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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to computer-aided product
manufacture and distribution and, more particularly, to a method and
system for assembly, manufacture and distribution of custom "data"
products, such as a CD (read only), CD (read/write), DVD or similar static
storage medium (collectively, a "CD" or "CD-ROM"), especially a CD product
incorporating customer-selected musical sound recordings.
2. Description of the Related Art
The standard model for the manufacture and distribution of music is
well-established in the entertainment industry. With the explosive growth
of the Internet, however, it is now possible to transfer large amounts of
digital data electronically. Thus, the Internet has the capability of
being a useful medium for transfer of digital data comprising sound
recordings. To this end, it has been proposed to provide an "interactive"
World Wide Web ("WWW") site at which users may create their own "custom"
CD-ROMs. Using an interactive "fill-in form" type of interface, the user
selects a plurality of sound recordings from a library or catalog of
available recordings. Once the CD selections are made, the user is
prompted for a credit card number. The credit card is verified, and the
CD-ROM is then manufactured and delivered to the user.
Although the above-described system has the advantage of enabling a user of
the Internet to create a custom CD product, there are no currently
available sites from which a broad range of musical recordings may be
assembled, nor are the sites or assembly operations scaleable to
facilitate large scale operations. Moreover, such sites do not provide
significant tracking, inventory control and other administrative and
management tools to facilitate such a large-scale operation.
The present invention addresses this problem.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is a primary goal of the present invention to provide a custom CD
assembly, manufacturing and distribution method and system.
It is a more specific object of this invention to enable a customer to
assemble or create a user-defined "set" of musical recordings from a
massive library or archive of such recordings. After selection, the set of
recordings are "assembled" and "burned" into a physical medium (such as a
CD-ROM), preferably at a large-scale manufacturing or "burning" facility.
Individual burner machines in the facility operate in an essentially
autonomous or "standalone" manner to m facilitate large scale production
of custom CD products. This "burner-centric" architecture facilitates
continuous and efficient production of products as the service is scaled
to handle very large number of orders in a concurrent fashion.
It is a more general object of the invention to implement a large-scale
custom music CD service where custom CD-ROMs (or other such digital
"products") are ordered at retail establishments, over the Internet, by
electronic communication (e.g., fax, e-mail, or the like) or over a
conventional telephone connection.
It is still another object of this invention to implement a
computer-assisted custom CD ordering, assembly, manufacturing and
distribution service wherein a customer may easily track the entire
manufacturing and delivery process at all operative stages.
It is yet another more general object of this invention to provide
computer-aided ordering, assembly, manufacturing and distribution of
digital data products.
It is yet another aspect of this invention to maintain, in the custom CD
manufacturing system, certain information about a customer's musical or
data preferences, creditworthiness, and past buying habits, to thereby
facilitate future product purchase transactions.
Another more specific object of this invention is to provide such a system
for making, selling and distributing a custom digital data product over
the Internet, in retail stores, via electronic communication, or over the
telephone, wherein a customer is provided (preferably by electronic mail
("e-mail") verification) with order tracking information.
According to the invention, a customer "orders" a custom product in a
variety of ways. Thus, for example, a customer may create, order and
purchase the product from a retail site and, in particular, through entry
of information at a computer terminal in an online process. Preferably,
but not necessarily, the computer terminal is a "diskless" computer, also
known as a "network" computer. Alternatively, a user may create, order and
purchase the product by accessing an Internet site from which the custom
CD "service" is provided. Another alternative is for the'user to access a
telephone network (such as an 800-number service), and to order the custom
CD through interaction with a human or automated operator, or by fax or
e-mail. Regardless of how the user accesses the system, it is assumed that
the customer selects a "set" of sound recordings (or data) from a library
or catalog of such recordings (or data), and he or she then determines the
order of presentation of the selected recordings (or data). The library of
available recordings is preferably supported by a massive "disk farm,"
which is preferably a relatively large collection of computers on which
(or attached to which) are stored digital data comprising the available
recordings (or data). Once the CD has been assembled in a manner to allow
the system to automatically "manufacture" the product, the product is
preferably created at a dedicated manufacturing facility (e.g., a "burner
farm"). The product is then shipped to the customer, or to some third
party as may be requested by the customer.
Preferably, the individual song tracks comprising the requested CD product
are assembled at the burner farm. Alternatively, the customer (or the disk
farm) may assemble the song data in a prior process and submit the
assembled data (e.g., as a "compilation") to a burner machine directly or
alternatively transmit the data electronically.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, a custom CD set
is created in an online manner using an appropriate user interface. Then,
the customer is prompted to enter appropriate information from which some
form of payment is extracted. Thus, for example, the user may enter his or
her credit card number through a secure interface (e.g., a secure sockets
layer or "SSL"). Upon payment or credit verification, the set of data
components (i.e., the song tracks) selected by the customer are caused to
be transferred from the disk farm to the manufacturing facility, which
preferably comprises a collection of machines that "burn" or otherwise
generate the products. The set of components is sometimes referred to as
an "image" of the CD product. Preferably, the "burner" farm (like the disk
farm) comprises a large number of connected computers and associated
burner machines useful in manufacturing CD-ROM (or other digital data)
products. The system further includes appropriate control, administrative
and management routines and devices as are necessary to ensure that a
large number of products may be continually assembled, manufactured,
packaged and shipped as multiple customers continually access the facility
(e.g., through retail sites, the Web site, through direct electronic
communication, and the like) and multiple product "images" are in turn
transferred from the disk farm to the facility.
In a particular preferred embodiment, large scale processing of CD product
orders is facilitated by operating a -burner farm with many hundreds or
even thousands of individual burner machines. The entire set of such
machines is preferably organized into a hierarchy of subgroups, with each
subgroup including approximately 30-50 individual burner machines,
depending on available bandwidth, burn capability and other
considerations. Upon initialization, however, each individual burner
machine or server is self-directed or "autonomous" and thus takes on as
much "work" (e.g., new requests to burn CD products) as it is capable of
handling given the network and subgroup load, and other operating
conditions. The manufacturing facility is thus "burner-centric," as
individual burner machines or servers in the large set of such machines
control their own destiny. This architecture is highly scaleable and
efficient, and it facilitates processing of a very large number of
concurrent orders as such orders are placed from the various order entry
terminals and other means previously described.
Preferably, after an order is "accepted" for processing, a customer is
provided with an e-mail communication verifying the transaction. The
e-mail message preferably also includes a "hyperlink" that includes an
order confirmation or other order tracking identifying number(s).
Activation of the hyperlink by the customer automatically launches the
customer's Web browser software to a Web site from which he or she may
then track the manufacture of the actual product (i.e., during the various
stages of assembly and burning of the CD-ROM). After the product has been
manufactured and packaged, the customer preferably is provided with a
second e-mail indicating that the product has been shipped. Preferably,
the second e-mail also includes a hyperlink with an associated shipping
tracking number. Upon activation of the hyperlink, the customer accesses
the Web site (or some other site, such as a UPS.RTM. or Federal
Express.RTM. site) and may then "follow" the product as it moves to its
intended destination through one or more distribution channels.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects and features
of the present invention. These objects should be construed to be merely
illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of
the invention. Many other beneficial results can be attained by applying
the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention
as will be described. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller
understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the following
Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a more complete understanding of the present invention and the
advantages thereof, reference should be made to the following Detailed
Description of the Preferred Embodiment taken in connection with the
accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a representative computer-implemented custom product ordering,
assembly, manufacturing and distribution system according to the present
invention; and
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a preferred manufacturing facility that is
connected to a large "disk farm" via a communications subsystem according
to the teachings of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The present invention is described in the context of a custom "music CD"
ordering, assembly, manufacturing and distribution system or "service"
wherein the particular content (i.e., the digital data embodied on the
physical medium, namely a "CD-ROM") is a set of one or more sound
recordings. Thus, for example, the "product" is a CD-ROM on which
approximately fifteen (15) different sound recordings or "tracks" are
supported. This number, of course, is merely illustrative and depends on
the size of the particular component files and the capacity of the storage
medium. Thus, for example, if the medium is a digital video disk (DVD), up
to one hundred (100) tracks or more may be supported. The particular sound
recordings and their sequence are customer-selectable. Thus, the product
is said to be "customized" or is a "custom" CD. Although this particular
instantiation of the invention is one preferred method, it is merely
representative of the various methods, techniques and systems may be used
for any type of digital data and not merely music. Moreover, although the
preferred "product" created by the invention is a CD-ROM, this is not a
limitation either as the "product" may be a CD (read/write), DVD, digital
audio tape, or any other physical medium on which digital data may be
stored (even if by conversion). This includes now known or hereinafter
developed tangible media.
As seen in FIG. 1, the system 10 comprises a number of major components: a
storage subsystem or "disk farm" 12, a communications subsystem 14, an
Internet-type (e.g., a Web) server 15, a management subsystem 16, a credit
subsystem 17 (which may be part of the system 10 or a separate third
party-managed facility accessible via a known connection), a manufacturing
subsystem or (in the case of a CD product) so-called "burner farm" 18, and
a shipping management subsystem 19. As will be described below, the disk
farm 12 generally includes a plurality of servers and a large number of
networked or linked storage devices for supporting digital data comprising
the library or "archive" of available sound recordings (or data). The
burner farm generally includes a plurality of burner machines, each of
which comprises a processor, a disk storage and one or more CD burner(s).
Communications subsystem 14 generally includes a set of communication
servers and, optionally, a directory server, which together facilitate
very high speed transfer (e.g., on the order of 45 Megabytes/second or
higher) of large amounts of digital data between the disk and burner
farms, as will be described.
A set of retail machines 20, preferably located at retail establishments
22, interface to the system, preferably via the Internet 24, by a direct
connection, or by some other computer network such as an intranet, an
extranet or other known or hereinafter network connection. Each retail
machine is preferably a "diskless" computer, sometimes referred to as a
"network" computer. This is not a requirement of the invention, however.
As is known in the art, a "network" computer includes a processor, random
access or other "volatile" memory (RAM), a display interface, one or more
input devices (such as a mouse, a keyboard, and the like), and appropriate
communications hardware for interfacing the machine to a computer network.
When the machine is turned on, operating system software and other
application software is downloaded or loaded to the RAM for use during a
particular network session, although such software does not normally
remain resident on the machine. Preferably, the machine does not include a
hard drive or other non-volatile memory system (but this is not a
requirement). This is advantageous when the machine is implemented at a
retail establishment, where many third parties come into contact with the
machine and its operating components.
In a preferred embodiment, one or more of the product "ordering" features
and functions of the present invention are provided at a given retail
machine using a "Java"-type application. As is known in the art, Java is
an object-oriented, multi-threaded, portable, platform-independent, secure
programming environment used to develop, test and maintain software
programs. Java programs include full-featured interactive, standalone
applications, as well as smaller programs, known as applets, that run in a
Java-enabled Web browser or in a Java-enabled virtual environment.
Preferably, a network computer located at a retail establishment includes a
credit card reader or keypad for receiving a credit card or other billing
information. Alternatively, the customer may simply pay for the product
(at a register) and receive an access number (that must be entered into
the machine) or even a token. In a further alternative, a customer may
purchase (at retail, electronically or otherwise) a "gift" certificate for
a third party, who may then access the service by going to the retail
establishment and supplying the gift number or token to the network
machine (or an operator thereof). Of course, as used herein, "retail
establishment" should be broadly construed to mean any publicly-accessible
location (e.g., a kiosk or the like) and not merely a "for profit" retail
store.
The assembly, manufacturing and distribution system 10 also preferably
interfaces to a set of client machines 26, preferably via the Internet 24.
A representative client machine 26 is a personal computer such as a
desktop or notebook computer, e.g., an IBM.RTM. or IBM-compatible machine,
running an Intel x86 or Pentium.RTM.-based computer processor with a
Windows '95 operating system. Any suitable terminal with an Internet
browsing capabilities, of course, may be used as a client machine. The
client thus includes an appropriate graphical user interface (GUI). A
typical client machine is located at customer's home or office and
connects to the Internet via an Internet Service Provider (ISP) through a
dialup network connection or through other direct connections that may be
available. Alternatively, a client machine connects to the Internet
through a so-called online service provider such as America Online.RTM. or
the like. The particular method of connection, of course, is not pertinent
to the present invention. Thus, for example, a "retail" machine need not
be connected to the service via the Internet.
Each of the machines (possibly including the network computers located at
the retail establishments) that interface to or form part of the system
preferably include a "suite", or collection of known Internet tools to
access other computers of the network and thus to obtain certain services.
These services may include one-to-one messaging (e-mail), one-to-many
messaging (bulletin board), on-line chat, file transfer and browsing.
Various known Internet protocols are used for these services. Thus, for
example, browsing is effected using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
or such other protocols hereinafter developed or adopted, which provides
users access to multimedia files using Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) or
any other hereinafter developed or adopted markup, scripting or
alternative language or technique. The collection of servers that use HTTP
comprise the World Wide Web, which is currently the Internet's multimedia
information retrieval system. Digital files are normally transferred over
the Internet using the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) in a known manner.
Referring back to FIG. 1, Internet server 15 supports a collection of
related documents that together comprise a so-called "Web site" from which
the custom CD-ROM manufacturing/distribution service of the present
invention may be accessed. The Internet server 15 is shown as a single
machine, but one of ordinary skill will appreciate that the site may be
"mirrored" or copied to comprise a plurality of similar server machines
(scaled). The Web server 15 is accessible through the WWW or Internet-type
network in a known manner. In the Internet paradigm, a network path to a
server is identified by a so-called Uniform Resource Locator (URL) having
a special syntax for defining a network connection. Use of an
HTML-compatible browser (e.g., Netscape Navigator.TM. or Microsoft
Internet Explorer.TM.) at a client machine involves specification of a
link via the URL. In response, the client makes a request to the server
identified in the link and receives in return a document formatted
according to HTML (or similar markup language, such as SGML or XML).
Management subsystem 16 includes a workstation or other similar computer or
computers. Thus, for example, the management subsystem 16 comprises a
computer, or a set of computers connectable via a local area network
(LAN), wide area network (WAN) or other such connection. Management system
16 includes appropriate control routines for receiving and formulating
information from the various order-entry terminals (and means) as
described above, and, in response thereto, directing customer "orders" to
the manufacturing facility. Management system also includes appropriate
database or other storage facilities for maintaining transaction
information including, without limitation, the identity of each customer
accessing the service, the customer's identifying information (e.g., name,
address, social security number, credit card information and validation
information, personal identification number ("PIN") or other security
information), historical information about past purchases or inquiries,
playlists for CD-ROMs previously-purchased, "favorites" lists, and the
like. The management system 16 also includes control routines for managing
transactions.
Preferably, the management system operates in a secure manner (e.g., using
SSL) such that only the customer and third parties authorized by the
customer may access the stored user and preferences information. Using
information in the management system, the service provider may determine
the particular sound recordings or data previously "purchased" by the
customer. Although not required, the management server may also implement
an advertising or other content server that formats and displays
specialized ads or other content (such as announcements of new recordings,
artist concerts, and the like) that may be of interest to a particular
customer based on the customer's past preferences. Such display may be in
the form of "banner" ads as part of a Web page when the user contacts the
Internet server 15, or the information may be provided via e-mail, or even
via direct mail or the like.
Management subsystem 16 preferably also includes an accounting system for
administration and management of all customer transactions. Functions
typically provided by the accounting system include transaction handling,
billing, account management and the like. The accounting routine
interfaces with the credit subsystem 17 in a known manner to "validate" a
particular credit card information.
Although not meant to be limiting, a representative server platform for use
as the Web server 15 and in the management subsystem 16 is an IBM RISC
System/6000 computer (a reduced instruction set of so-called RISC-based
workstation) running the AIX (Advanced Interactive Executive Version 4.1
and above) operating system and server program(s). The platform also
includes a graphical user interface (GUI) for management and
administration. It may also include an application programming -interface
(API). Although the above platform is useful, any other suitable
hardware/operating system/server combinations may be used.
Communications interface 14 also includes all the necessary hardware,
software and communications devices to facilitate high speed, secure
communications to and from the management subsystem to the other
components of the service. Thus, in the preferred embodiment, the
communications interface implements a firewall or other convenient
security mechanism.
A user accessing the system selects a "set" of recordings (e.g.,
(song/artist) 1; (song/artist) 2, and so forth). Preferably, in the case
of a music CD-ROM, approximately fifteen (15) titles are selected for a
particular product. The particular technique for selecting the titles will
depend on the interface and thus the method of accessing the service. In a
typical case, a user of a client machine accesses the Internet server 15
through a Web browser and is presented with an option to purchase a custom
CD. Using a convenient user interface (e.g., preferably implemented in a
Java-type applet running in the browser), the customer selects a given
artist and/or given sound recordings. A convenient technique (if feasible,
given the particular terminal) for this purpose is a "drag-and-drop"
interface wherein the customer selects a given title from one portion of
the interface and "drags" the title to a playlist located on another
portion of the interface. The customer may then re-order the selected
titles, delete a particular title, add another title, save the playlist,
and so forth. After the set of sound recordings (i.e., the playlist) for a
particular custom CD is finalized, the customer's payment method is
validated (e.g., using a call to the credit subsystem) and the "order" is
accepted. The order is then assigned an order confirmation or "job" number
by the management system. This order confirmation number is one preferred
means by which the job is managed by the system (and tracked by the
customer, as will be seen).
Referring now to FIG. 2, the disk farm 12 preferably comprises a large
number of servers 32a-32n and possibly 1000's of networked or linked
storage devices for supporting the digital data. A representative storage
device is a disk, optical disk storage or the like. Appropriate data
collection systems 33 may be used to collect sound recordings or data and,
if necessary, to convert such information into a suitable format for
storage in the storage devices of the disk farm. If necessary, one or more
"management" servers 34 may be used to control individual machines in the
farm. By way of example only, a typical "popular" musical sound recording
may comprise 40-50 Megabytes of data, and therefore twenty (20) of such
recordings comprise about one (1) Gigabyte. Assuming a relatively large
inventory of recordings (e.g., 200,000-3,000,000 song tracks), a massive
storage (e.g., 10-150 Terabytes) is required. Such storage is provided by
the servers 32 and their associated storage systems. Of course, the
particular number and type of recordings is not a limitation of the
invention, although it is expected that the disk farm supports a very
large number of song tracks to enhance the overall service. The disk farm
12 is shown as a collection of servers 32a-32n (and their associated
storage systems located at a particular location, although one of ordinary
skill will appreciate that the disk farm may be mirrored, or that
individual servers and/or storage systems, may be
geographically-dispersed. As particular song tracks are added to the disk
farm, information about the new tracks (and their availability) is
dispersed throughout the network (e.g., to the management subsystem and
the Internet server or other communication interfaces).
The burner farm likewise comprises a large number (e.g., 1000's) of
individual burner machines 36a-36n. Each burner machine is a known or
hereinafter-developed machine is basically a computer-controlled burner
device comprising a processor (CPU) 38, disk storage 40, RAM 42, control
software 44, and the burner(s) 46. The burner 46 transfers assembled
digital data to the static storage medium 48 to generate the CD product.
A plurality of burner machines is typically supported in a subgroup 50.
Each subgroup 50 is preferably associated with a particular one of the
communications servers 52a-52n (that comprise the communications
subsystem) via a local area network (LAN) or other network connection 54.
A typical connection 54 is a 100-1200 Megabit/second Ethernet connection,
although this is not a limitation of the invention. As illustrated in FIG.
2, communications across the communications system (i.e., to and from the
disk and burner farms via the communications servers 52) are effected at a
very high speed (e.g., using asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switching or
fiber) over a very high speed backbone (e.g., 45 Megabytes/second or
higher). Communications within a particular subgroup of burner machines is
at a relatively slower rate (e.g., 100-1200 Megabit/second). A typical
CD-ROM burner in a burner machine 36 operates at "4X" or higher X (or
600,000 bytes/second or higher), and thus between about 30-50 burner
machines are typically associated with a given subgroup. This amount may
vary, of course, depending on the network bandwidth, the bandwidth of the
LAN or other network connection 54, and the capability of and/or loading
or unloading the burner machines in the subgroup.
In accordance with an important advantage of the invention, the individual
burner machines 36 preferably control their own operation or "destiny."
Thus, for example, each burner machine may include control software that,
upon initialization of the machine, repeatedly cycles through a given task
list. Each task in the list has associated therewith a set of procedures
that are then carried out. A representative task list for a given burner
machine may include Task 1 (perform CD-ROM burn), Task 2 (perform
self-diagnostic routines), etc. A representative task list for another
burner machine may have a different set of tasks (e.g., a given burner
machine may be dedicated to burning only DVDs), or a different ordering of
the tasks, or some other variant. A given task list is preferably
downloaded to each of the given burner machines in a subgroup upon
initialization of the subgroup by the management subsystem (e.g., at the
start of a day or given manufacturing cycle). The task list for each
subgroup or burner machines within a subgroup may thus vary on a periodic
basis.
When a burner machine is initialized or is otherwise idle, it polls (but
may also be sent by) the management subsystem, in effect, requesting new
work. If, at that time, the management subsystem has an order for a custom
CD product that has not been assigned to a particular burner machine, the
management subsystem 16 assigns the order to the burner machine. Thus, for
example, the management subsystem provides an order/shipping number, the
customer's name and address, the song tracks, their sequence, the identity
of a shipper, and other necessary information. As the burner machine then
cycles through its task list, the order is then processed by that burner
machine.
Preferably, but not by way of limitation, the actual song track components
are "retrieved" by the burner machine (or by some control device on its
behalf). Thus, for example, and with reference to FIG. 2, the particular
burner machine that is processing the order may poll the directory service
55 to obtain the particular location of the file comprising the component
in question. The directory service 55 may return the actual location
information (e.g., "track 1:located on server 7, disk bank 52") to enable
the burner machine to then retrieve the file directly, or the directory
service may provide appropriate control signals to that server/disk bank
location so that the file can be downloaded directly. In either case, the
component file is copied over the high speed datalink until it reaches the
subgroup with which the particular burner machine is associated. The song
track component (typically in the form of a .wav file) is then transferred
(via the possibly lower speed connection 54) to the buffer/cache storage
of the burner machine (or server). At this time, hidden "codes" may be
implanted within (or otherwise associated with) the sound recording (or
data) to later facilitate the tracking (by order number) the origin of a
particular copy of a sound recording (or data).
Once a particular burner machine receives all the data necessary to burn
the product, the burning process preferably should not be interrupted to
ensure a high quality, usable product. Thus, the particular management
routines in each of the disk farm and burner farm machines preferably
include appropriate control routines to ensure that once the set of
component files have been received at the burner machine, the particular
burner machine responsible for the burn will then be isolated from other
network traffic (or other similar system interference) that might
otherwise interrupt or disable the particular burn. In a possible
embodiment, the burner machine is forced to log off or otherwise
disconnect from the network (e.g., the communications subsystem) before
the burn starts. In this manner, all bytes comprising a single product may
be buffered (without network interruption) in the particular burner
machine prior to initiation of the CD-ROM burn.
Thus, according to the present invention, the manufacturing facility
operates in a "burner-centric" manner with each of the burner machines
preferably controlling its own "destiny" (e.g., whether it is operating to
burn a particular CD at a given period of its operation). Each burner
machine is provided its own task list (which may vary periodically or
across any given subgroup of such machines). The burner machine cycles
through the various tasks on its list, and polls the management subsystem
for new work whenever necessary. The distributed burner-centric
architecture ensures that no particular machine or subgroup of machines
can become a "bottleneck" to the overall operation of the service. Indeed,
using the task list (s), the service operator or automated manager may
take individual burner machines offline for repair and maintenance, or to
otherwise address network or other service problems without materially
impacting production quantity or the percentage of acceptable products.
During the manufacturing process, one or more "events" are tracked and
recorded including, without limitation, the time at which the completed
"image" is assembled from the disk farm, the time at which the data
comprising individual components is sent over the communications
subsystem, the particular identity of the burner in the manufacturing farm
that is selected for servicing a given request, the time at which the
burner "logs-off" from the network (or otherwise blocks receipt of new
traffic or other interrupt activity), the "time" at which the particular
burn is initiated, the "time" at which the particular burn is completed,
the length of the burn, the "fact" that the burn was successful (or not),
any errors or other occurrences of interest, and so forth. Such
information (or any component thereof) is then made available to the
management subsystem 16 of FIG. 1. In this manner, the customer may access
the service to determine the particular state of his or her particular
manufacturing request.
In particular, after credit or payment is verified, the management
subsystem (or the Internet server) preferably notifies the customer of an
order "confirmation" number. Although not required, this notification may
be in the form of an e-mail message that includes a hyperlink (with the
order number comprising part of the link). When the user selects the
hyperlink, the user's Web browser is launched to a tracking page (which is
usually a page at the Internet server 15) that provides order status
updates to the customer. The user may alternatively navigate to the
tracking page and enter a tracking number to obtain the given
manufacturing status updates.
After a given CD-ROM has been created at a burner machine, the CD-ROM is
removed from the burner and placed in a conventional "jewel" or other
package along with various packaging materials or inserts (e.g.
information about the various sound recordings or data on the CD). The
particular type of package or packaging method is not limited to a jewel
package, of course. The CD-ROM burner or some server associated therewith
preferably.includes a bar code or similar identifier generator that prints
a "bar code" or other identifier uniquely identifying the particular
product (e.g., by order number, shipping method, job number, batch number
or the like). The bar code or other identifier is preferably printed at
the burner machine (or at some server that is associated with the burner
machines in the subgroup, for example) and placed on the packaging (either
manually by a technician, or automatically). The bar code or other
identifier is then read and the information provided to the shipping
management subsystem 19, which is also preferably a computer or set of
connected computers. Shipping management subsystem 19 may also include a
quality control station associated therewith for running a set of quality
checks on the products or their packaging, or both.
Shipping management subsystem 19 also preferably generates a second e-mail
message or otherwise provides information to the customer that his or her
custom CD-ROM has been shipped. Thus, for example, the second e-mail may
include a hyperlink with an embedded shipping tracking number such that
when the customer activates the link, he or she may access a tracking
system (e.g., a third party site such as the UPS.RTM. or Federal
Express.RTM. Web site) so that the particular movements of the product can
be readily determined.
Although in the preferred embodiment of the invention the manufacturing
facility is used to burn the CD product, this is not a requirement of the
invention. Thus, for example, individual data components (such as song
tracks) or whole assembled images (of such components) may be transmitted
to a customer electronically so that the customer (if he or she has
suitable equipment) may burn the physical medium directly or otherwise
store the assembled data.
Many of the operations of the administrative and control functions of the
management subsystem of the invention are provided in software. One of the
preferred implementations of the invention is thus as a set of
instructions (program code) in a code module resident in the random access
memory of a computer. Until required by the computer, the set of
instructions may be stored in another computer memory, for example, in a
hard disk drive, or in a removable memory such as an optical disk (for
eventual use in a CD ROM) or floppy disk (for eventual use in a floppy
disk drive), or downloaded via the Internet or other computer network.
As used herein, "client" should be broadly construed to mean any computer
or component thereof directly or indirectly connected or connectable in
any known or later-developed manner to a computer network, such as the
Internet. The term "server" should also be broadly construed to mean a
computer, computer platform, an adjunct to a computer or platform, or any
component thereof.
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