat. No. 5,794,254 and U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 09/041,149 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,049,874 and 09/100,914 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,038,665, all of which are incorporated herein by reference, can be further used in cooperation with the novel programming disclosed herein to address the above-noted problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is a general purpose computer programmed according to the inventive steps herein. The invention can also be embodied as an article of manufacture—a machine component—that is used by a digital processing apparatus and which tangibly embodies a program of instructions that are executable by the digital processing apparatus to undertake the present logic. This invention is realized in a critical machine component that causes a digital processing apparatus to perform the inventive method steps herein. In other aspects, a computer program product is disclosed which is readable by a digital processing apparatus and which tangibly embodies a computer program. The computer program product combines a computer readable medium with program code elements that undertake the logic disclosed below. And, a computer-implemented method is disclosed for executing the logic herein.
A method is disclosed for allowing an owner of a home computer having files and software applications to access a virtual copy of the home computer and to operate the virtual copy remotely via the Internet. The method includes obtaining information about all files (metadata), as well as copies of the files and applications from the home computer that are not already present in an extensible shared library (XSL). These items, along with any files/applications in the XSL that are included in the home computer, collectively establish a virtual copy of the computer. The virtual copy is stored at a host computer location remote from the home computer. Then, the virtual copy is made available via the Internet, such that the owner can operate a remote access client computer to access the virtual copy via the Internet to control the virtual copy as though the owner were operating the home computer, with applications being executed on a host computer at the host location to return results to the remote access client computer. In a preferred embodiment, the method includes periodically synchronizing the virtual copy of the home computer with the home computer.
It might happen that the applications from the home computer, being configured to run on the home computer's operating system, might not be configured to run on the host computer's operating system and/or may expect the operating system registry to include specific entries. With this in mind, the preferred method further includes generating, from a registry received from the home computer, a user host registry that is configured for the host operating system such that the user host registry reflects the user and application settings of the home computer. Moreover, the host operating system includes a kernel, and the preferred method still further includes inserting one or more hooks into the kernel to cause the kernel to access the user host registry in response to requests relating to the virtual copy that can be caused, e.g., by a control signal received from a remote access client computer operated by the owner for operating the virtual copy. Additionally, asynchronous procedure calls (APCs) can be used to manage transitions from the kernel mode to the user mode when the host operating system is an NT-based system. With this feature, no synchronization objects need be implemented to support calls from the kernel mode into the user mode.
In another aspect, a computer-implemented method for permitting a user to control a virtual copy of a home computer using a remote access client computer includes storing the virtual copy at the host computer, and then establishing communication between the remote access client computer and the host computer via a wide area computer network. The method also contemplates operating the remote access client computer to cause the host computer to execute applications of the virtual copy and to return results to the remote access client computer.
In still another aspect, a computer program product includes a computer program storage device readable by a host computer having a host operating system, and a program means on the program storage device that includes program code elements which embody instructions that can be executed by the host computer for performing certain method steps disclosed herein. These method steps, which permit a user to control a virtual copy of a home computer using a remote access client computer, include generating the virtual copy at the host computer, and generating a user host registry configured for the host operating system from a home registry received from the home computer. Also, registry calls are received. Further, the user host registry is selectively accessed in response to the registry calls to respon
Baylor John T.
Krasnoiarov Boris
Rosenblatt Jeremy
Najjar Saleh
Rogitz John L.
SkyDesk, Inc.
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