(12) United States Patent
`Sugiarto et al.
`
`US006278449B1
`(10) Patent N0.:
`US 6,278,449 B1
`(45) Date of Patent:
`*Aug. 21, 2001
`
`(54) APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR
`DESIGNATING INFORMATION TO BE
`RETRIEVED OVERA COMPUTER
`NETWORK
`
`(75) Inventors: Basuki Afandi Sugiarto; Joe Zexuan
`ZhOll, both Of San Diego, CA (US)
`
`(73) Assignees: Sony Corporation, Tokyo (JP); Sony
`Electronics, Inc., Park Ridge, NJ (US)
`
`5,627,977 * 5/1997 Hickey et a1. ..................... .. 345/329
`5,649,186 * 7/1997 Ferguson .............................. .. 707/10
`5,781,189 * 7/1998 Holleran et a1. .
`345/335
`5,802,530 * 9/1998 Van Hoff ...... ..
`. 345/335 X
`5,894,554 * 4/1999 Lowery et al.
`709/203
`5,987,480 * 11/1999 Donohue et al.
`707/501
`6,026,433 * 2/2000 D’Arlach et al.
`709/217
`6,085,229 * 7/2000 Newman et al. .................. .. 709/203
`
`* Cited by examiner
`
`(*) Notice:
`
`This patent issued on a continued pros
`ecution application ?led under 37 CFR
`1.53(d), and is subject to the twenty year
`patent term provisions of 35 U.S.C.
`154(21)(2)_
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U'S'C' 154(k)) by 0 days‘
`
`(21) Appl' NO‘: 09/146’855
`(22) Filed:
`Sep. 3, 1998
`(51) Int. c1.7 ............................. .. G06F 3/14; G06F 15/16
`(52) U.S. c1. ........................ .. 345/334; 345/342; 345/335;
`701/513; 701/515; 709/203; 709/219
`(58) Field of Search ................................... .. 345/334, 333,
`345/335, 342, 340, 346, 356, 329, 357,
`302; 707/501, 514, 515, 517, 513; 709/217,
`203> 219
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`1
`d J B
`E - _R
`P -
`nmary xammer aymon '
`ayer
`(74) Attorney’ (‘56”’) Or F ir m—FrOmmer Lawrence &
`Haug, LLP.; William S. Frommer; Gordon Kessler
`
`ABSTRACT
`(57)
`A system and method for designating and retrieving infor
`mation over the internet. At least one webpage is accessed
`and individual portions of the at least one webpage are
`designated, each of the individual portions being associated
`with an underlying information content. The designated
`individual Per?ene ef the at least ene webpage are P051‘
`?ened Within a Single een?gure?en display eereen and the
`format of the single con?guration display screen including
`the designated individual Portions of each webpage are
`stored in a con?guration ?le. The con?guration ?le and
`underlying information content associated with each of the
`designated individual portions are retrieved and positioned
`on an output display screen in accordance with the con?gu
`_
`ration ?le.
`
`5,339,392 * 8/1994 Risberg et al. .................... .. 345/333
`
`43 Claims, 10 Drawing Sheets
`
`CONFIGURATION EDITOR
`
`f332
`
`MY CONFIG FILE
`
`CNN
`
`HEADLINE NEWS 4
`\ HEADLINE NEWS
`STOCK QUOTE 334
`\
`
`Q
`
`CHICA m \
`324 / TEASO 32 338
`SCORE \
`NASDAQ
`
`ESPN
`
`334
`
`_/ 326
`
`STOCK QUOTE
`\
`
`CHICAGO
`336
`TEAM
`SCORE /
`
`330 /
`
`33s
`
`328
`/
`
`Plaid Technologies Inc.
`Exhibit 1004
`
`Ex. 1004 Page 1
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 21, 2001
`
`Sheet 1 0f 10
`
`US 6,278,449 B1
`
`DESKTOP
`/ COMPUTER
`SYSTEM
`
`9
`
`12
`
`'
`
`i
`
`<
`
`6
`
`16
`
`<—_>
`
`MODULES [MODULES] /
`14
`1° @ \
`
`ACCESS DEVICE
`
`2
`
`SYSTEM SERVER
`
`I
`l
`Til 8
`
`DATABASE SERVER
`
`FIG. 1
`
`Ex. 1004 Page 2
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 21,2001
`
`Sheet 2 0f 10
`
`US 6,278,449 B1
`
`TUTORIAL
`PAGES \ 202
`
`WELCOME PAGE
`
`GREETINGS & INFO
`TUTORIAL
`
`AUTHENTICATION
`
`\* 201
`
`NO
`
`AUTHENTICATION \ 203
`SERVER
`
`AUTHENTICATED
`
`204
`
`YES
`
`205
`
`DATA
`BASE
`
`YES
`
`216
`205a
`,/
`I /
`ERROR PAGE
`k PERSONAL
`ADMIN PAGE CONTACT TECH SUPPORT
`
`" f 206
`
`y f 207
`
`v / 208
`
`y / 209
`
`NEW
`
`OPEN
`
`DELETE
`
`RENAME
`
`v f 210
`UPLOAD
`BOOKMARKS
`
`V
`CONFIRM
`PAGE
`\
`215
`
`V
`CONFIRM
`PAGE
`\
`215a
`
`V
`CONFIRM
`PAGE
`\
`215b
`
`V f
`SOURCE HIGH
`LEvEL vIEw
`
`V f
`SOURCE HIGH
`LEvEL VIEW
`
`I / 212
`L SOURCE
`DETAIL VIEW
`
`K 212a
`SOURCE
`DETAIL VIEW
`213
`
`213a 214
`FIG. 2
`
`v 214a
`
`214b
`
`Ex. 1004 Page 3
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 21, 2001
`
`Sheet 3 0f 10
`
`US 6,278,449 B1
`
`CONFIGURATION EDITOR
`
`/ 332
`
`324
`
`MY CONFIG FILE
`ONN
`HEADLINE NEWS : HEADLINE NEWS
`STOCK QUOTE 334
`\
`
`334
`
`CHICAGO A * \
`336 333
`TEAM \
`SCORE \
`NASDAQ \ ESPN
`CHICAGO
`336
`TEAM
`SCORE /
`
`STOCK QUOTE
`\
`
`Q
`
`f 326
`
`330
`
`333
`
`f 323
`
`FIG. 3
`
`Ex. 1004 Page 4
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 21, 2001
`
`Sheet 4 0f 10
`
`US 6,278,449 B1
`
`Eile
`
`\_liew Q0 _|-_|elp
`Edit
`WELCOME 'USERNAME'
`
`?qml?jl
`
`LIST OF EXISTING CONFIGURATION FILES
`207“\
`206 J [j NEW E1 OPEN
`
`/A— 410
`v
`208
`)4 DELETE 5g RENAME /~\ 209
`
`UPLOAD BOOKMARKS
`
`//’ 210
`
`EXIT
`
`I \
`
`412
`
`205a‘
`/
`
`HELP
`
`414
`
`FIG. 4
`
`Ex. 1004 Page 5
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 21, 2001
`
`Sheet 5 0f 10
`
`US 6,278,449 B1
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`

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`U.S. Patent
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`Aug. 21, 2001
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`US 6,278,449 B1
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`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 21, 2001
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`Sheet 7 0f 10
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`US 6,278,449 B1
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`
`Ex. 1004 Page 8
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 21, 2001
`
`Sheet 8 of 10
`
`US 6,278,449 B1
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`Ex. 1004 Page 9
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`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Aug. 21, 2001
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`Sheet 9 of 10
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`US 6,278,449 B1
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`Ex. 1004 Page 10
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`

`
`U.S. Patent
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`Aug. 21, 2001
`
`Sheet 10 of 10
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`US 6,278,449 B1
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`
`
`
`
`

`
`US 6,278,449 B1
`
`1
`APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR
`DESIGNATING INFORMATION TO BE
`RETRIEVED OVER A COMPUTER
`NETWORK
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`This invention relates generally to computer networks,
`and more particularly to the customizing of information for
`retrieval over a computer netWork.
`
`10
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`The advent of computer netWorks and the increasing
`amount of information that is available over these netWorks
`has given rise to a groWing number of computer netWork
`users. Traditionally, the users gain access to computer net
`Works through mainframe or desktop computers. HoWever,
`in order to meet the varying needs of individual users, many
`alternative systems for accessing computer netWorks have
`been developed. For example, devices commonly knoWn as
`“palm-top computers”, Which are not much bigger than
`cellular telephones, often come With internet access capa
`bility.
`HoWever, With the advent of these alternative access
`devices, in order to provide them at a loW cost, and having
`a small overall siZe, the computing poWer of these devices
`has been reduced, and may be far less than is currently
`available on a fully operable desktop computer.
`Additionally, data transfer rates for portable devices, Which
`may be Wireless, may be substantially loWer than that
`achievable through a direct access line as in a local area
`netWork, T1 line to the internet, or other direct modem
`connection. This reduced computing capability and reduced
`data transfer rate resulting in increased access time often
`results in extensive time periods Waiting for information to
`be transmitted to or from such an alternative access device,
`and also renders the transmission or receipt of super?uous
`information, Which is not necessary for the user, extremely
`undesirable.
`Accordingly, designers of netWork access systems must
`consider hoW their systems Will accommodate varying users
`and user access devices. That is, designers must consider
`hoW to gather and present netWork information given a
`user’s needs and the capabilities of the user’s access device.
`In one example, designers must consider hoW internet
`information—Which is most commonly provided in the form
`of “Web pages”—can be ef?ciently retrieved and displayed
`to meet a particular user’s needs.
`
`OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
`
`Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an
`improved apparatus and method for determining informa
`tion to be transmitted over a computer netWork so as to
`optimiZe the transmission process.
`Another object of the invention is to provide an improved
`method and apparatus for formatting information received
`from various information sources for vieW by a user on a
`display apparatus.
`A further object of the invention is to provide a netWork
`access system to alloW users to customiZe the format and
`display of retrieved netWork information.
`Yet another object of the invention is to provide a method
`and apparatus Which alloWs users to specify the information
`to be received from the internet, and the manner in Which
`this information Will be displayed on a highly portable
`internet access device.
`
`25
`
`35
`
`45
`
`55
`
`65
`
`2
`Still other objects and advantages of the invention Will in
`part be obvious and Will in part be apparent from the
`speci?cation and draWings.
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`Generally speaking, in accordance With the invention, the
`improved information collection and dissemination appara
`tus and method is provided for obtaining information from
`various input sources, con?guring this information in accor
`dance With a prede?ned user format, and transmitting the
`information to a remote location. In a preferred embodiment
`the apparatus may collect information from various Web
`pages from the WorldWide Web internet, con?gure this
`various information in accordance With a prede?ned user
`con?guration ?le, de?ned by a particular user, and transmit
`the con?gured various information to a highly portable
`internet access device. The con?guration ?le is created by
`the user and is stored in a centraliZed database server. This
`con?guration ?le speci?es the information the user Would
`like to retrieve from the netWork and hoW that information
`is to be displayed. Such a con?guration ?le may be gener
`ated by a user using the highly portable internet access
`device, or more preferably through a general, commercially
`available product Which alloWs access to the internet and a
`particular Website dedicated for the design of such con?gu
`ration ?les.
`When a user attempts to retrieve information from the
`netWork, the system server of the netWork responds to the
`user’s request by uploading one or more request servicing
`softWare modules. The requesting user is then identi?ed, and
`a predetermined user con?guration ?le corresponding to the
`user making the request is loaded from the database server.
`The information requested by the user is formatted in
`accordance With the user’s con?guration ?le, and forWarded
`to the user’s access device for display.
`By providing netWork users With a simpli?ed manner for
`designating a personaliZed information retrieval scheme, the
`invention alloWs each user to tailor the retrieval of infor
`mation to the user’s personal needs and to the capabilities of
`the user’s netWork access device, thereby decreasing the
`time necessary for a user to obtain Wanted information While
`reducing the amount of received, unWanted information.
`The invention accordingly comprises the several steps and
`the relation of one or more steps With respect to each of the
`others, and the apparatus embodying features of
`construction, combinations of elements and arrangement of
`parts Which are adapted to effect such step, or as exempli?ed
`in the folloWing detailed disclosure, and the scope of the
`invention Will be indicated in the claims.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`For a more complete understanding of the invention,
`reference is made to the folloWing description and accom
`panying draWings, in Which:
`FIG. 1 shoWs an information retrieval system constructed
`in accordance With a preferred embodiment of the invention;
`FIG. 2 is a How chart diagram depicting various steps
`through Which a user may proceed in order to edit a
`con?guration ?le in accordance With the invention;
`FIG. 3 shoWs an example of a display screen that may be
`used during con?guration ?le editing according to the
`present invention;
`FIG. 4 shoWs an example of a display screen displaying
`a personal administration screen according to the invention;
`FIG. 5 shoWs an example of a display screen displaying
`a source level high vieW for constructing a con?guration ?le
`in accordance With the invention; and
`
`Ex. 1004 Page 12
`
`

`
`US 6,278,449 B1
`
`3
`FIG. 6 shows an example of a display screen displaying
`a source detail vieW for constructing a con?guration ?le in
`accordance With the invention;
`FIG. 7 shoWs an example of a “personalized page” in
`accordance With the present invention; and
`FIGS. 8—10 shoW examples of Web pages from Which
`information is culled to form the exemplary personaliZed
`page of FIG. 7.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
`
`FIG. 1 shoWs an information retrieval system constructed
`in accordance With a preferred embodiment of the invention.
`The information retrieval system includes a system server 2
`that is coupled to a computer netWork 4. The coupling of the
`system server and netWork may take many forms, for
`example, a telephone Wire, a coaxial cable, a tWisted-pair
`Wire, a ?ber optic link, and/or a Wireless link. Also coupled
`to the system server are a user access device 6 and a database
`server 8. Like the netWork coupling, access device coupling
`and database coupling may take various forms. Finally, a
`desktop computer system 9 is coupled to computer netWork
`4. This coupling may also take various forms.
`User access device 6 may be a desktop computer, a laptop
`computer, a cellular telephone, a personal organiZer, a palm
`top computer, or any other device that is equipped for
`communication With system server 2. Although there are
`many possible embodiments that user access device 6 may
`take, for purposes of the folloWing description user access
`device 6 Will be considered to be a hand-held portable access
`device (e.g., a palm-top computer) and Will be referred to as
`a handset.
`Handset 6 depicted in FIG. 1 includes at least a display
`screen 10 and antenna 12. Display screen 10 may be used to
`display information retrieved from the netWork through
`system server 2, as Well as information pertaining to the use
`of handset 6 itself, such as handset 6’s battery level. Antenna
`12 alloWs handset 6 to communicate With system server 2
`When the tWo are coupled by a Wireless link or the like.
`Database server 8 may comprise any system capable of
`electronically storing data including, but not limited to
`systems that store data on optical disks, magnetic disks, and
`magnetic tape. In accordance With the preferred embodiment
`of the invention, database server 8 Will be utiliZed to store
`various user con?guration ?les as Will be described beloW.
`NetWork 4 of FIG. 1 may be the internet, a local area
`netWork (LAN), or any other netWork that enables a transfer
`of data. For purpose of describing the preferred embodiment
`of the invention, the netWork Will be presumed to be the
`internet. Furthermore, the description Will be focused on the
`World-Wide-Web aspect of the internet. Accordingly, to
`facilitate understanding the invention it should be noted that
`the current World-Wide-Web operation groups information
`into “Web pages”; and that the standard format for such
`pages is the “HTML” format, Which enables a Web user to
`create “hypertext links” through the “HTTP” protocol.
`System server 2 is central to the invention’s operation. It
`is depicted in FIG. 1 as being a collection of softWare
`modules 14—20. These modules may be softWare modules
`Which reside Within a single computer, or alternatively, may
`be distributed among multiple computers. Module 20 is an
`“HTTP” daemon Which runs in the background of the
`system and controls softWare and Which is capable of
`enabling access to HTTP facilities. Modules 14, 16 and 18
`are request-servicing modules. When the daemon receives
`an information request, it uploads into module 20, one of the
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`request-servicing modules 14 and the uploaded module then
`carries out the processing necessary to honor the request.
`Finally, a desktop computer system 9 may access system
`server 2 through netWork 4. In the preferred embodiment,
`netWork 4 acts as the internet, and then therefore a desktop
`computer system 9 may access system server 2 through this
`internet communications link. Through this access, a user
`using desktop computer system 9 is able to construct and
`de?ne con?guration ?les Within system server 2, Which are
`then stored on database server 8.
`Operation of the system Will noW be described in detail.
`PersonaliZed information retrieval according to the preferred
`embodiment of the invention is enabled through the use of
`various con?guration ?les. Through the use of desktop
`computer system 9, each system user may generate any
`number of con?guration ?les, each of Which is stored in
`database server 8. Each of these con?guration ?les speci?es
`What information the user Would like to retrieve and hoW the
`retrieved information is to be formatted. Thus, for example,
`a user may Want to retrieve information from three different
`internet pages, the CNN Web page, the ESPN Web page and
`the NASDAQ Web page. Further, the user may Want to
`retrieve only speci?c information from each page, and may
`Want all the information retrieved from the pages to be
`formatted such that it can be displayed Within one display
`screen 10 of handset 6. That is, the user may Want “Headline
`NeWs” from the “CNN” page, particular stock quotes from
`the NASDAQ page, and the latest score for a particular
`sports team from the ESPN page, and may Want these items
`displayed simultaneously on display screen 10 of handset 6.
`Accordingly, the con?guration ?le is created/edited to
`retrieve and format the speci?ed CNN, NASDAQ and ESPN
`information, and the con?guration ?le then is stored in
`database server 8.
`An example of a formatted (or “personaliZed”) page that
`may be displayed on display screen 10 of handset 6 in
`accordance With the invention is shoWn in FIG. 7. The
`formatted page of FIG. 7 incorporates information from
`three different Web pages, a CNN Web page (illustrated in
`FIG. 8), an ESPN Web page (illustrated in FIG. 9) and a
`NASDAQ Web page (illustrated in FIG. 10). As can be seen
`from the ?gures, the formatted page 740 is made up of three
`portions, a CNN portion 742, an ESPN portion 744 and a
`NASDAQ portion 746. These portions are culled from their
`respective Web pages. That is, the CNN portion 742, ESPN
`portion 744 and NASDAQ portion 746 of the formatted
`page correspond respectively to portion 848 of CNN Web
`page 850, portion 952 of ESPN Web page 954 and portion
`1056 of NASDAQ Web page 1058—the layout and content
`of the formatted page having been determined according to
`the con?guration ?le creation/editing operation Which Will
`noW be described.
`Any con?guration ?le associated With a particular user
`may be created and/or edited by the user, or by a particular
`service provider. In either case, in addition to creating or
`editing this con?guration ?le With desktop computer system
`9, handset 6 may also be used for creation or editing.
`The method of using desktop computer system 9 for the
`creation, editing and other manipulation of con?guration
`?les Will noW be described. As is shoWn in FIG. 2, When a
`user enters the appropriate program for manipulating con
`?guration ?les, Which is preferably maintained on a speci?c
`Website Within the internet, the user is ?rst greeted by a
`Welcome page 201. Welcome page 201 contains greeting
`information, and the ability to access the tutorial screens, or
`enter the authentication section of the cite. If a user Wishes
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`to vieW the tutorial, control proceeds to tutorial pages 202,
`Which preferably provide an interactive tutorial for a user in
`order to become familiar With the use of the Website and hoW
`to generate and edit con?guration ?les. Upon completion of
`tutorial pages 202, control is returned to Welcome page 201.
`Thereafter, if the user Wishes to manipulate any con?gura
`tion ?les, the user selects authentication from the Welcome
`page.
`Authentication is the doorWay to the application for valid
`subscribers to the service. Upon selection of the authenti
`cation choice from Welcome page 201, control passes to
`authentication server 203, in Which a user is challenged With
`a user name and passWord screen. Subscribers of the service
`must provide a user name and passWord in order to enter the
`system. This material is entered at authentication server 203,
`and a decision is made of Whether a proper user name and
`associated passWord have been entered at step 204. If not,
`control passes to step 204a in Which it is determined Whether
`this authentication process has failed three or more times. If
`not, control passes once again to Welcome page 201, Where
`a user may once again try to authenticate. If at step 204a it
`is determined that authentication has failed three or more
`times, control is forWarded to error page 206 and the user is
`instructed to contact technical support to correct any errors
`or to subscribe to the service.
`If at step 204 authentication succeeds, the user name and
`passWord entered at authentication server 203 are used to
`obtain access to database 205 Which contain information
`regarding a particular user’s pro?le. Database 205 is main
`tained on database server 8 of FIG. 1. Information such as
`the user’s real name, device bookmarks, various associated
`con?guration ?les and various netWork links are eXtracted
`from the database and used to dynamically build the user’s
`personal administration page at step 205a. The dynamic
`generation of this personal administration Web page is
`important since the information thereon may change based
`upon an editing session by a user, or based upon service
`provider changes, or changes by any other authoriZed entity.
`Apersonal administration page constructed at step 205a,
`is shoWn in the preferred embodiment as depicted in FIG. 4.
`A personal administration page 205a‘ comprises a list of
`eXisting con?guration ?les 410, Which is con?gured in a
`pull-doWn menu format. As is further shoWn in both FIGS.
`2 and 4, personal administration page 205a‘ includes choices
`for generating a neW con?guration ?le 206, opening an
`eXisting con?guration ?le 207, deleting an eXisting con?gu
`ration ?le 208, and renaming an eXisting con?guration ?le
`209. An upload bookmarks choice 210 is also provided
`Which alloWs a 30 user to upload bookmarks from the user’s
`Web broWser, such as those knoWn commercially as
`Netscape or Microsoft Internet Explorer, and alloWs a user
`to incorporate these bookmarks into various con?guration
`?les. Finally, a user is provided With an eXit choice 412 for
`eXiting the program and Website all together, and a help
`button 414 for providing various on-line help features.
`Referring once again to FIG. 2, When a user selects the
`neW selection 206, control passes to source high level vieW
`211, and the user is shoWn a screen such as that depicted in
`FIG. 5, in a preferred embodiment. FIG. 5 includes a Web
`page editing screen 500, a bookmark listing 550, and a target
`screen 570. In Web page editing screen 500, a user enters a
`Website address in a URL portion 515, and then selects the
`submit button in order to access the Website for use. This
`request is then transmitted from desktop computer system 9,
`through internet netWork 4 to system server 2 as shoWn in
`FIG. 1. System server 2 then retransmits this request back to
`internet netWork 4, and accesses the requested Web page. In
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`addition to identifying a Web page at URL portion 515, a
`user may select a particular Web page from bookmark
`section 550. Bookmark section 550 includes a plurality of
`bookmarks 555 set by a user at desktop computer system 9,
`a plurality of bookmarks 560 set by a user at handset 6, and
`a plurality of bookmarks 555 set in accordance With system
`server 2 by the operator thereof. In order to select any of
`these Websites, the user simply needs to select the appro
`priate bookmark, and the Website Will automatically be
`accessed.
`Upon accessing the Web page, the Website is broken doWn
`into its component portions by system server 2 and is
`transmitted back to desktop computer system 9. As is shoWn
`in the main portion of Website editing page 500, these
`portions are listed, element by element 505, so that they may
`be incorporated by the user into a unitary editing screen. A
`target screen 570 is a simulation of display screen 10 of
`handset 6, and depicts What a user Will actually see in real
`siZe thereon. Thus, if each of elements 1, 2, .
`.
`. n is selected,
`the actual picture of these elements is depicted in target
`screen 570. Additionally, in order to remove an element from
`target screen 570, a user may select one of the delete buttons
`510 associated With that element. Thus, in this manner, a
`user may select various portions of one or more Websites to
`be included in the target screen 570. After completing the
`generation or editing of a particular con?guration ?le, an
`estimated doWnload time portion 520 indicates the amount
`of time it is estimated it Will take to doWnload this infor
`mation to handset 6 upon its request. Finally, a user may
`save an edited con?guration ?le by selecting save button
`525, may eXit the con?guration screen and return to personal
`administration page 205a by selecting done button 530, and
`may obtain help by selecting help button 414.
`If, after selecting various Web page elements to be
`included in a particular con?guration ?le, a user Wishes to
`further edit and manipulate these elements, control is passed
`to source detail vieW 212 (see FIG. 2), and a display such as
`that shoWn at FIG. 6 is depicted to the user. Such advance
`features might be accessed by a user if the estimated
`doWnload time is too long, or for other reasons.
`As is shoWn in FIG. 6, a vieWing page 600 replaces
`Website editing page 500, While the remainder of the screen
`depicted to a user at source detail vieW 212 continues to
`include bookmark section 550 and target display 570. Web
`page vieWing screen 600 alloWs a user to utiliZe various
`aspect choices 610 in order to provide different compression
`ratios for any selected portion of the Web components in the
`con?guration ?le. By providing for different compression
`ratios for various portions of the information to be
`doWnloaded, a user can reduce the estimated doWnload time
`to Within a reasonable manner. In order to further reduce the
`doWnload time, the user may utiliZe font choice 640 in order
`to select different fonts and font siZes in order to speed up
`the estimated doWnload time. Additionally, a refresh target
`button 625 is provided so that after changing various com
`pression ratios and the like, a user can revieW in target screen
`570 a simulation of What the information on display 10 of
`handset 6 Will look like to insure that quality has not been
`degraded to too great a degree. A user may eXit the screen
`and return to source high level vieW 211 by actuating done
`button 630, or may obtain help by actuating help button 414
`as noted above. Thus, a user may select various portions
`from any number of Websites, incorporate them into a single
`con?guration ?le Which then is saved in database 205 by
`system server 2 on database server 8, for future use.
`Referring once again to FIG. 2, from personal adminis
`tration page 205a, a user may also select an open step 207,
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`7
`Which opens an existing con?guration ?le. The existing
`con?guration ?le is open in source high level vieW 211a, and
`may also be opened in source detail vieW 212a. These
`screens operate similarly to source high level vieW 211 and
`source detail vieW 212 as noted above, except that rather
`than starting With an empty con?guration ?le, the existing
`con?guration ?le is displayed upon entering the screen.
`From personal administration page 205a, a user may also
`select a delete step 208, Which alloWs a user to delete a
`selected con?guration ?le. Upon selection of delete step
`208, a con?rmation page 215 requires a user to con?rm the
`deletion of a selected con?guration ?le. Upon con?rmation,
`the ?le is deleted from data base 205 on database server 8.
`From personal administration page 205a, a user may also
`select a rename step 209, in Which case the name of an
`existing con?guration ?le is changed to a neW name. At
`con?rmation page 215a, a user is asked to con?rm the neW
`name of the selected con?guration ?le, and this neW name
`is associated and saved With the con?guration ?le in data
`base 205 on database server 8.
`Finally, from personal administration page 205a a user
`may request an uploading of neW bookmarks at step 210. As
`noted in FIGS. 5 and 6, these uploaded bookmarks reside in
`client bookmark section 550. Upon uploading of these
`bookmarks, a user is asked to con?rm that he Wishes these
`bookmarks to be saved, and thereafter these bookmarks are
`saved at database 205 on database server 8. Thus, through
`the use of desktop computer system 9, a user is able to
`generate, edit, and otherWise manipulate con?guration ?les,
`Which are then stored by database server 8 for future use.
`While one speci?c format for editing the con?guration
`?les has been shoWn, there are several programming tech
`nologies that may be used to perform con?guration ?le
`editing. Among them are the commercially available pro
`grams knoWn as: Netscape Navigator Plug-Ins, Which pro
`vide a plug-in module that is embedded Within the navigator
`broWser; Netscape Composer Plug- Ins, Which provide a
`plug-in module embedded Within Netscape Composer;
`Microsoft Active X, Which provides complete programming
`control for WindoWs applications; and Dynamic HTML. Any
`of these technologies may be used to design a con?guration
`?le and that Will alloW users to mo