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Claims  |
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What is claimed is:
1. A method comprising:
executing a multple-participant application;
registering a persistency control with an information browser, said persistency control configured to monitor and selectively prevent attempts to replace data within the information browser;
embedding an output of the multiple-participant application in a first portion of an information browser window, wherein said embedding persists per the persistency control and is non-responsive to attempts to replace data within the information
browser until such persistency is disabled; and
providing a second portion of the browser information window responsive to attempts to replace data within the information browser.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
wherein the first portion is a first browser frame defined within the information browser window, and the second portion is a second browser frame defined within the information browser window.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
providing a view synchronization option; and
sending an identifier of a most recently received web page to another multiple-participant application via a network response to user selection of the view synchronization option.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein executing the multiple-participant application comprises automatically executing the multiple-participant application upon receipt of an incoming application-execution signal for the multiple-participant
application.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the multiple-participant application comprises an audiovisual conferencing application.
6. An article of manufacture comprising a computer-readable medium having stored thereon a plurality of instructions, which when executed by a processor, are capable of directing the processor
to execute a multiple-participant application,
register a persistency control, with a network browser, said persistency control configured to monitor and selectively prevent attempts to replace data within the network browser,
to persistently embed an output of the multiple-participant application in a first portion of a network browser window per said persistency control so that such embedding is non-responsive to attempts to replace data within the information
browser until such persistency is disabled, and
to provide a second portion of the network browser window responsive to attempts to replace data within the information browser.
7. The computer-readable medium of claim 6, wherein the plurality of instructions are further
to implement a function to embed the first portion in a first network browser frame defined within the network browser window, and
to display the second portion in a second network browser frame defined within the network browser window.
8. The computer-readable medium of claim 6, wherein the plurality of instructions are further to implement a function to provide a view synchronization option, and to send an identifier of a most recently received web page to a host system via a
network response to user selection of the view synchronization option.
9. The computer-readable medium of claim 6, wherein the plurality of instructions for implementing a function to execute the multiple-participant application comprise instructions for implementing
a function to automatically execute the multiple-participant application upon receipt of an incoming application execution signal for the multiple-participant application.
10. The computer-readable medium of claim 6, wherein the plurality of instructions for implementing a function to execute the multiple-participant application comprise instructions for implementing
a function to execute an audiovisual conferencing application.
11. An apparatus comprising:
control logic to execute a multiple-participant application;
persistency control logic to selectively persist data within a first portion of an information browser window of an information browser by preventing replacement of such persistent data by the information browser, the information browser window
having a second portion responsive to attempts to replace data within the information browser window;
embedding logic, communicatively coupled with said persistency control logic, to persistently embed an output of the multiple-participant application in a first portion of an information browser window non-responsive to attempts to replace
information within the information browser until such persistency is disabled.
12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the persistency control logic is further operative to
embed the first portion in a first frame defined within the information browser window, and to
display the second portion in a second frame defined within the information browser window.
13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the persistency control logic is further operative to send an identifier of a most recently received web page to a host system via a network in response to user selection of a view synchronization option.
14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the control logic is further operative to automatically execute the multiple-participant application upon receipt of an incoming application execution signal for the multiple-participant application.
15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the multiple-participant application comprises an audiovisual conferencing application.
16. A method, comprising:
executing an information browser having a persistency control configured to monitor and selectively prevent attempts to replace data within the information browser; and
embedding an output from a first application program in a first portion of an information browser window;
wherein said embedding persists per the persistency control and is non-responsive to attempts to replace data within the information browser until such persistency is disabled, and wherein the information browser window has a second portion
responsive to attempts to replace data within the information browser.
17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:
wherein the first portion is a first frame defined within the information browser window, and the second portion is a second frame defined within the information browser window.
18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:
providing a synchronization option; and
sending an identifier of a most recently received web page, in response to selection of the synchronization option, to a second application program in communication with the first application program over a network.
19. The method of claim 16, wherein the first application program is a conferencing application, and wherein executing the conferencing application comprises automatically executing the conferencing application upon receipt of an incoming
conferencing call.
20. The method of claim 16, wherein the first application program comprises an audiovisual conferencing application.
21. A medium having encoded thereon instructions capable of directing a processor to:
execute an information browser having a persistency control configured to monitor and selectively prevent attempts to replace data within the information browser; and
embed output from a first application program in a first portion of an information browser window;
wherein said embedding is persistent so as to prevent replacement of said output until such persistency is disabled by the persistency control.
22. The medium of claim 21, said instructions further including instructions to direct the processor to:
present control information for the first application program in a second portion of the information browser window;
embed the first portion in a first frame defined within the information browser window; and
embed the second portion in a second frame defined within the information browser window.
23. The medium of claim 21, said instructions further including instructions to direct the processor to:
provide a synchronization option; and
send an identifier of a most recently received web page, in response to selection of the synchronization option, to a second application program in communication with the first application program over a network.
24. The medium of claim 21, wherein the first application program is a conferencing application, and said instructions further include instructions to direct the processor to:
automatically execute said conferencing application upon receipt of an incoming conferencing call.
25. The medium of claim 21, wherein the application program comprises an audiovisual conferencing application.
26. A system, comprising:
means for executing a first user-perceptible application;
persisting means for monitoring and selectively preventing attempts to replace data within an information browser such that the information browser has contemporaneous persistent and non-persistent data; and
means for embedding an output of the first user-perceptible application in a first portion of an information browser window;
wherein said embedding persists as controlled by said persisting means so as to prevent replacement of said output until such persistency is disabled.
27. The system of claim 26, further comprising:
means for presenting the output of the first user-perceptible application in a first frame defined within the information browser window.
28. The system of claim 26, further comprising:
means for providing a perception synchronization option; and
means for sending an identifier of a most recently received web page, in response to selection of the perception synchronization option, to a second user-perceptible application in communication with the first user-perceptible application over a
network.
29. The system of claim 26, wherein the user-perceptible application is a conferencing application, the system further comprising:
means for automatically executing the conferencing application upon receipt of an incoming conferencing call.
30. The system of claim 29, wherein the first user-perceptible application comprises an audiovisual conferencing application.
31. A method comprising:
providing an information browser having a persistency control configured to monitor and selectively prevent attempts to replace data within the information browser so that the information browser may have contemporaneous persistent and
non-persistent data;
accessing a first host system on a network;
receiving first user-perceptible data from said accessing;
displaying said first user-perceptible data in a first portion of an information browser window, wherein said displaying persists in accordance with the persistency control and is non-responsive to attempts to replace data within the information
browser until such persistency is disabled;
accessing a second host system on the network;
receiving second user-perceptible data from said accessing; and
non-persistently displaying said second user-perceptible data in a second portion of the information browser window.
32. The method of claim 31, further comprising:
executing an application program which produces said second user-perceptible data.
33. The method of claim 32, wherein said application program comprises an audiovisual conferencing application.
34. The method of claim 32, further comprising:
receiving a first request identifying the first host system.
35. The method of claim 34, further comprising:
wherein the first request comprises selecting a user-selectable region of the information browser corresponding to the first host system.
36. The method of claim 34, further comprising:
executing the information browser on a host system;
receiving a second request identifying the host system; and
accessing the host system and receiving an executable program responsive thereto;
wherein executing the executable program generates said second user-perceptible data.
37. The method of claim 31, further comprising:
wherein said first user-perceptible data comprises web page data.
38. The method of claim 31, further comprising:
defining plural browser frames within the information browser window;
wherein said first portion of the information browser window is within a first frame of said plural frames, and second portion of the information browser window is within a second frame of said plural frames. |
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Description |
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to information browsing. More particularly, this invention relates to browsing information available on a network (such as the Internet) and executing an application (such as a video conferencing application) in
the context of information browsing.
2. Background
As computer technology advances, using a computer system for browsing, in particular browsing information available on a network, has continually increased. A network refers to a collection of two or more computer systems communicatively coupled
to one another. A network may also be interconnected to one or more other networks. One particular type of interconnected networks which has become popular recently is the Internet. Typically in a network or a collection of interconnected networks one
computer system, referred to as the client system, accesses a second computer system, referred to as the host system, in order to obtain data from the host system.
One use of interconnected networks, particularly the Internet, is referred to as the world wide web or simply "the web". The web refers to the multiple networked computer systems geographically dispersed throughout the world that allows data to
be transferred among the computer systems using the HyperText Transport Protocol (HTTP). A number of "web browsers" are commercially available which assist client system users in obtaining and browsing information from host systems (also referred to as
web servers). By using such a browser, a client system user is able to retrieve and view documents from a web server locate anywhere in the world. Each web server typically functions independently of the other web servers.
As the popularity of information browsing continues to increase, it is expected that it will become the primary model of user interaction with the computer system, just as the "desktop" model has become for graphical user interfaces. However,
one problem with prior art web browsers is that typically only "documents" from a single web server can be loaded at the client system and used by the client system user at a time. Thus, a client system user is typically prohibited from viewing
"documents" from one web server while browsing different "documents" from another independent web server in a single instance of a browser. Rather, multiple browser instances must be employed. Similarly, prior art web browsers also do not allow an
independent application "unrelated" to the documents of a web server to be co-executed within an instance of a browser. The independent unrelated application must be executed in another window.
Therefore, a need exists for seamless integration of information browsing from multiple independent uncollaborated information sources, including running independent unrelated applications within the context of information browsing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An integrated information browsing and video conferencing interface is described herein. A conferencing application is executed and displayed in a first portion of a web browser window.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention is illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references indicate similar elements and in which:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a network environment in which the present invention may be practiced;
FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram illustrating a system architecture such as may be used with one embodiment of the present invention;
FIGS. 3a and 3b are a flow chart illustrating the steps followed according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIGS. 4, 5, 6, and 7 illustrate example displays such as may be provided when using one embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment of a hardware system suitable for use with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In the following detailed description numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be
practiced without these specific details. In other instances well known methods, procedures, components, and circuits have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the present invention.
The present description includes material protected by copyrights, such as illustrations of graphical user interface images which the assignee of the present invention owns. The assignee hereby reserves its rights, including copyright, in these
materials, and each such material should be regarded as bearing the following notice: Copyright Intel Corporation. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it
appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
Some portions of the detailed descriptions which follow are presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the means used
by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result. The
steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise
manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like. It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and
similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussions, it is appreciated that throughout
the present invention, discussions utilizing terms such as "processing" or "computing" or "calculating" or "determining" or "displaying" or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that
manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other
such information storage, transmission or display devices.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a network environment in which the present invention may be practiced. As illustrated, network environment 100 includes multiple (N) client systems 110 and multiple (M) host systems 120, collectively
referred to as networked systems. Network environment 100 also includes multiple (X) internet service providers (ISPs) 130, and the Internet 140.
Each client system 110 can be any of a wide range of "computing" devices which provide a user with the ability to access the Internet 140. A client system 110 can access the Internet 140 either directly or through an ISP 130 as illustrated.
Examples of such "computing" devices include conventional desktop computers as well as Internet "appliance" devices, such as a WebTV.TM. Internet Terminal available from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., or WebTV Networks Inc. of Palo Alto,
Calif.
Each ISP 130 is typically a computer system having a large amount of storage space (typically on the order of hundreds of gigabytes or terabytes) and multiple communication lines for facilitating access to the Internet 140 by client systems 110.
Each host system 120 is also typically a computer system which can be accessed by client systems 110. According to one embodiment, each host system 120 includes one or more HyperText Markup Language (HTML) compatible web pages which can be
accessed via the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and displayed by an HTML compatible Internet browser running on a client system 110. In this embodiment, an individual user can access a web page at a host system 120 by entering an identifier,
referred to as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL), of the web page. In addition, each host system 120 may also contain one or more data files which can be accessed by client systems 110. These data file(s) may be accessed via HTTP, or alternatively other
protocols, such as the file transfer protocol (FTP).
The web pages, also referred to as HTML documents, can be either static or dynamic documents. A static document or static page refers to a web page which does not provide for user interaction with the page. The data of the web page is simply
displayed for the user, and does not provide for additional inputs to the page by the user. A dynamic document or dynamic page, also referred to as an Internet application, refers to a web page which is not static and, through various controls and
scripts, provides for user interaction with the document. A dynamic document can include controls and scripts which execute various applications at the client system. Thus, a user is often able to input additional data to the page to which the page,
based on its programming, responds.
The Internet 140 is a combination of multiple conventional hardware components, including computer systems, routers, repeaters, gateways, and communications links spread throughout the world. These hardware components are organized
hierarchically to provide multiple logical levels of networks. The hardware components of Internet 140 interact to route data from one computer system to another. According to one implementation, data is transferred between computer systems using the
well-known Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) protocol. The data is typically transferred in units referred to as "packets" or "datagrams". Typically, each packet includes data, a source address identifying the system which
initiated the packet and a target address identifying the system to which the packet is to be sent. Additional control information, such as a checksum, may also be included in the packet. The number of bytes of data contained within a packet is
dependent on the network protocol being used.
The communication links illustrated in FIG. 1 can be any of a wide range of conventional communication media and may be different for different client systems 110, host systems 120, and ISPs 130. For example, a communication link may be a
coaxial cable, a fiber-optic cable, or may represent a nonphysical medium transmitting electromagnetic signals in the electromagnetic spectrum, such as infrared or radio frequency signals. Additionally, a communication link may also include any number
of conventional routing or repeating devices, such as satellites or electromagnetic signal repeaters.
It is to be appreciated that although client systems 110 and host systems 120 are illustrated as being different machines, a single hardware system may be both a client system and a host system. If the hardware system is initiating an access for
information to another system then the hardware system is referred to as a client system. However, if the hardware system is being accessed by another system to obtain information from the hardware system then the hardware system is referred to as a
host system.
It is to be appreciated that additional networks may also be included in the network environment 100. For example, multiple client systems 110 may be coupled together in an Ethernet, token ring, or other conventional network and access an ISP
130 through this additional network.
FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram illustrating a system architecture such as may be used with one embodiment of the present invention. As shown, system architecture 200 includes a network browser application 210, an operating system 220, a
communication interface 230, persistency control logic 240, listener logic 250, and augmented browser control 260. According to one embodiment of the present invention, one or more client systems 110 of FIG. 1 include a system architecture 200 of FIG.
2.
Operating system 220 manages and controls the operation of the client system, including the input and output of data to and from network browser 210 as well as other software applications (not shown). Operating system 220 provides an interface,
such as a graphical user interface (GUI), between the user and the software applications being executed on the system. According to one embodiment of the present invention, operating system 220 is the Windows.TM. 95 operating system, available from
Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. However, it is to be appreciated that the present invention may be used with other conventional operating systems, such as other versions of Microsoft Windows.TM. (for example, Windows.TM. 3.0, Windows.TM. 3.1,
or Windows.TM. NT), Microsoft DOS, OS/2, available from International Business Machines Corporation of Armonk, N.Y., the Apple Macintosh Operating System, available from Apple Computer Incorporated of Cupertino, Calif., the NeXTSTEP.RTM. operating
system available from Apple Computer Incorporated, or the UNIX operating system, available from Santa Cruz Operations of Santa Cruz, Calif.
Network browser 210, also referred to as an information browser, provides a user interface, such as a graphical user interface (GUI), which allows an individual to send information to and receive information from another networked system.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, network browser 210 is an HTML compatible Internet browser, such as Internet Explorer, available from Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., Navigator.TM., available from Netscape Communications
Corporation of Mountain View, Calif., or HotJava.TM., available from Sun Microsystems of Mountain View, Calif. It is to be appreciated, however, that browser 210 can be any of a wide variety of conventional interfaces which allow an individual user to
access other networked systems.
Communication interface 230, according to one embodiment, includes a Windows Sockets 2 interface, as defined in the Windows Sockets 2 Service Provider Interface Specification, Revision 2.2.0, dated May 10, 1996, the Windows Sockets 2 Application
Programming Interface, Revision 2.2.0, dated May 10, 1996, and the Windows Sockets 2 Protocol-Specific Annex, Revision 2.0.3, dated May 10, 1996. Alternatively, communication interface 230 may include Windows Sockets 1.1 interface, as defined in the
Windows Sockets Interface Specification, Version 1.1, dated Jan. 20, 1993. Communication interface 230 controls communication between the network and browser 210, persistency control 240, and augmented browser control 260.
When enabled, persistency control logic 240 registers itself with browser 210 to receive events originated by web browser 210 which include the web page identifiers input to browser 210. Additionally, persistency control logic 240 conditionally
prevents browser 210 from replacing the current display with newly identified HTML documents. In one embodiment, persistency control 240 intervenes in the display of newly requested data such that the new data is co-displayed with the previously
received data, thereby providing display persistency. Persistency control logic 240, when enabled, monitors the data requests input to network browser 210. In the case of the world wide web, these data requests are web page identifiers, also referred
to as URLs. Web page identifiers can be input to browser 210 in any of a wide variety of conventional manners, including a user typing in a specific identifier, hitting a "Back" or "Forward" button, selecting an identifier from a list of "favorites",
selecting a link in an HTML document, etc.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the portion of the received data which persists in the web browser is that data corresponding to a dynamic page, also referred to as an Internet application. All information related to the
Internet application, including controls and data such as application-specific executable code, application-specific HTML content, and application-specific scripts are maintained by the client system. Persistency control 240 effectively "locks" this
information into the client system, thereby preventing it from being erased when a new web page is loaded. In other words, rather than allowing browser 210 to clear the entire display, the persistency control 240 intervenes and in cooperation with
augmented browser control 260 displays the new data in an "unlocked" portion of the browser's display window.
Persistency control logic 240 initiates augmented browser control 260 when persistency control logic 240 is enabled. Augmented browser control 260 retrieves and displays the newly requested web pages at the request of persistency control logic
240. Together, the "locked" and "unlocked" portions allow web pages from two independent non-collaborating web servers to be displayed concurrently. Thus, the web page from a first page source persists and the user is able to continue to interact with
the persisting web page even though web pages from different sources are being retrieved and browsed.
It should be noted that the HTML documents displayed by augmented browser control 260 can be located locally as well as remotely. Thus, a particular identifier may indicate to augmented browser control 260 to access an HTML document via Internet
140 of FIG. 1, or alternatively the HTML document may be stored locally at the client system.
Persistency control logic 240 registers itself, upon its creation, with browser 210. More specifically, in embodiments where browser 210 is the Microsoft Internet Explorer, persistency control logic 240 access | | |
