US20020023134A1 - Method and computer program product for establishing real-time communications between networked computers - Google Patents
Method and computer program product for establishing real-time communications between networked computers Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20020023134A1 US20020023134A1 US09/794,391 US79439101A US2002023134A1 US 20020023134 A1 US20020023134 A1 US 20020023134A1 US 79439101 A US79439101 A US 79439101A US 2002023134 A1 US2002023134 A1 US 2002023134A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- computer
- presence information
- invitation
- user
- script
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
Images
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L65/00—Network arrangements, protocols or services for supporting real-time applications in data packet communication
- H04L65/40—Support for services or applications
- H04L65/401—Support for services or applications wherein the services involve a main real-time session and one or more additional parallel real-time or time sensitive sessions, e.g. white board sharing or spawning of a subconference
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L51/00—User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
- H04L51/04—Real-time or near real-time messaging, e.g. instant messaging [IM]
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L67/00—Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications
- H04L67/14—Session management
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L67/00—Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications
- H04L67/50—Network services
- H04L67/54—Presence management, e.g. monitoring or registration for receipt of user log-on information, or the connection status of the users
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L51/00—User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
- H04L51/21—Monitoring or handling of messages
- H04L51/224—Monitoring or handling of messages providing notification on incoming messages, e.g. pushed notifications of received messages
Definitions
- the invention described herein relates to communications between computer users.
- buddy list applications have appeared which provide presence information about one's contacts. With these applications, it is easy to determine whether a contact (or buddy) is currently online or perhaps away from their desk. It also provides the ability to decide whether to establish contact “on the spot” via an instant message.
- buddy list applications There are several limitations to current buddy list applications. Most notably, segmentation of the namespace has occurred with buddy list applications due to a lack of standards and marketing battles between service providers. This prevents people from having global access to everyone connected to the Internet. Instead, a user is limited to users of the same buddy list application. Further, these applications tend to be large in size, require a separate download and installation process, and do not allow users to selectively manage their availability to people, meetings, and events.
- the invention described herein is a system, method, and computer program product for establishing real-time communications between computer users connected by a communications network.
- the invention provides for the creation, by a first computer, of an invitation.
- the invitation is data that proposes a communication session.
- the invitation can indicate the status or availability of the sending user or of some other resource.
- Creation of the invitation is followed by the transfer of the invitation from the first computer to at least one second computer.
- the invitation can be transferred electronically through the network, or physically, by the transfer of a data storage medium bearing the invitation.
- the invitation contains parameters to configure an invitation communicator application for communications between the first and second computers.
- the second computer accepts the invitation and invokes an invitation communicator application to allow communication.
- invitations are independent of a service provider, so that a sending user can send an invitation to anyone else with whom the sending user is networked.
- invitations allows the sending user to manage and state the sending user's availability to people, meetings, and events.
- An invitation can serve to state that the sending user is ready and able to communicate presently, or at a designated time. Accepting an invitation can therefore give a receiving user instant communications access to the sending user.
- Sending an invitation to several receiving users can create the equivalent of a chat room.
- FIG. 1 illustrates the transfer of an invitation between two networked computers.
- FIG. 2 illustrates a logical view of the architecture of an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the development and transmission of an e-mail containing an invitation, according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the receipt and processing of an e-mail containing an invitation, according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the receipt and processing of an e-mail containing an invitation, according to an alternative embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the overall method of an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the process of generating a channel name, according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the process of categorizing and storing an outgoing invitation, according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the process of accessing a received invitation, according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 10A is a screenshot of an e-mail with an embedded invitation control, according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 10B is a screenshot of an e-mail with an embedded invitation communicator.
- FIG. 11 is a screenshot of an e-mail with a hypertext link to web page from which an invitation control can be obtained and an invitation communicator launched, according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 12 shows a web page from which an invitation communicator can be launched, according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the process of categorizing and storing a received invitation, according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 14 is a timing diagram showing the process of transmitting an invitation to a receiving user who lacks a current invitation control, according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 15 is a timing diagram showing the process of receiving and accepting an invitation, launching an invitation communicator, and communicating, according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 16 illustrates a computing architecture on which the invention can be implemented, according to an embodiment of the invention.
- the invention described herein is a system, method, and computer program product for sending, receiving, and managing invitations.
- An invitation is a representation of a sending user.
- An invitation is capable of establishing a communications channel to allow real-time interaction between the sending user and one or more receiving users while providing presence and availability information about the sending user and the receivers.
- invitations effectively propose real time communications between parties and permit the real time sharing of status information among parties. An invitation can therefore serve to tell receiving users that the sending party is ready and able to communicate, and vice versa. Examples of such real time communications include text interchanges, such as the interchanges seen in chat room applications, or real time voice interchanges.
- invitations provide presence and availability information about the participants that are to communicate. This information is dynamically communicated so that changes in presence or availability of a participant can be immediately seen by others.
- a real-time communication session such as text chat or voice chat can be initiated.
- Applications for invitations include on-line auctions or other buying processes.
- invitations can be particularly useful when the item being bought may have limited availability, such as tickets to an event, where status information (e.g., item availability, or duration of a sale) must be conveyed to a prospective buyer.
- An invitation can also be used to propose a conference, in which case the information can contain information such as a conference address and program.
- an invitation can be sent from one party to another via a computer network, such as the Internet.
- Electronic mail can be used as the vehicle for transferring an invitation from one party to another.
- a sender can save copies of outgoing invitations, and can categorize and display them in a manner related to their attributes, as defined by the sender.
- the sender may, for example, choose to organize copies of outgoing invitations according to recipient.
- the receiver can likewise save, categorize, and display received invitations.
- parties can invoke the communications application and launch it. This allows them to engage in real time communications with the sender.
- the system of the present invention is illustrated in a general manner in FIG. 1 as system 100 .
- a user at a sending computer 105 sends an invitation 110 to a data network 120 .
- the invitation 110 is a proposal to communicate and is a reference to a real time communications application. More formally, invitation 110 is a data representation of an entity capable of establishing a communications channel to allow real-time interaction between two or more participants while providing presence and availability information about the participants. In an embodiment of the invention, invitation 110 identifies the communications application.
- invitation 110 is then forwarded by network 120 to a receiving computer 115 , where it can be accessed by a receiving user. Note that in some uses of the invention, an invitation can be sent from a sending computer to more than one receiving computer.
- the invitation can be embedded in an e-mail, for example.
- the invitation is incorporated in an electronic document or some other electronic file, which is transferred to receiving computer 115 .
- the transfer can be either electronic (e.g., through the internet 210 ) or physical (e.g., delivery of magnetic media).
- the embodiments described below deliver the invitation using e-mail. Note that sending computer 105 and receiving computers 105 and 115 can be either peer entities or in a server/client relationship.
- An invitation sending application 205 at a sending computer transmits an invitation to a computer network, such the Internet 210 .
- invitation sending application 205 is an e-mail program.
- the invitation is then sent to an invitation displayer 215 at a receiving computer.
- invitation displayer 215 is an application containing a hypertext mark-up language (HTML) browser or other module capable of displaying an invitation control 220 . Examples of an invitation displayer include HTML-capable e-mail browsers, Microsoft Word documents, and custom applications.
- the invitation control 220 is an object that can be obtained (downloaded) from a cooperating web server and then operates in conjunction with invitation displayer 215 .
- invitation control 220 provides a visual display of a received invitation 225 .
- invitation control 220 also facilitates the download and installation of other components such as an invitation manager 230 and an invitation communicator 236 .
- invitation manager 230 is a module that manages a database of inbound (received) invitations and outbound invitations, tracks presence and state information of inbound invitations, and sends updated presence and state information of outbound invitations to users.
- invitation manager 230 also updates other applications as necessary regarding any presence and state changes to the outbound or received invitations under its supervision.
- Such invitations are identified as managed invitations 235 a, 235 b, and 235 c in FIG. 2.
- An invitation management application program interface (API) 240 is an interface to the invitation manager 230 that provides an invitation management client 245 the ability to manage invitations and allows for other applications to be notified of changes in status of invitations under the supervision of the invitation manager 230 .
- the invitation management client 245 is an application that utilizes the invitation management API 240 to provide a user interface for managing invitations.
- invitation communicator 236 is an application capable of being launched using information contained in invitation 225 .
- invitation communicator 236 facilitates communication between the participants. In an embodiment of the invention, such communication transpires via a voice server 250 , which is accessible through internet 210 . In an alternative embodiment, such communication takes place in a peer-to-peer mode.
- a transport protocol may be required, such as the MPIP transport protocol 255 , developed by HearMe of Mt. View, Calif.
- An invitation development module 305 accepts inputs 315 from a sending user 310 .
- Examples of inputs 315 can include text that is to be presented to the receiving user through the invitation, and/or the time at which a communications channel is to be opened between the parties.
- invitation development module 305 also receives parameters 320 produced by a parameter generation module 325 .
- Parameters 320 include specifications for a communications context which must be passed to a user receiving the invitation.
- Parameters 320 for example, can include information which names a specific channel to be used during communications.
- invitation development module 305 then produces an invitation 330 , which serves as a reference to a communications session being proposed by the sending user 310 .
- invitation 330 can also be viewed as a representation of an entity (e.g., the sending user 310 ) capable of establishing a communications channel that allows real-time interaction between two or more participants (i.e., sending and receiving users) while providing presence and availability information about the participants. If invitation 330 is being used to establish a conference, invitation 330 can convey information such as a conference address and program.
- invitation 330 is then sent to an e-mail program 335 .
- E-mail program 335 can be a commercially available e-mail program, such as Eudora, by Qualcomm. E-mail program 335 also accepts inputs 340 from the sending user 310 .
- E-mail program 335 produces e-mail 345 containing the invitation 330 .
- E-mail 245 is then sent to network 120 .
- the mail is transferred as full featured HTML. An example of such an e-mail is presented below.
- the following source code is an example of presence information formatted in Dynamic HyperText Markup Language (DHTML), which is described in greater detail below.
- the example below shows source code which references a routine via the Web.
- the referenced routine provides updated presence information regarding a user.
- a first user can obtain updated presence regarding a second user.
- E-mail program 335 is an example of an invitation sending application 205 .
- the invitation 330 is also sent to an invitation manager 350 .
- invitation manager 350 categorizes outgoing invitations according to one or more attributes, such as recipient, date, or topic. Based on this categorization, invitation 330 is then stored in storage medium 355 . Outgoing invitations can subsequently be displayed according to these attributes.
- Receiving computer 115 receives e-mail 345 from the network 120 .
- E-mail 345 is received by an invitation displayer 405 .
- An invitation displayer is a commercially available e-mail program, such as Microsoft's Outlook or Qualcomm's Eudora.
- Displayer 405 can then present a user interface 410 to a receiving user 408 through a display device 415 , such as a computer monitor.
- the invitation 330 (embedded in e-mail 345 ) is also sent to an invitation manager 425 .
- invitation manager 425 filters and categorizes incoming invitations, such as invitation 330 , according to one or more attributes, such as sender, date, or topic.
- invitation 330 can then be stored appropriately in storage medium 430 .
- Received invitations can subsequently be viewed according to category.
- invitation 330 can only be displayed and accessed by the receiving user 408 if the receiving computer 115 has the current version of an invitation control 407 .
- invitation control 407 is an object that provides a visual display of invitation 330 .
- invitation control 407 is downloaded by receiving computer 115 from a cooperating web server via network 120 and then embedded in e-mail 345 , thereby making invitation 330 accessible to the receiving user through e-mail 345 .
- An example of a displayed invitation is shown in FIG. 10, which will be described in greater detail below.
- a displayer (such as an e-mail program) may not be able to present an incoming invitation to the receiving user. This would be the case, for example, if the incoming e-mail is in HTML format and the e-mail program is incapable of supporting HTML. In such a case, an invitation control cannot be embedded in e-mail 345 so as to display application 330 .
- FIG. 5 Such an embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 5. Here the e-mail 345 is received by invitation displayer 505 , through network 120 . If displayer 505 is unable to present the invitation 330 to the receiving user 507 , displayer 505 presents, instead, other information that permits the receiving user 507 to access the invitation 330 .
- access information 510 constitutes an address or pointer to an invitation control.
- Access information 510 is conveyed to the user through display 515 .
- Access information 510 may, for example, include a universal resource locator (URL).
- URL universal resource locator
- Receiving user 507 provides the appropriate input 509 , i.e., clicks on a hypertext link, or “hotlink” of the URL. The receiving user 507 can then download the invitation control.
- the receiving user 507 can then access the invitation 330 through a browser window instead of through invitation displayer 505 .
- java script “vc.js” can be written as described earlier with respect to e-mail program 335 .
- invitation 330 can be sent to an invitation manager 520 .
- invitation manager 520 filters and categorizes incoming invitations.
- invitation 330 is then stored as appropriate in storage medium 525 .
- dynamic presence information is transmitted from the sender to the receiver.
- presence information is dynamically communicated so that changes in a user's presence is seen immediately by others.
- Presence information is any information regarding the availability of a user of the present invention.
- Presence information include information regarding whether the user is present at his computer, whether the user is currently occupied with another task, whether the user is currently communicating with another user, whether the computer of the user has been idle for a specified period of time, whether the user is currently logged on and whether the user has asked not to be disturbed.
- Presence information regarding a user can be gathered by invitation manager 230 (see FIG. 2) or any other routine capable of monitoring such information such as invitation communicator 236 . The routine gathering a user's presence information then saves or formats the relevant information in preparation for providing it to the computer of a receiving user.
- Presence information can be formatted in various ways depending on how the receiving user will display or use this information.
- a simple example of a presence information format would be text such as the following: “The sending user is available for communication now.” This text can be saved as a text file and transmitted as such.
- a presence information format would be a voice message containing the presence information.
- the voice message can be a short message describing the availability of the sending user or it can be a message describing a URL or link to a web page that can access the availability of the sending user.
- a more complex example of a presence information format would be a computer program or other computer readable program code that represents presence information graphically and is updated on a periodic or continuous basis.
- presence information can be formatted, for example, in Dynamic Hyper Text Markup Language (DHTML).
- DHTML includes the use of technologies such as Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripts, Server Side Includes (SSI), cookies, Java, Java Scripts and Active X controls. These technologies can support the periodic updating of presence information to the receiving user.
- CGI Common Gateway Interface
- SSI Server Side Includes
- ActiveX controls can support the periodic updating of presence information to the receiving user.
- Using an ActiveX control sent by the sending user for example, a receiving user can periodically access the presence information of the sending user and display it graphically.
- a presence information format is a GIF file that is provided to the receiving user. This file can represent the presence information of the sending user graphically. Further, the GIF file can be updated periodically.
- Presence information must then be provided to the computer of a receiving user.
- presence information can be transmitted via an invitation 100 (See FIG. 1).
- presence information is not transmitted as a part of an invitation.
- presence information is transmitted by itself, as a file or other type of presence information format as described above.
- the receiving user uses DHTML computer code to access presence information of the sending user.
- electronic mail using a protocol such as simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP)
- SMTP simple mail transfer protocol
- vehicles for the transmission of presence information include simple files (using a protocol such as file transfer protocol (FTP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) or electronic data interchange (EDI)), voice (using a protocol such as voice over IP (VoIP)) and streaming data (using a protocol such as real-time transfer protocol (RTP) or user datagram protocol (UDP)).
- FTP file transfer protocol
- HTTP hypertext transfer protocol
- EDI electronic data interchange
- voice using a protocol such as voice over IP (VoIP)
- streaming data using a protocol such as real-time transfer protocol (RTP) or user datagram protocol (UDP)
- the computer of a receiving user either receives or accesses the presence information.
- presence information can be received or accessed by invitation manager 230 .
- presence information can be received or accessed by invitation displayer 215 , invitation control 220 , invitation communicator 236 or any other routine capable of receiving or accessing presence information, whether or not the presence information resides within an invitation.
- presence information is processed and displayed. This can be accomplished, for example, by invitation displayer 215 or invitation manager 230 .
- processing and displaying of presence information can be accomplished by any other routine capable of receiving (or accessing) and processing presence information, whether or not the presence information resides within an invitation.
- presence information regarding the sending user is periodically provided to the receiving user.
- presence information regarding the sending user is gathered, as described above, on a periodic basis.
- this presence information is formatted and provided to the receiving user on a periodic basis.
- the receiving user receives or accesses this periodic presence information and displays it. In this way, the receiving user can immediately become aware of changing presence information regarding the sending user.
- Process 600 begins with step 605 .
- the sending user creates an invitation.
- the invitation is created using an invitation development module 305 .
- the sending user defines the context for the invitation.
- context refers to information that must be shared between a sending computer and receiving computer, so that the parties can communicate.
- context information can include, for example, a channel name which allows the parties to establish a connection.
- the sending user can process the invitation, so as to store the invitation according to some categorization.
- the categorization may, for example, be defined so as to archive outgoing invitations in an organized manner.
- the invitations may, for example, be organized according to attributes of each invitation, such as the intended recipient, or the date on which the invitation was sent.
- invitations can subsequently be displayed according to their category.
- the invitation is sent to the receiving computer. As described above, e-mail represents one vehicle by which the invitation can be sent.
- the invitation is received by the receiving computer.
- the receiving user accesses the invitation.
- An invitation control is a control object that allows for visual display of an invitation.
- the invitation control can be downloaded from a web server, then embedded in the received e-mail.
- the receiving user may, alternatively, already have the invitation control from a previous interaction involving an invitation.
- step 630 entails obtaining the invitation control. If the e-mail program of the receiving computer is capable of handling HTML, then the invitation control can be downloaded, then embedded in the received e-mail. If the e-mail program of the receiving computer is not capable of handling HTML, then the receiving user will be presented with a link to the cooperating web server from which the necessary invitation control can be downloaded. The invitation can then be accessed by the receiving user through a web page, using a web browser such as Internet Explorer by Microsoft.
- a step 635 the receiving user processes the received invitation so as to store the received invitation according to a categorization based on attributes of the invitation.
- the receiving user accepts the invitation. If the e-mail is in HTML format, this can be done through the user interface of invitation displayer 405 , provided that displayer 405 is capable of handling HTML. Alternatively, the receiving user can accept the invitation by using a web site through which the invitation can be accessed. Accepting the invitation triggers an automatic download of invitation manager 425 and invitation communicator 236 (see FIG. 2), which are then installed at the receiving computer.
- the receiving user can launch communicator 236 . This enables the receiving user to access any status information provided by the sending user, and/or permits the receiving user to engage in real time communications with the sending user now or at a future time. The process concludes with a step 655 .
- Context definition step 615 can include a process by which a channel is identified.
- the process for deriving a channel name is illustrated in FIG. 7.
- the process begins with a step 705 .
- a random number is generated.
- Such a random number can be generated, for example, by a generation module such as parameter generation module 325 .
- the random number can be generated by the PERL random number generator.
- the random number is mapped to a specific channel.
- the process concludes with a step 720 .
- the generated random number can then be incorporated with the invitation which is then sent to the receiving user.
- the process of storing an invitation to be sent to a receiving user is illustrated in greater detail in FIG. 8.
- the process 617 begins with a step 805 .
- a step 810 a determination is made as to whether any filters are active, where such filters are used to categorize outgoing invitations according to attributes, such as topic and/or recipient. If no such filters are in place or active, then the process continues at a step 815 .
- the invitation is stored. If, however, one or more filters is active, as determined in step 810 , then, in a step 820 , the invitation is stored in a manner dictated by the active filter.
- the process ends at step 825 .
- Invitations can subsequently be displayed according to their category.
- step 905 The step of accessing or using the invitation, step 630 of FIG. 6, is illustrated in greater detail in FIG. 9.
- the process begins with a step 905 .
- a step 907 a determination is made as to whether the receiving computer has the current version of the invitation control 407 (see FIG. 4). If so, then the invitation control can be used to view the invitation in a step 918 .
- the invitation can be viewed within the e-mail, or through a web page interface if the e-mail program is not HTML-capable. If the receiving computer does not have the current version of the invitation control in step 907 , the current invitation control must be obtained and the process continues at a step 910 .
- step 910 a determination is made as to whether the e-mail browser of the receiving computer can support HTML. If so, the process continues at a step 915 , where the current invitation control is downloaded. In a step 918 , the invitation is viewed by the receiving user. If, in step 910 , the e-mail browser is found not to support HTML, then the process continues at a step 925 . In step 925 , a determination is made as to whether the e-mail program of the receiving user allows a URL hotlink. If so, then in a step 930 , a hotlink is presented to the user in the received e-mail. The hotlink allows the receiving user to access a web server from which the current invitation control can be downloaded in a step 935 .
- step 940 the e-mail browser must necessarily support text only.
- step 945 the user is presented with a textual reference to the URL, indicating the location of the appropriate web page from which the current invitation control can be downloaded. The receiving user can then use the URL to go to this web page. The download takes place in step 935 .
- step 918 the invitation is viewed by the receiving user. The process concludes with a step 920 .
- FIG. 10A An example of such a user interface as presented to a receiving user through an e-mail is illustrated in FIG. 10A.
- the display 1000 includes an invitation control, displayed as interface 1005 , through which the user can engage in real time communications.
- FIG. 10B shows a display 1050 with an interface 1055 to an invitation communicator application, with which the receiving user can communicate with other parties in real time.
- the hotlink is presented to the user through the e-mail.
- the web page associated with the hotlink provides the necessary invitation control which, in turn, allows access to the invitation and launching of the communicator.
- FIG. 11 An illustration of an exemplary e-mail bearing such a hotlink is shown in FIG. 11.
- display 1100 includes a hotlink 1105 , which the receiving user can click to access the web page.
- FIG. 12 An example of such a web page is illustrated in FIG. 12.
- the web page 1200 includes a user interface 1205 to the invitation communicator application, with which the receiving user can communicate with other parties in real time.
- step 1305 The step of processing the received invitation, step 635 of FIG. 6, is illustrated in greater detail in FIG. 13.
- the process begins with a step 1305 .
- a step 1310 a determination is made as to whether filters are in place and activated in the computer of the receiving user. If so, then in a step 1315 , the invitation is stored in a manner dictated by the active filters, i.e., categorized. invitations can subsequently be displayed according to their category. If, however, in step 1310 , no filters are activated, then in a step 1320 the invitation is stored without any filtering taking place. In either event, the process concludes at a step 1325 .
- FIGS. 14 and 15 These scenarios illustrate the process of the invention as it relates to users and the components described above.
- a sending user John attempts to send an invitation to a receiving user Mary ( 1430 ), who lacks the current invitation control.
- sending user John sends an invitation, including the associated text and parameters, to his e-mail program 1415 .
- John's e-mail program 1415 is the Qualcomm product Eudora.
- John tells e-mail program 1415 to send the invitation.
- E-mail program 1415 therefore represents an invitation sending application.
- John's e-mail program 1415 delivers the invitation to the e-mail program 1425 of receiving user Mary, via standard mail protocols.
- Mary's e-mail program is Outlook by Microsoft.
- a step 1435 Mary opens the e-mail containing the invitation. If she is using an HTML-capable e-mail reader, she can access the invitation by downloading the current invitation control 1437 from a web server such as a server supported by HearMe. The invitation control 1437 is then embedded in the e-mail. If she is using an e-mail reader not capable of displaying HTML, she will see a link to the invitation control 1437 . By using this link, Mary can initiate a download of the invitation control 1437 . In either case, this download is performed in a step 1440 . This assumes that Mary grants privileges to any security dialog presented to her. The invitation control 1437 is automatically displayed in a step 1450 , either as an embedded control within the e-mail or in a separate pop-up browser window if the e-mail reader is not capable of displaying HTML.
- a download of the invitation manager and an invitation communicator will be automatically requested from cooperating server 1445 , such as one of HearMe's web servers, in a step 1460 . If Mary chooses to accept the installation in a step 1465 , she indicates acceptance to her computer 1470 . In a step 1475 , the installation is performed at computer 1470 .
- FIG. 15 a scenario is depicted in which a receiving user John ( 1505 ) receives an invitation from a sending user Mary ( 1510 ) and ends up in a point-to-point chat session with Mary.
- This sequence can be logically extrapolated to include multiple receivers who all go through the same sequence of events and end up in a multi-user conference session.
- a step 1515 John checks his e-mail program 1520 and opens an e-mail containing an invitation. If John has never received an invitation on his machine or if there is a new version available on a web server 1522 , the current invitation control 1524 is obtained in a step 1525 . This step is similar to step 1440 described above. If John already has the invitation control and it is the current version, he will immediately see the invitation without any download.
- a step 1530 John views the invitation in his e-mail reader and, in a step 1535 , accepts the invitation. This assumes that John's e-mail program is HTML-capable.
- invitation control 1524 informs the invitation manager 1545 on John's machine that John has accepted the invitation. This causes the parameters of the invitation (such as the start time and the participants) to be copied into an invitation database managed by invitation manager 1545 .
- invitation manager 1545 informs John that a communication session is about to start.
- the invitation manager 1555 launches an invitation communicator 1560 to facilitate communication between the participants.
- John communicates with Mary.
- John's speech is passed to invitation communicator 1560 in a step 1565 , then to server 1522 in a step 1570 , then to Mary in a step 1575 .
- Components of the present invention may be implemented using hardware, software or a combination thereof and may be implemented in a computer system or other processing system.
- An example of such a computer system 1600 is shown in FIG. 16.
- the computer system 1600 includes one or more processors, such as processor 1604 .
- the processor 1604 is connected to a communication infrastructure 1606 , such as a bus or network.
- Various software implementations are described in terms of this exemplary computer system. After reading this description, it will become apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art how to implement the invention using other computer systems and/or computer architectures.
- Computer system 1600 also includes a main memory 1608 , preferably random access memory (RAM), and may also include a secondary memory 1610 .
- the secondary memory 1610 may include, for example, a hard disk drive 1612 and/or a removable storage drive 1614 , representing a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, an optical disk drive, etc.
- the removable storage drive 1614 reads from and/or writes to a removable storage unit 1618 in a well known manner.
- Removable storage unit 1618 represents a floppy disk, magnetic tape, optical disk, or other storage medium which is read by and written to by removable storage drive 1614 .
- the removable storage unit 1618 includes a computer usable storage medium having stored therein computer software and/or data.
- secondary memory 1610 may include other means for allowing computer programs or other instructions to be loaded into computer system 1600 .
- Such means may include, for example, a removable storage unit 1622 and an interface 1620 .
- Examples of such means may include a program cartridge and cartridge interface (such as that found in video game devices), a removable memory chip (such as an EPROM, or PROM) and associated socket, and other removable storage units 1622 and interfaces 1620 which allow software and data to be transferred from the removable storage unit 1622 to computer system 1600 .
- Computer system 1600 may also include a communications interface 1624 .
- Communications interface 1624 allows software and data to be transferred between computer system 1600 and external devices. Examples of communications interface 1624 may include a modem, a network interface (such as an Ethernet card), a communications port, a PCMCIA slot and card, etc.
- Software and data transferred via communications interface 1624 are in the form of signals 1628 which may be electronic, electromagnetic, optical or other signals capable of being received by communications interface 1624 . These signals 1628 are provided to communications interface 1624 via a communications path (i.e., channel) 1626 .
- This channel 1626 carries signals 1628 and may be implemented using wire or cable, fiber optics, a phone line, a cellular phone link, an RF link and other communications channels.
- signals 1628 comprise user inputs to e-mail module 335 and invitation development module 305 . Such inputs may come from a keyboard or pointing device, such as a mouse. Signals 1628 also include parameters 320 , which are required by invitation development module 305 . Signals 1628 also comprise data produced by these modules, such as invitation 330 and e-mail 345 . In the context of an embodiment of a receiving computer 115 , signals 1628 comprise inputs to invitation displayer 405 , such as e-mail 345 and invitation control 407 . Signals 1628 also comprise data coming from invitation displayer 405 , such as user interface 410 .
- computer program medium and “computer usable medium” are used to generally refer to media such as removable storage units 1618 and 1622 , a hard disk installed in hard disk drive 1612 , and signals 1628 .
- These computer program products are means for providing software to computer system 1600 .
- Computer programs are stored in main memory 1608 and/or secondary memory 1610 . Computer programs may also be received via communications interface 1624 . Such computer programs, when executed, enable the computer system 1600 to implement the present invention as discussed herein. In particular, the computer programs, when executed, enable the processor 1604 to implement the present invention. Accordingly, such computer programs represent controllers of the computer system 1600 . Where the invention is implemented using software, the software may be stored in a computer program product and loaded into computer system 1600 using removable storage drive 1614 , hard drive 1612 or communications interface 1624 . In an embodiment of the present invention, invitation development module 305 , e-mail module 335 , invitation displayer 405 , and invitation mangers 350 and 425 are implemented in software and can therefore be made available to a processor 1604 through any of these means.
Abstract
Description
- This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Non-provisional Application No. 09/542,090 for “Method and Computer Program Product for Establishing Real-Time Communications Between Networked Computers,” to Roskowski et al., filed Apr. 3, 2000. The foregoing U.S. Non-provisional Application is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
- 1. Field of the Invention
- The invention described herein relates to communications between computer users.
- 2. Related Art
- With current communication technologies, people often attempt to communicate with others in a blind manner. The initiator does not know if the intended contact is currently present at the contact's usual location, or whether the contact is available to communicate. To compound matters, the initiator often must leave a message that the intended contact receives at some later point. The contact now becomes the initiator and the whole scenario repeats itself. In the telephone medium, this is known as “phone tag.” This problem is compounded when a multi-participant conference needs to be established. Typically, a cumbersome coordination process must occur where all intended participants are first contacted to make sure they are available for a certain time slot. If the coordinator gets half way through the list of participants only to find that the designated time slot does not work, the whole process must be restarted.
- In recent years, buddy list applications have appeared which provide presence information about one's contacts. With these applications, it is easy to determine whether a contact (or buddy) is currently online or perhaps away from their desk. It also provides the ability to decide whether to establish contact “on the spot” via an instant message. There are several limitations to current buddy list applications. Most notably, segmentation of the namespace has occurred with buddy list applications due to a lack of standards and marketing battles between service providers. This prevents people from having global access to everyone connected to the Internet. Instead, a user is limited to users of the same buddy list application. Further, these applications tend to be large in size, require a separate download and installation process, and do not allow users to selectively manage their availability to people, meetings, and events.
- The invention described herein is a system, method, and computer program product for establishing real-time communications between computer users connected by a communications network. The invention provides for the creation, by a first computer, of an invitation. The invitation is data that proposes a communication session. The invitation can indicate the status or availability of the sending user or of some other resource. Creation of the invitation is followed by the transfer of the invitation from the first computer to at least one second computer. The invitation can be transferred electronically through the network, or physically, by the transfer of a data storage medium bearing the invitation. The invitation contains parameters to configure an invitation communicator application for communications between the first and second computers. The second computer accepts the invitation and invokes an invitation communicator application to allow communication.
- The use of invitations is independent of a service provider, so that a sending user can send an invitation to anyone else with whom the sending user is networked. Invitations allows the sending user to manage and state the sending user's availability to people, meetings, and events. An invitation can serve to state that the sending user is ready and able to communicate presently, or at a designated time. Accepting an invitation can therefore give a receiving user instant communications access to the sending user. Sending an invitation to several receiving users can create the equivalent of a chat room.
- The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following, more particular description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
- FIG. 1 illustrates the transfer of an invitation between two networked computers.
- FIG. 2 illustrates a logical view of the architecture of an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the development and transmission of an e-mail containing an invitation, according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the receipt and processing of an e-mail containing an invitation, according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the receipt and processing of an e-mail containing an invitation, according to an alternative embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the overall method of an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the process of generating a channel name, according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the process of categorizing and storing an outgoing invitation, according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the process of accessing a received invitation, according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 10A is a screenshot of an e-mail with an embedded invitation control, according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 10B is a screenshot of an e-mail with an embedded invitation communicator.
- FIG. 11 is a screenshot of an e-mail with a hypertext link to web page from which an invitation control can be obtained and an invitation communicator launched, according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 12 shows a web page from which an invitation communicator can be launched, according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the process of categorizing and storing a received invitation, according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 14 is a timing diagram showing the process of transmitting an invitation to a receiving user who lacks a current invitation control, according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 15 is a timing diagram showing the process of receiving and accepting an invitation, launching an invitation communicator, and communicating, according to an embodiment of the invention.
- FIG. 16 illustrates a computing architecture on which the invention can be implemented, according to an embodiment of the invention.
- A preferred embodiment of the present invention is now described with reference to the figures where like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements. Also in the figures, the left most digit of each reference number corresponds to the figure in which the reference number is first used. While specific configurations and arrangements are discussed, it should be understood that this is done for illustrative purposes only. A person skilled in the relevant art will recognize that other configurations and arrangements can be used without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It will be apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art that this invention can also be employed in a variety of other devices and applications.
- The invention described herein is a system, method, and computer program product for sending, receiving, and managing invitations. An invitation is a representation of a sending user. An invitation is capable of establishing a communications channel to allow real-time interaction between the sending user and one or more receiving users while providing presence and availability information about the sending user and the receivers. Invitations effectively propose real time communications between parties and permit the real time sharing of status information among parties. An invitation can therefore serve to tell receiving users that the sending party is ready and able to communicate, and vice versa. Examples of such real time communications include text interchanges, such as the interchanges seen in chat room applications, or real time voice interchanges.
- Invitations provide presence and availability information about the participants that are to communicate. This information is dynamically communicated so that changes in presence or availability of a participant can be immediately seen by others. When a user interacts with an invitation, a real-time communication session such as text chat or voice chat can be initiated.
- Applications for invitations include on-line auctions or other buying processes. Invitations can be particularly useful when the item being bought may have limited availability, such as tickets to an event, where status information (e.g., item availability, or duration of a sale) must be conveyed to a prospective buyer. An invitation can also be used to propose a conference, in which case the information can contain information such as a conference address and program. By providing real-time interaction with presence and availability, invitations can enable applications to provide major productivity gains.
- In an embodiment of the invention, an invitation can be sent from one party to another via a computer network, such as the Internet. Electronic mail can be used as the vehicle for transferring an invitation from one party to another. In an embodiment of the invention, a sender can save copies of outgoing invitations, and can categorize and display them in a manner related to their attributes, as defined by the sender. The sender may, for example, choose to organize copies of outgoing invitations according to recipient. The receiver can likewise save, categorize, and display received invitations. Ultimately, parties can invoke the communications application and launch it. This allows them to engage in real time communications with the sender.
- The system of the present invention is illustrated in a general manner in FIG. 1 as
system 100. A user at a sendingcomputer 105 sends aninvitation 110 to adata network 120. Theinvitation 110 is a proposal to communicate and is a reference to a real time communications application. More formally,invitation 110 is a data representation of an entity capable of establishing a communications channel to allow real-time interaction between two or more participants while providing presence and availability information about the participants. In an embodiment of the invention,invitation 110 identifies the communications application.Invitation 110 is then forwarded bynetwork 120 to a receivingcomputer 115, where it can be accessed by a receiving user. Note that in some uses of the invention, an invitation can be sent from a sending computer to more than one receiving computer. The invitation can be embedded in an e-mail, for example. In an alternative embodiment, the invitation is incorporated in an electronic document or some other electronic file, which is transferred to receivingcomputer 115. The transfer can be either electronic (e.g., through the internet 210) or physical (e.g., delivery of magnetic media). The embodiments described below deliver the invitation using e-mail. Note that sendingcomputer 105 and receivingcomputers - A logical perspective of
system 100 is presented in FIG. 2. Aninvitation sending application 205 at a sending computer transmits an invitation to a computer network, such theInternet 210. In an embodiment of the invention,invitation sending application 205 is an e-mail program. The invitation is then sent to aninvitation displayer 215 at a receiving computer.Invitation displayer 215 is an application containing a hypertext mark-up language (HTML) browser or other module capable of displaying aninvitation control 220. Examples of an invitation displayer include HTML-capable e-mail browsers, Microsoft Word documents, and custom applications. Theinvitation control 220 is an object that can be obtained (downloaded) from a cooperating web server and then operates in conjunction withinvitation displayer 215.Invitation control 220 provides a visual display of a receivedinvitation 225. -
Invitation control 220 also facilitates the download and installation of other components such as aninvitation manager 230 and aninvitation communicator 236.Invitation manager 230 is a module that manages a database of inbound (received) invitations and outbound invitations, tracks presence and state information of inbound invitations, and sends updated presence and state information of outbound invitations to users.Invitation manager 230 also updates other applications as necessary regarding any presence and state changes to the outbound or received invitations under its supervision. Such invitations are identified as managedinvitations - An invitation management application program interface (API)240 is an interface to the
invitation manager 230 that provides aninvitation management client 245 the ability to manage invitations and allows for other applications to be notified of changes in status of invitations under the supervision of theinvitation manager 230. Theinvitation management client 245 is an application that utilizes theinvitation management API 240 to provide a user interface for managing invitations. -
Invitation communicator 236 is an application capable of being launched using information contained ininvitation 225.Invitation communicator 236 facilitates communication between the participants. In an embodiment of the invention, such communication transpires via avoice server 250, which is accessible throughinternet 210. In an alternative embodiment, such communication takes place in a peer-to-peer mode. To accomplish such communication, a transport protocol may be required, such as theMPIP transport protocol 255, developed by HearMe of Mt. View, Calif. - The portion of the present invention incorporated at the sending
computer 105 is illustrated in greater detail in FIG. 3. Aninvitation development module 305 acceptsinputs 315 from a sendinguser 310. Examples ofinputs 315 can include text that is to be presented to the receiving user through the invitation, and/or the time at which a communications channel is to be opened between the parties.Invitation development module 305 also receivesparameters 320 produced by aparameter generation module 325.Parameters 320 include specifications for a communications context which must be passed to a user receiving the invitation.Parameters 320, for example, can include information which names a specific channel to be used during communications.Invitation development module 305 then produces aninvitation 330, which serves as a reference to a communications session being proposed by the sendinguser 310.Invitation 330 can also be viewed as a representation of an entity (e.g., the sending user 310) capable of establishing a communications channel that allows real-time interaction between two or more participants (i.e., sending and receiving users) while providing presence and availability information about the participants. Ifinvitation 330 is being used to establish a conference,invitation 330 can convey information such as a conference address and program.Invitation 330 is then sent to ane-mail program 335.E-mail program 335 can be a commercially available e-mail program, such as Eudora, by Qualcomm.E-mail program 335 also acceptsinputs 340 from the sendinguser 310. -
E-mail program 335 producese-mail 345 containing theinvitation 330.E-mail 245 is then sent tonetwork 120. In an embodiment of the invention, the mail is transferred as full featured HTML. An example of such an e-mail is presented below. This code is presented by way of example, and is not intended as a limitation on embodiments of the invention:<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC“-//W3C/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN”> <html> <head> <meta http-equiv=“Content-Type” content=“text/html; charset=iso-8859-1”> </head> <body bgcolor=“#DDDDDD”> <!-------------- BEGIN HearMe Now Device Parameters --------------> <form name=“HearMeVCC”> <input type=“hidden” name=“Username” value=“steve”> <input type=“hidden” name=“Channel” value=“#15506f56”> <!-------------- END HearMe Now Device Parameters --------------> <!-------------- BEGIN HearMe Now Device Display --------------> <table cellspaceing=0 cellpadding=0 width=600> <tr> <td width=440 valign=top align=left>This is an example of email that has a text chat application embedded inside of it <td width=160 valign=top align=center> <script language=“JavaScript” src=“http://www.hearme.com/products/vp/embedded/scripts/vc.js”> </script> <a href=“http://mecury.hearme.com/mailform/fallback.cgi?rec= steve&cha=15506f56”> Launch browser voice chat about this </a> </table> </form> <br><br> Copyright 1999 HearMe. All rights reserved </body> </html> - The following source code is an example of presence information formatted in Dynamic HyperText Markup Language (DHTML), which is described in greater detail below. The example below shows source code which references a routine via the Web. The referenced routine provides updated presence information regarding a user. Thus, using this source code, a first user can obtain updated presence regarding a second user. This source code is presented by way of example, and is not intended as a limitation on embodiments of the invention:
<!-- VC_SIGTAG --> <br>Author (650429-3626) <br><table cellpadding=2 cellspacing=3 bicolor=#ffffff> <tr><td>Online Status: <a href=“http://eudora.voicecontact.com/vc3/?shankar%40hearme.com”> <img NOSEN=1 height=16 width=100 border=0 src=“http://eudora.voicecontact.com/servlets/prescence?imgbase=status%252Fvc2final_email& channel=HEARME_VC20.SDK.%2523shankar%40hearme.com”></a></td> <td><a href=“http://dudora.voicecontact.com/vc3/?shankar%40hearme.com”> <img border=0 NOSEN=1 height=25 width=75 src=“http://eudora.voicecontact.com/vc3/images/email/vc2final/emailbtn_callsender.gif”></a></td> <td><a href=“http://www.eudora.com/products/voicecontract/”> <img border=0 NOSEND=1 height=25 width=135 src=“http://eudora.voicecontact.com/vc3/images/email/vc2final/download_eudora.gif”> </a></td></tr></table><br></html> /* (c)HearMe, 2000. All rights reserved Modifications to and reproduction * of this script is strictly forbidden without explicit written permission * from HearMe. www.hearme.com */ if( navigator.userAgent.indexOf(“WebTV”)==−1) { //************************************************************** //********************CONFIG VARIABLES************************ //************************************************************** script_version = “x”; client_version = “1,2,1,4”; root = “http://vp.hearme.com”; evp_root = root + “/products/vp/embedded”; classid = “CLSID:73020B72-CDD6-4F80-8098-1B2ECD9CA4CA”; mimetype = “application/x-hearme-evp”; ie_url = evp_root + “/plugins/evp.cab#version=“ + client_version; ns_url = evp_root + “/plugins/evp.jar”; mic_url = root + “/products/vp/config/”; if(document.location.hash == “#evp2”) { script_version = “x”; client_version = “2,0,1,0”; classid = “CLSID:2B89A560-D118-4215-A90E-9CAEF818088C”; ie_url = “”; ns_url = “”; } //************************************************************** //********************CODE STARTS HERE******************** //************************************************************** var params = new Array( “Domain”,“Vendor”,“Application”,“Deployment”,“Channel”,“Username”, “Talklimit”,“Width”,“Height”,“Background”,“Cookie”,“OptionsButton”,“StatusArea”, “TalkButton”,“TextChatButton”,“TextChatWindow”,“UserList”,“VUMeter”, “Border”,“Color”,“LogoImg”,“LogoURL”,“HelpURL” ); //************************************************************** //********************DEFAULT VALUES******************** //************************************************************** params[“Domain”] = “audiochat.hearme.com”; params[“Vendor”] = “HEARME”; params[“Application”] = “EVP”; params[“Talklimit”] = “60000”; params[“Width”] = “130”; params[“Height”] = “180”; params[“Border”] = “]”; params[“Color”] = “#aaaaaa”; params[“LogoImg”] = evp_root + “/images/hearme.gif”; params[“LogoURL”] = root + “/products/”; params[“HelpURL”] = root + “/products/vp/evp_help.html?version=“ + client_version + script_version; //************************************************************** //*******************READ PARAMETERS************************** //************************************************************** if( document.HearMeVCC) { for( i=0; i<document HearMeVCC.length; i++ ) { if( document.HearMeVCC[i].value != null ) params[document.HearMeVCC[i].name] = document.HearMeVCC[i].value; } } //************************************************************** //*******************HARDCODED PARAMETERS********************* //************************************************************** params[“Domain”] = “audiochat.hearme.com”; params[“Vendor”] = “HEARME”; params[“Application”] = “EVP”; //************************************************************** //*******************HTML CODE FOR CONTROL******************** //************************************************************** dcoument.write( “<TABLE WIDTH=“,params[“Width”]); if( params[“Border”] != “”) document.write( “ BORDER=“,params[“Border”] ); if( params[“Color”] != “” ) document.write( “ BGCOLOR=”, params[“Color”] ); document.write( “><TR><TD><TABLE BORDER=0><TR>”); document.writeIn( “<TD ALIGN=LEFT><A HREF=”’, params[“LogoURL”], ”’ TARGET=HEARME><IMG SRC=”’, params[“LogoImg”], “‘ BORDER=0></A></TD>” ); document.writeIn( “<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=1 FACE=ARIAL><A HREF=”’, params[=HelpURL”], “‘ TARGET=VP_HELP><B>HELP</B></A></FONT><BR>” ); document.writeIn( “</TD></TR>” ); document.writeIn(“<TR><TD COLSPAN=2 ALIGN=CENTER>”); if( (navigator.appVersion.charAt(0) < 4) ∥ ((navigator.appName == “Netscape”) && (navigator.appVersion.split(“ ”, 1) <4.08)) ) { document.write(“<TABLE><TD ALIGN=center BGCOLOR=white WIDTH=“,params[“Width”],“HEIGHT=”,params[“Height”],“>”); document.writeIn( “<font face=arial size=−1>To voice chat with other users, ”, “you must have Netscape 4.08 and above or Internet Explorer 4.0 and above”, “</font>”); document.write(“</TD></TABLE>”); } else if( navigator.userAgent.indexOf( “Win” ) == −1 ) { document.write(“<TABLE><TD ALIGN=center BGCOLOR=white WIDTH=“,params[“Width”],“HEIGHT=”,params[“Height”],“>”); document.writeIn(“<font face=arial size=−1>To voice chat with other users, ”, “you must have a PC with Microsoft Windows installed”, “</font>”); document.write(“</TD></TABLE>”); } else if( navigator.userAgent.indexOf( “MSIE 3” ) == −1 ) { if( navigator.appName == “Netscape” ) { //************************************************************** //*******************NETSCAPE EMBED TAG*********************** //************************************************************** document.write( “<EMBED NAME=‘EVP’ ”); document.writeIn( “TYPE=“‘,mimetype , “;version=”, client_version, ”’ ” ); document.writeIn( “pluginurl=“‘,ns_url, ”’ pluginspage=“” ); for( var i=0; i<params.length; i++ ) { if( params[params[i]] != null ) { document.write( “ ”, params[i], “=”’, params[params[i]], ”’” } } document.write( “hosturl=”’, escape( document.URL ),”’” document.writeIn( “></EMBED>” ); } else { //************************************************************** //*******************MSIE OBJECT TAG************************** //************************************************************** document.write( “<OBJECT ID=‘EVP’ CLASSID=”’, classis, “‘ CODEBASE=”’. ie_url, “‘ WIDTH=”’, params[“Width”], “‘ HEIGHT=”’, params[“Height”], “‘>” ); for (i=0; i<params.length; i++ ) { if( params[params[j]] != null ) { document.write( “<PARAM NAME=”’, params[i], “‘ VALUE=”’, params[params[i]], ”’></PARAM>” ); } } document.writeIn( “</OBJECT>” ); } //************************************************************** //*******************HTML CODE FOR MIC CONFIG***************** //************************************************************** document.writeIn(“<FONT SIZE=1 FACE=ARIAL><A HREF=‘#’”, “onMouseOver=\“self.status=‘Configures your microphone and speaker levels’; ”, “return true\” onMouseOUt=\“self.status=” return true\””, “onClick=\”window.open(“‘, mic_url, ”’. ‘vp_audio_config’, ”, “‘WIDTH=750, HEIGHT=800,resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes’ );\“>”, “Audio Configuration</A></FONT>”); } document.writeIn( “</TD></TR></TABLE></TD></TR></TABLE>” ); } -
E-mail program 335 is an example of aninvitation sending application 205. In an embodiment of the invention, theinvitation 330 is also sent to an invitation manager 350. Invitation manager 350 categorizes outgoing invitations according to one or more attributes, such as recipient, date, or topic. Based on this categorization,invitation 330 is then stored instorage medium 355. Outgoing invitations can subsequently be displayed according to these attributes. - The portion of the system of the present invention that is incorporated at the receiving
computer 115 is illustrated in FIG. 4. Receivingcomputer 115 receivese-mail 345 from thenetwork 120.E-mail 345 is received by aninvitation displayer 405. One example of an invitation displayer is a commercially available e-mail program, such as Microsoft's Outlook or Qualcomm's Eudora.Displayer 405 can then present auser interface 410 to a receivinguser 408 through adisplay device 415, such as a computer monitor. The invitation 330 (embedded in e-mail 345) is also sent to aninvitation manager 425.Invitation manager 425 filters and categorizes incoming invitations, such asinvitation 330, according to one or more attributes, such as sender, date, or topic.Invitation 330 can then be stored appropriately instorage medium 430. Received invitations can subsequently be viewed according to category. - Note that in an embodiment of the invention,
invitation 330 can only be displayed and accessed by the receivinguser 408 if the receivingcomputer 115 has the current version of aninvitation control 407.Invitation control 407 is an object that provides a visual display ofinvitation 330. In a preferred embodiment,invitation control 407 is downloaded by receivingcomputer 115 from a cooperating web server vianetwork 120 and then embedded ine-mail 345, thereby makinginvitation 330 accessible to the receiving user throughe-mail 345. An example of a displayed invitation is shown in FIG. 10, which will be described in greater detail below. - In an alternative embodiment of the invention, a displayer (such as an e-mail program) may not be able to present an incoming invitation to the receiving user. This would be the case, for example, if the incoming e-mail is in HTML format and the e-mail program is incapable of supporting HTML. In such a case, an invitation control cannot be embedded in
e-mail 345 so as to displayapplication 330. Such an embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 5. Here thee-mail 345 is received byinvitation displayer 505, throughnetwork 120. Ifdisplayer 505 is unable to present theinvitation 330 to the receiving user 507,displayer 505 presents, instead, other information that permits the receiving user 507 to access theinvitation 330. This information is identified in FIG. 5 asaccess information 510. In this embodiment,access information 510 constitutes an address or pointer to an invitation control.Access information 510 is conveyed to the user throughdisplay 515.Access information 510 may, for example, include a universal resource locator (URL). This enables the receiving user 507 to provideuser inputs 509 allowing receiving user 507 to use a web browser to access a web server associated with the URL and, from there, download the necessary invitation control. Receiving user 507 provides theappropriate input 509, i.e., clicks on a hypertext link, or “hotlink” of the URL. The receiving user 507 can then download the invitation control. - The receiving user507 can then access the
invitation 330 through a browser window instead of throughinvitation displayer 505. An example of the script code that presents such a display is presented below, in PERL. This code is presented by way of example, and is not intended as a limitation on embodiments of the invention:#!/usr/local/bin/perl use Socket ; use FileHandle ; if($ENV{‘REQUEST_METHOD’} eq “POST”) { $post = <STDIN>; split_query ($query ($post, \%query, 1); } else { split_query ($ENV{‘QUERY_STRING’}, \%query, 1); } $message = << “EOM” MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii; name=“OfferMailTest” <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC ”-//W3C/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN”> <html> <head> meta http-equiv=“Content-Type” content=“text/html; charset=iso-8859-1”> </head> <body bgcolor=“#DDDDDD”> <!-------------- BEGIN HearMe Now Device Parameters --------------> <form name=“HearMeVCC”> <input type=“hidden” name=“Username” value=“$query{‘rec’}”> <input type=“hidden” name=“Channel” value=“#$query{‘cha’}”> <!-------------- END HearMe Now Device Parameters --------------> <!-------------- BEGIN HearMe Now Device Display --------------> <table cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=600> <tr> <td width=440 valign=top align=left> Copyright 1999 HearMe. All rights reserved <td width=160 valign=top algin=center> <script language=“JavaScript” src=“http://www.hearme.com/products/vp/embedded/scripts/vc.js”> </script> </table> </form> </body> </html> EOM ; print $message ; sub split_query ###################################################################### # Split a CGI QUERY_STRING into an associative array. { local ($query_string, *query_dict, $escape) = @_; local (@query_list, $query_pair, $name, $value); @query_list = split (/&/, $query_string); foreach $query_pair (@query_list) { if ($query_pair =˜ /{circumflex over ( )}([{circumflex over ( )}=]+)=(.*)$/) { $name = $1; $value = $2; if ($escape) { $value =˜ sΛ÷/ /g; $value =˜ s/%([0-9A-Fa-f]{2})/pack(‘C’, hex($1))/eg; } $query_dict{$name} = $value; } } $query_dict{‘_escape’} = $escape; return 1; } - The java script “vc.js” can be written as described earlier with respect to
e-mail program 335. - As before,
invitation 330 can be sent to aninvitation manager 520. -
Invitation manager 520 filters and categorizes incoming invitations.Invitation 330 is then stored as appropriate instorage medium 525. - In an embodiment of the present invention, dynamic presence information is transmitted from the sender to the receiver. As described above, presence information is dynamically communicated so that changes in a user's presence is seen immediately by others.
- Presence information is any information regarding the availability of a user of the present invention. Examples of presence information include information regarding whether the user is present at his computer, whether the user is currently occupied with another task, whether the user is currently communicating with another user, whether the computer of the user has been idle for a specified period of time, whether the user is currently logged on and whether the user has asked not to be disturbed. Presence information regarding a user can be gathered by invitation manager230 (see FIG. 2) or any other routine capable of monitoring such information such as
invitation communicator 236. The routine gathering a user's presence information then saves or formats the relevant information in preparation for providing it to the computer of a receiving user. - Presence information can be formatted in various ways depending on how the receiving user will display or use this information. A simple example of a presence information format would be text such as the following: “The sending user is available for communication now.” This text can be saved as a text file and transmitted as such.
- Another simple example of a presence information format would be a voice message containing the presence information. The voice message can be a short message describing the availability of the sending user or it can be a message describing a URL or link to a web page that can access the availability of the sending user.
- A more complex example of a presence information format would be a computer program or other computer readable program code that represents presence information graphically and is updated on a periodic or continuous basis. In order to provide the receiving user with periodic reception of presence information, presence information can be formatted, for example, in Dynamic Hyper Text Markup Language (DHTML). DHTML includes the use of technologies such as Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripts, Server Side Includes (SSI), cookies, Java, Java Scripts and Active X controls. These technologies can support the periodic updating of presence information to the receiving user. Using an ActiveX control sent by the sending user, for example, a receiving user can periodically access the presence information of the sending user and display it graphically.
- Another example of a presence information format is a GIF file that is provided to the receiving user. This file can represent the presence information of the sending user graphically. Further, the GIF file can be updated periodically.
- Presence information must then be provided to the computer of a receiving user. As described above, presence information can be transmitted via an invitation100 (See FIG. 1). In an embodiment of the present invention, presence information is not transmitted as a part of an invitation. In this embodiment, presence information is transmitted by itself, as a file or other type of presence information format as described above. In another embodiment of the present invention, the receiving user uses DHTML computer code to access presence information of the sending user.
- As described above, electronic mail (using a protocol such as simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP)) can be used as the vehicle for the transmission of presence information. Further examples of vehicles for the transmission of presence information include simple files (using a protocol such as file transfer protocol (FTP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) or electronic data interchange (EDI)), voice (using a protocol such as voice over IP (VoIP)) and streaming data (using a protocol such as real-time transfer protocol (RTP) or user datagram protocol (UDP)).
- Subsequently, the computer of a receiving user either receives or accesses the presence information. As described above, presence information can be received or accessed by
invitation manager 230. Alternatively, presence information can be received or accessed byinvitation displayer 215,invitation control 220,invitation communicator 236 or any other routine capable of receiving or accessing presence information, whether or not the presence information resides within an invitation. After it is obtained, presence information is processed and displayed. This can be accomplished, for example, byinvitation displayer 215 orinvitation manager 230. Alternatively, processing and displaying of presence information can be accomplished by any other routine capable of receiving (or accessing) and processing presence information, whether or not the presence information resides within an invitation. - In an embodiment of the present invention, presence information regarding the sending user is periodically provided to the receiving user. In this embodiment, presence information regarding the sending user is gathered, as described above, on a periodic basis. Likewise, this presence information is formatted and provided to the receiving user on a periodic basis. Ultimately, the receiving user receives or accesses this periodic presence information and displays it. In this way, the receiving user can immediately become aware of changing presence information regarding the sending user.
- The process of the invention is described in general in FIG. 6.
Process 600 begins withstep 605. In astep 610, the sending user creates an invitation. In an embodiment of the invention, the invitation is created using aninvitation development module 305. In astep 615, the sending user defines the context for the invitation. Here, context refers to information that must be shared between a sending computer and receiving computer, so that the parties can communicate. Such context information can include, for example, a channel name which allows the parties to establish a connection. - In a
step 617, the sending user can process the invitation, so as to store the invitation according to some categorization. The categorization may, for example, be defined so as to archive outgoing invitations in an organized manner. The invitations may, for example, be organized according to attributes of each invitation, such as the intended recipient, or the date on which the invitation was sent. Invitations can subsequently be displayed according to their category. In astep 620, the invitation is sent to the receiving computer. As described above, e-mail represents one vehicle by which the invitation can be sent. - In a
step 625, the invitation is received by the receiving computer. In astep 630, the receiving user accesses the invitation. As described above with respect to FIGS. 4 and 5, the receiving user requires an invitation control before the invitation can be accessed. An invitation control is a control object that allows for visual display of an invitation. The invitation control can be downloaded from a web server, then embedded in the received e-mail. The receiving user may, alternatively, already have the invitation control from a previous interaction involving an invitation. - If the invitation control must be obtained,
step 630 entails obtaining the invitation control. If the e-mail program of the receiving computer is capable of handling HTML, then the invitation control can be downloaded, then embedded in the received e-mail. If the e-mail program of the receiving computer is not capable of handling HTML, then the receiving user will be presented with a link to the cooperating web server from which the necessary invitation control can be downloaded. The invitation can then be accessed by the receiving user through a web page, using a web browser such as Internet Explorer by Microsoft. - In a
step 635, the receiving user processes the received invitation so as to store the received invitation according to a categorization based on attributes of the invitation. In astep 640, the receiving user accepts the invitation. If the e-mail is in HTML format, this can be done through the user interface ofinvitation displayer 405, provided thatdisplayer 405 is capable of handling HTML. Alternatively, the receiving user can accept the invitation by using a web site through which the invitation can be accessed. Accepting the invitation triggers an automatic download ofinvitation manager 425 and invitation communicator 236 (see FIG. 2), which are then installed at the receiving computer. In astep 650, the receiving user can launchcommunicator 236. This enables the receiving user to access any status information provided by the sending user, and/or permits the receiving user to engage in real time communications with the sending user now or at a future time. The process concludes with astep 655. -
Context definition step 615 can include a process by which a channel is identified. The process for deriving a channel name, according to an embodiment of the invention, is illustrated in FIG. 7. The process begins with astep 705. In astep 710, a random number is generated. Such a random number can be generated, for example, by a generation module such asparameter generation module 325. In an embodiment of the invention, the random number can be generated by the PERL random number generator. In astep 715, the random number is mapped to a specific channel. The process concludes with astep 720. The generated random number can then be incorporated with the invitation which is then sent to the receiving user. - The process of storing an invitation to be sent to a receiving user (step617 of process 600) is illustrated in greater detail in FIG. 8. The
process 617 begins with astep 805. In astep 810, a determination is made as to whether any filters are active, where such filters are used to categorize outgoing invitations according to attributes, such as topic and/or recipient. If no such filters are in place or active, then the process continues at astep 815. Atstep 815, the invitation is stored. If, however, one or more filters is active, as determined instep 810, then, in astep 820, the invitation is stored in a manner dictated by the active filter. The process ends atstep 825. Invitations can subsequently be displayed according to their category. - The step of accessing or using the invitation, step630 of FIG. 6, is illustrated in greater detail in FIG. 9. The process begins with a
step 905. In astep 907, a determination is made as to whether the receiving computer has the current version of the invitation control 407 (see FIG. 4). If so, then the invitation control can be used to view the invitation in astep 918. The invitation can be viewed within the e-mail, or through a web page interface if the e-mail program is not HTML-capable. If the receiving computer does not have the current version of the invitation control instep 907, the current invitation control must be obtained and the process continues at astep 910. Instep 910, a determination is made as to whether the e-mail browser of the receiving computer can support HTML. If so, the process continues at astep 915, where the current invitation control is downloaded. In astep 918, the invitation is viewed by the receiving user. If, instep 910, the e-mail browser is found not to support HTML, then the process continues at astep 925. Instep 925, a determination is made as to whether the e-mail program of the receiving user allows a URL hotlink. If so, then in astep 930, a hotlink is presented to the user in the received e-mail. The hotlink allows the receiving user to access a web server from which the current invitation control can be downloaded in astep 935. If, instep 925, the e-mail browser does not allow a URL hotlink, then instep 940 the e-mail browser must necessarily support text only. In astep 945, the user is presented with a textual reference to the URL, indicating the location of the appropriate web page from which the current invitation control can be downloaded. The receiving user can then use the URL to go to this web page. The download takes place instep 935. Instep 918, the invitation is viewed by the receiving user. The process concludes with astep 920. - If the e-mail browser of the receiving user can fully support HTML, then the user interface to the invitation is presented to the receiving user through the e-mail. An example of such a user interface as presented to a receiving user through an e-mail is illustrated in FIG. 10A. Here, the
display 1000 includes an invitation control, displayed asinterface 1005, through which the user can engage in real time communications. FIG. 10B shows a display 1050 with aninterface 1055 to an invitation communicator application, with which the receiving user can communicate with other parties in real time. - If the e-mail browser of the receiving user is unable to fully support HTML, but does support a hotlink, then the hotlink is presented to the user through the e-mail. As described above, the web page associated with the hotlink provides the necessary invitation control which, in turn, allows access to the invitation and launching of the communicator. An illustration of an exemplary e-mail bearing such a hotlink is shown in FIG. 11. Here,
display 1100 includes ahotlink 1105, which the receiving user can click to access the web page. An example of such a web page is illustrated in FIG. 12. Here, the web page 1200 includes auser interface 1205 to the invitation communicator application, with which the receiving user can communicate with other parties in real time. - The step of processing the received invitation, step635 of FIG. 6, is illustrated in greater detail in FIG. 13. The process begins with a
step 1305. In astep 1310, a determination is made as to whether filters are in place and activated in the computer of the receiving user. If so, then in astep 1315, the invitation is stored in a manner dictated by the active filters, i.e., categorized. Invitations can subsequently be displayed according to their category. If, however, instep 1310, no filters are activated, then in astep 1320 the invitation is stored without any filtering taking place. In either event, the process concludes at astep 1325. - The operation of an embodiment of the invention is further illustrated in the example scenarios of FIGS. 14 and 15. These scenarios illustrate the process of the invention as it relates to users and the components described above. In FIG. 14, a sending user John (1410) attempts to send an invitation to a receiving user Mary (1430), who lacks the current invitation control. In
step 1405, sending user John sends an invitation, including the associated text and parameters, to hise-mail program 1415. In this embodiment, John'se-mail program 1415 is the Qualcomm product Eudora. In astep 1420, John tellse-mail program 1415 to send the invitation.E-mail program 1415 therefore represents an invitation sending application. In astep 1422, John'se-mail program 1415 delivers the invitation to the e-mail program 1425 of receiving user Mary, via standard mail protocols. In the embodiment illustrated, Mary's e-mail program is Outlook by Microsoft. - In a
step 1435, Mary opens the e-mail containing the invitation. If she is using an HTML-capable e-mail reader, she can access the invitation by downloading the current invitation control 1437 from a web server such as a server supported by HearMe. The invitation control 1437 is then embedded in the e-mail. If she is using an e-mail reader not capable of displaying HTML, she will see a link to the invitation control 1437. By using this link, Mary can initiate a download of the invitation control 1437. In either case, this download is performed in astep 1440. This assumes that Mary grants privileges to any security dialog presented to her. The invitation control 1437 is automatically displayed in astep 1450, either as an embedded control within the e-mail or in a separate pop-up browser window if the e-mail reader is not capable of displaying HTML. - If Mary chooses to accept the invitation in a step1455, a download of the invitation manager and an invitation communicator will be automatically requested from cooperating
server 1445, such as one of HearMe's web servers, in astep 1460. If Mary chooses to accept the installation in astep 1465, she indicates acceptance to hercomputer 1470. In astep 1475, the installation is performed atcomputer 1470. - In FIG. 15, a scenario is depicted in which a receiving user John (1505) receives an invitation from a sending user Mary (1510) and ends up in a point-to-point chat session with Mary. This sequence can be logically extrapolated to include multiple receivers who all go through the same sequence of events and end up in a multi-user conference session.
- In a step1515, John checks his e-mail program 1520 and opens an e-mail containing an invitation. If John has never received an invitation on his machine or if there is a new version available on a web server 1522, the current invitation control 1524 is obtained in a step 1525. This step is similar to step 1440 described above. If John already has the invitation control and it is the current version, he will immediately see the invitation without any download.
- In a step1530, John views the invitation in his e-mail reader and, in a step 1535, accepts the invitation. This assumes that John's e-mail program is HTML-capable. In a
step 1540, invitation control 1524 informs theinvitation manager 1545 on John's machine that John has accepted the invitation. This causes the parameters of the invitation (such as the start time and the participants) to be copied into an invitation database managed byinvitation manager 1545. - At the time specified in the invitation (which may be immediately), in a
step 1550,invitation manager 1545 informs John that a communication session is about to start. In astep 1555, theinvitation manager 1555 launches an invitation communicator 1560 to facilitate communication between the participants. - In the next series of steps, John communicates with Mary. In the case of voice communication, John's speech is passed to invitation communicator1560 in a
step 1565, then to server 1522 in astep 1570, then to Mary in a step 1575. - Components of the present invention may be implemented using hardware, software or a combination thereof and may be implemented in a computer system or other processing system. An example of such a
computer system 1600 is shown in FIG. 16. Thecomputer system 1600 includes one or more processors, such asprocessor 1604. Theprocessor 1604 is connected to acommunication infrastructure 1606, such as a bus or network. Various software implementations are described in terms of this exemplary computer system. After reading this description, it will become apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art how to implement the invention using other computer systems and/or computer architectures. -
Computer system 1600 also includes amain memory 1608, preferably random access memory (RAM), and may also include asecondary memory 1610. Thesecondary memory 1610 may include, for example, ahard disk drive 1612 and/or aremovable storage drive 1614, representing a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, an optical disk drive, etc. Theremovable storage drive 1614 reads from and/or writes to aremovable storage unit 1618 in a well known manner.Removable storage unit 1618, represents a floppy disk, magnetic tape, optical disk, or other storage medium which is read by and written to byremovable storage drive 1614. As will be appreciated, theremovable storage unit 1618 includes a computer usable storage medium having stored therein computer software and/or data. - In alternative implementations,
secondary memory 1610 may include other means for allowing computer programs or other instructions to be loaded intocomputer system 1600. Such means may include, for example, aremovable storage unit 1622 and aninterface 1620. Examples of such means may include a program cartridge and cartridge interface (such as that found in video game devices), a removable memory chip (such as an EPROM, or PROM) and associated socket, and otherremovable storage units 1622 andinterfaces 1620 which allow software and data to be transferred from theremovable storage unit 1622 tocomputer system 1600. -
Computer system 1600 may also include acommunications interface 1624.Communications interface 1624 allows software and data to be transferred betweencomputer system 1600 and external devices. Examples ofcommunications interface 1624 may include a modem, a network interface (such as an Ethernet card), a communications port, a PCMCIA slot and card, etc. Software and data transferred viacommunications interface 1624 are in the form ofsignals 1628 which may be electronic, electromagnetic, optical or other signals capable of being received bycommunications interface 1624. Thesesignals 1628 are provided tocommunications interface 1624 via a communications path (i.e., channel) 1626. Thischannel 1626 carriessignals 1628 and may be implemented using wire or cable, fiber optics, a phone line, a cellular phone link, an RF link and other communications channels. - In the context of an embodiment of a sending
computer 105,signals 1628 comprise user inputs toe-mail module 335 andinvitation development module 305. Such inputs may come from a keyboard or pointing device, such as a mouse.Signals 1628 also includeparameters 320, which are required byinvitation development module 305.Signals 1628 also comprise data produced by these modules, such asinvitation 330 ande-mail 345. In the context of an embodiment of a receivingcomputer 115,signals 1628 comprise inputs toinvitation displayer 405, such ase-mail 345 andinvitation control 407.Signals 1628 also comprise data coming frominvitation displayer 405, such asuser interface 410. - In this document, the terms “computer program medium” and “computer usable medium” are used to generally refer to media such as
removable storage units hard disk drive 1612, and signals 1628. These computer program products are means for providing software tocomputer system 1600. - Computer programs (also called computer control logic) are stored in
main memory 1608 and/orsecondary memory 1610. Computer programs may also be received viacommunications interface 1624. Such computer programs, when executed, enable thecomputer system 1600 to implement the present invention as discussed herein. In particular, the computer programs, when executed, enable theprocessor 1604 to implement the present invention. Accordingly, such computer programs represent controllers of thecomputer system 1600. Where the invention is implemented using software, the software may be stored in a computer program product and loaded intocomputer system 1600 usingremovable storage drive 1614,hard drive 1612 orcommunications interface 1624. In an embodiment of the present invention,invitation development module 305,e-mail module 335,invitation displayer 405, andinvitation mangers 350 and 425 are implemented in software and can therefore be made available to aprocessor 1604 through any of these means. - While various embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example, and not limitation. It will be apparent to persons skilled in the relevant art that various changes in detail can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents.
Claims (23)
Priority Applications (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US09/794,391 US20020023134A1 (en) | 2000-04-03 | 2001-02-28 | Method and computer program product for establishing real-time communications between networked computers |
US11/206,301 US8671145B2 (en) | 2000-04-03 | 2005-08-17 | Method and computer program product for establishing real-time communications between networked computers |
US14/140,882 US20140173008A1 (en) | 2000-04-03 | 2013-12-26 | Method and computer program product for establishing real-time communications between networked computers |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US54209000A | 2000-04-03 | 2000-04-03 | |
US09/794,391 US20020023134A1 (en) | 2000-04-03 | 2001-02-28 | Method and computer program product for establishing real-time communications between networked computers |
Related Parent Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US54209000A Continuation-In-Part | 2000-04-03 | 2000-04-03 |
Related Child Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US11/206,301 Continuation US8671145B2 (en) | 2000-04-03 | 2005-08-17 | Method and computer program product for establishing real-time communications between networked computers |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20020023134A1 true US20020023134A1 (en) | 2002-02-21 |
Family
ID=35542635
Family Applications (3)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US09/794,391 Abandoned US20020023134A1 (en) | 2000-04-03 | 2001-02-28 | Method and computer program product for establishing real-time communications between networked computers |
US11/206,301 Expired - Lifetime US8671145B2 (en) | 2000-04-03 | 2005-08-17 | Method and computer program product for establishing real-time communications between networked computers |
US14/140,882 Abandoned US20140173008A1 (en) | 2000-04-03 | 2013-12-26 | Method and computer program product for establishing real-time communications between networked computers |
Family Applications After (2)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US11/206,301 Expired - Lifetime US8671145B2 (en) | 2000-04-03 | 2005-08-17 | Method and computer program product for establishing real-time communications between networked computers |
US14/140,882 Abandoned US20140173008A1 (en) | 2000-04-03 | 2013-12-26 | Method and computer program product for establishing real-time communications between networked computers |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (3) | US20020023134A1 (en) |
Cited By (69)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20020023131A1 (en) * | 2000-03-17 | 2002-02-21 | Shuwu Wu | Voice Instant Messaging |
US20030065721A1 (en) * | 2001-09-28 | 2003-04-03 | Roskind James A. | Passive personalization of buddy lists |
US20030126207A1 (en) * | 2002-01-03 | 2003-07-03 | International Business Machines Corporation | Instant messaging with voice conference feature |
US20030204741A1 (en) * | 2002-04-26 | 2003-10-30 | Isadore Schoen | Secure PKI proxy and method for instant messaging clients |
US20030225834A1 (en) * | 2002-05-31 | 2003-12-04 | Microsoft Corporation | Systems and methods for sharing dynamic content among a plurality of online co-users |
US20030225836A1 (en) * | 2002-05-31 | 2003-12-04 | Oliver Lee | Systems and methods for shared browsing among a plurality of online co-users |
US20040128356A1 (en) * | 2001-06-25 | 2004-07-01 | Keith Bernstein | Email integrated instant messaging |
US20040158609A1 (en) * | 2003-02-10 | 2004-08-12 | Daniell W. Todd | Forwarding to automatically prioritized IM accounts based upon priority and presence |
US20040158611A1 (en) * | 2003-02-10 | 2004-08-12 | Daniell W. Todd | Forwarding IM messages to E-mail |
US20040205134A1 (en) * | 2003-02-14 | 2004-10-14 | Digate Charles J. | System and method for immediate and delayed real-time communication activities using availability data from and communications through an external instant messaging system |
US20040228531A1 (en) * | 2003-05-14 | 2004-11-18 | Microsoft Corporation | Instant messaging user interfaces |
EP1506492A1 (en) * | 2002-05-21 | 2005-02-16 | France Telecom | Caller initiated distinctive presence alerting and auto-response messaging |
US20050076241A1 (en) * | 2003-04-02 | 2005-04-07 | Barry Appelman | Degrees of separation for handling communications |
US20050076240A1 (en) * | 2003-04-02 | 2005-04-07 | Barry Appleman | Degrees of separation for handling communications |
US20050108329A1 (en) * | 2002-11-21 | 2005-05-19 | Andrew Weaver | Multiple personalities |
US20050144291A1 (en) * | 2003-12-04 | 2005-06-30 | Randall Frank | Integrating multiple communication modes |
US20050256985A1 (en) * | 2004-05-13 | 2005-11-17 | Wildtangent, Inc. | Sending progress information of other users for transmitted shared content |
US20060010201A1 (en) * | 2000-04-03 | 2006-01-12 | Roskowski Steven G | Method and computer program product for establishing real-time communications between networked computers |
US20060031293A1 (en) * | 2004-08-04 | 2006-02-09 | Thommes Christoph A | Business presence system and method |
US20060031772A1 (en) * | 2001-09-28 | 2006-02-09 | Judson Valeski | Automatic categorization of entries in a contact list |
US20060190475A1 (en) * | 2004-12-20 | 2006-08-24 | Norman Shi | Group polling for consumer review |
US20060258368A1 (en) * | 2005-05-11 | 2006-11-16 | Jennifer Granito | Personalized location information for mobile devices |
US7472351B1 (en) * | 2004-08-18 | 2008-12-30 | Zilka Kevin J | E-mail manager interface with integrated instant messaging and phone call initiator feature |
US7512652B1 (en) | 2001-09-28 | 2009-03-31 | Aol Llc, A Delaware Limited Liability Company | Passive personalization of buddy lists |
US20090158184A1 (en) * | 2003-03-03 | 2009-06-18 | Aol Llc, A Delaware Limited Liability Company (Formerly Known As Ameria Online, Inc.) | Reactive avatars |
US20090234922A1 (en) * | 2004-12-01 | 2009-09-17 | Aol Llc | Automatically Enabling the Forwarding of Instant Messages |
US20100056183A1 (en) * | 2008-08-28 | 2010-03-04 | Aol Llc | Methods and system for providing location-based communication services |
US20100169801A1 (en) * | 2002-11-21 | 2010-07-01 | Aol Llc | Multiple avatar personalities |
US7765265B1 (en) | 2005-05-11 | 2010-07-27 | Aol Inc. | Identifying users sharing common characteristics |
US20110148916A1 (en) * | 2003-03-03 | 2011-06-23 | Aol Inc. | Modifying avatar behavior based on user action or mood |
US7979802B1 (en) * | 2000-05-04 | 2011-07-12 | Aol Inc. | Providing supplemental contact information corresponding to a referenced individual |
US7984098B2 (en) | 2000-07-25 | 2011-07-19 | AOL, Inc. | Video messaging |
US20110208819A1 (en) * | 2000-04-03 | 2011-08-25 | Roskowski Steven G | Method And Computer Program Product For Establishing Real-Time Communications Between Networked Computers |
US20110209198A1 (en) * | 2003-03-03 | 2011-08-25 | Aol Inc. | Applying access controls to communications with avatars |
US8132110B1 (en) | 2000-05-04 | 2012-03-06 | Aol Inc. | Intelligently enabled menu choices based on online presence state in address book |
US20120114108A1 (en) * | 2010-09-27 | 2012-05-10 | Voxer Ip Llc | Messaging communication application |
USRE43436E1 (en) | 2003-02-14 | 2012-05-29 | Devereux Research Ab Llc | System and method for immediate and delayed real-time communication activities using availability data from and communications through an external instant messaging system |
US20130054712A1 (en) * | 2000-05-04 | 2013-02-28 | Aol Inc. | Tri-state presence indicator |
US8474628B1 (en) | 2000-05-04 | 2013-07-02 | Facebook, Inc. | Presenting a recipient of an e-mail with an option to instant message a sender or another recipient based on the sender's or the other recipient's address and online status |
US20130205230A1 (en) * | 2004-02-12 | 2013-08-08 | International Business Machines Corporation | Establishing a chat session between users in a network system |
US8595146B1 (en) | 2004-03-15 | 2013-11-26 | Aol Inc. | Social networking permissions |
US8781523B2 (en) | 2004-07-12 | 2014-07-15 | Stragent, Llc | System, method, and computer program product for using a cellular phone as an interface for a VoIP-equipped computer |
US8824643B2 (en) | 2000-12-18 | 2014-09-02 | Paltalk Holdings, Inc. | System, method and computer program product for conveying presence information via voice mail |
USRE45254E1 (en) | 2002-12-31 | 2014-11-18 | Facebook, Inc. | Implicit population of access control lists |
US8898239B2 (en) | 2004-03-05 | 2014-11-25 | Aol Inc. | Passively populating a participant list with known contacts |
US9002949B2 (en) | 2004-12-01 | 2015-04-07 | Google Inc. | Automatically enabling the forwarding of instant messages |
US9043418B2 (en) | 2000-05-04 | 2015-05-26 | Facebook, Inc. | Systems and methods for instant messaging persons referenced in an electronic message |
US9049569B2 (en) | 2004-12-01 | 2015-06-02 | Google Inc. | Prohibiting mobile forwarding |
US20150163070A1 (en) * | 2004-11-30 | 2015-06-11 | Iii Holdings 1, Llc | Method and apparatus for managing an interactive network session |
US9100221B2 (en) | 2000-05-04 | 2015-08-04 | Facebook, Inc. | Systems for messaging senders and recipients of an electronic message |
US9185067B1 (en) | 1999-12-01 | 2015-11-10 | Facebook, Inc. | System and method for analyzing communications |
US9356894B2 (en) | 2000-05-04 | 2016-05-31 | Facebook, Inc. | Enabled and disabled menu choices based on presence state |
US9516125B2 (en) | 2003-03-26 | 2016-12-06 | Facebook, Inc. | Identifying and using identities deemed to be known to a user |
US20170099238A1 (en) * | 2002-09-17 | 2017-04-06 | Dale W. Malik | Initiating instant messaging (im) chat sessions from email messages |
US9652809B1 (en) | 2004-12-21 | 2017-05-16 | Aol Inc. | Using user profile information to determine an avatar and/or avatar characteristics |
US9742615B1 (en) | 2002-12-31 | 2017-08-22 | Aol Inc. | Popularity index |
US10248687B2 (en) | 2005-09-12 | 2019-04-02 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | Expanded search and find user interface |
US10437431B2 (en) | 2004-08-16 | 2019-10-08 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | Command user interface for displaying selectable software functionality controls |
US10445114B2 (en) | 2008-03-31 | 2019-10-15 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | Associating command surfaces with multiple active components |
US10482429B2 (en) * | 2003-07-01 | 2019-11-19 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | Automatic grouping of electronic mail |
US10482637B2 (en) | 2006-06-01 | 2019-11-19 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | Modifying and formatting a chart using pictorially provided chart elements |
US10521081B2 (en) | 2004-08-16 | 2019-12-31 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | User interface for displaying a gallery of formatting options |
US10521073B2 (en) | 2007-06-29 | 2019-12-31 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | Exposing non-authoring features through document status information in an out-space user interface |
US10635266B2 (en) | 2004-08-16 | 2020-04-28 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | User interface for displaying selectable software functionality controls that are relevant to a selected object |
US10642927B2 (en) | 2007-06-29 | 2020-05-05 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | Transitions between user interfaces in a content editing application |
US10798122B2 (en) | 2002-10-08 | 2020-10-06 | Uber Technologies, Inc. | Preventing execution of programs that are embedded in email messages |
US10997562B2 (en) | 2008-06-20 | 2021-05-04 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | Synchronized conversation-centric message list and message reading pane |
US11115354B2 (en) * | 2013-03-29 | 2021-09-07 | Orange | Technique of co-operation between a plurality of client entities |
US11755340B2 (en) | 2020-10-07 | 2023-09-12 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | Automatic enrollment and intelligent assignment of settings |
Families Citing this family (17)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JP2002157206A (en) | 2000-11-17 | 2002-05-31 | Square Co Ltd | Method and system for taking part in electronic conference |
US7194300B2 (en) * | 2004-01-21 | 2007-03-20 | Cardionet, Inc. | Cardiac monitoring |
US20060265469A1 (en) * | 2005-05-20 | 2006-11-23 | Estrade Brett D | XML based scripting framework, and methods of providing automated interactions with remote systems |
US8032838B2 (en) * | 2008-02-14 | 2011-10-04 | Research In Motion Limited | System and method for processing and rendering markup language based electronic mail |
CN101730018B (en) * | 2009-11-19 | 2012-11-28 | 中兴通讯股份有限公司 | Point-to-point chat method and system |
US10158590B1 (en) | 2010-07-09 | 2018-12-18 | Gummarus LLC | Methods, systems, and computer program products for processing a request for a resource in a communication |
US10212112B1 (en) | 2010-07-09 | 2019-02-19 | Gummarus LLC | Methods, systems, and computer program products for processing a request for a resource in a communication |
US10015122B1 (en) | 2012-10-18 | 2018-07-03 | Sitting Man, Llc | Methods and computer program products for processing a search |
US10419374B1 (en) | 2010-07-09 | 2019-09-17 | Gummarus, Llc | Methods, systems, and computer program products for processing a request for a resource in a communication |
US10171392B1 (en) | 2010-07-09 | 2019-01-01 | Gummarus LLC | Methods, systems, and computer program products for processing a request for a resource in a communication |
US20140172998A1 (en) * | 2012-12-16 | 2014-06-19 | Deep River Ventures, Llc | Methods, Systems, and Computer Program Products for Browsing Via a Communications Agent |
US10013158B1 (en) | 2012-09-22 | 2018-07-03 | Sitting Man, Llc | Methods, systems, and computer program products for sharing a data object in a data store via a communication |
US10021052B1 (en) | 2012-09-22 | 2018-07-10 | Sitting Man, Llc | Methods, systems, and computer program products for processing a data object identification request in a communication |
US10019135B1 (en) | 2012-10-18 | 2018-07-10 | Sitting Man, Llc | Methods, and computer program products for constraining a communication exchange |
US10033672B1 (en) | 2012-10-18 | 2018-07-24 | Sitting Man, Llc | Methods and computer program products for browsing using a communicant identifier |
CN111066310B (en) * | 2017-07-28 | 2021-07-30 | 北京易掌云峰科技有限公司 | Automatic outbound instant message |
US11126738B2 (en) | 2018-03-27 | 2021-09-21 | BoardPAC Private Limited | Methods, systems and machine-readable programs for communicating self destructive messages |
Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20020073163A1 (en) * | 2000-12-12 | 2002-06-13 | Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. | Systems and methods for supporting document centered discussion across heterogeneous devices and displays |
US6463471B1 (en) * | 1998-12-28 | 2002-10-08 | Intel Corporation | Method and system for validating and distributing network presence information for peers of interest |
US6484196B1 (en) * | 1998-03-20 | 2002-11-19 | Advanced Web Solutions | Internet messaging system and method for use in computer networks |
US6539421B1 (en) * | 1999-09-24 | 2003-03-25 | America Online, Inc. | Messaging application user interface |
Family Cites Families (116)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4601064A (en) * | 1983-01-13 | 1986-07-15 | Fisher Berkeley Corporation | Communication system |
US4649385A (en) * | 1982-08-13 | 1987-03-10 | Teloc R & D Ltd. | Electronic locating system for persons receiving telephone calls |
US4932050A (en) * | 1989-06-30 | 1990-06-05 | At&T Bell Laboratories | Proximity detection for telecommunications features |
US5206934A (en) * | 1989-08-15 | 1993-04-27 | Group Technologies, Inc. | Method and apparatus for interactive computer conferencing |
US5210789A (en) * | 1991-06-28 | 1993-05-11 | International Telecharge, Inc. | Interactive telephone operator terminal |
US6608636B1 (en) * | 1992-05-13 | 2003-08-19 | Ncr Corporation | Server based virtual conferencing |
US5363425A (en) * | 1992-06-29 | 1994-11-08 | Northern Telecom Limited | Method and apparatus for providing a personal locator, access control and asset tracking service using an in-building telephone network |
US5471318A (en) * | 1993-04-22 | 1995-11-28 | At&T Corp. | Multimedia communications network |
US5548637A (en) * | 1993-09-09 | 1996-08-20 | Precision Tracking Fm, Inc. | Method and apparatus for locating personnel and objects in response to telephone inquiries |
US6594688B2 (en) * | 1993-10-01 | 2003-07-15 | Collaboration Properties, Inc. | Dedicated echo canceler for a workstation |
US5689641A (en) * | 1993-10-01 | 1997-11-18 | Vicor, Inc. | Multimedia collaboration system arrangement for routing compressed AV signal through a participant site without decompressing the AV signal |
CA2108225C (en) * | 1993-10-12 | 1997-07-22 | Rolf G. Meier | Charger/detector for cordless telephones |
US5515426A (en) * | 1994-02-28 | 1996-05-07 | Executone Information Systems, Inc. | Telephone communication system having a locator |
CA2119086C (en) * | 1994-03-15 | 1998-06-16 | Thomas A. Gray | Help desk improvement |
US5912947A (en) * | 1994-06-20 | 1999-06-15 | Sigma/Micro Corporation | Public notification system and method |
US5724508A (en) * | 1995-03-09 | 1998-03-03 | Insoft, Inc. | Apparatus for collaborative computing |
US5751793A (en) * | 1995-03-14 | 1998-05-12 | U S West Technologies, Inc. | Method and instructions for visual voice messaging user interface |
US5666405A (en) * | 1995-07-14 | 1997-09-09 | At&T | True family telecommunication service |
US6650761B1 (en) * | 1999-05-19 | 2003-11-18 | Digimarc Corporation | Watermarked business cards and methods |
US6301339B1 (en) * | 1995-11-15 | 2001-10-09 | Data Race, Inc. | System and method for providing a remote user with a virtual presence to an office |
US5742674A (en) * | 1995-12-22 | 1998-04-21 | At&T Corp. | Automatic call-back system and method using data indicating best time to call |
US5862325A (en) * | 1996-02-29 | 1999-01-19 | Intermind Corporation | Computer-based communication system and method using metadata defining a control structure |
CA2253867A1 (en) * | 1996-05-07 | 1997-11-13 | Webline Communications Corporation | Method and apparatus for coordinating internet multi-media content with telephone and audio communications |
US6016478A (en) * | 1996-08-13 | 2000-01-18 | Starfish Software, Inc. | Scheduling system with methods for peer-to-peer scheduling of remote users |
US6275490B1 (en) * | 1996-08-21 | 2001-08-14 | Netspeak Corporation | Method and apparatus for establishing communications from browser application |
US6160881A (en) * | 1996-09-19 | 2000-12-12 | Siemens Information And Communication Networks, Inc. | System and method for integrating electronic entry systems with telecommunication systems |
US5764916A (en) * | 1996-09-27 | 1998-06-09 | Ichat, Inc. | Method and apparatus for real time communication over a computer network |
US6233318B1 (en) * | 1996-11-05 | 2001-05-15 | Comverse Network Systems, Inc. | System for accessing multimedia mailboxes and messages over the internet and via telephone |
US5796393A (en) * | 1996-11-08 | 1998-08-18 | Compuserve Incorporated | System for intergrating an on-line service community with a foreign service |
US5828839A (en) * | 1996-11-14 | 1998-10-27 | Interactive Broadcaster Services Corp. | Computer network chat room based on channel broadcast in real time |
US7058696B1 (en) * | 1996-11-22 | 2006-06-06 | Mangosoft Corporation | Internet-based shared file service with native PC client access and semantics |
JP3715087B2 (en) * | 1997-02-28 | 2005-11-09 | パナソニック モバイルコミュニケーションズ株式会社 | Mobile phone device with text message transmission / reception function |
US5859901A (en) * | 1997-03-06 | 1999-01-12 | At&T Corp. | Intelligent call connection service |
AU6882998A (en) * | 1997-03-31 | 1998-10-22 | Broadband Associates | Method and system for providing a presentation on a network |
US6014689A (en) * | 1997-06-03 | 2000-01-11 | Smith Micro Software Inc. | E-mail system with a video e-mail player |
BR9806000A (en) * | 1997-06-17 | 2000-01-25 | Purdue Pharma Lp | Self-destructive document and system for sending messages by e-mail. |
US6233600B1 (en) * | 1997-07-15 | 2001-05-15 | Eroom Technology, Inc. | Method and system for providing a networked collaborative work environment |
US6542923B2 (en) * | 1997-08-21 | 2003-04-01 | Planet Web, Inc. | Active electronic mail |
TW351789B (en) * | 1997-10-28 | 1999-02-01 | Inventec Corp | Multiple point network system and its trouble shooting |
US6359892B1 (en) * | 1997-11-04 | 2002-03-19 | Inventions, Inc. | Remote access, emulation, and control of office equipment, devices and services |
US6078683A (en) * | 1997-11-20 | 2000-06-20 | De La Rue, Inc. | Method and system for recognition of currency by denomination |
US6424994B1 (en) * | 1997-11-26 | 2002-07-23 | Microsoft Corporation | Switchable calling within combined conferencing and calling |
US6195418B1 (en) * | 1997-12-31 | 2001-02-27 | Alcatel Usa, Inc. | Telephone system having a callback capability and method for connecting a recipient of a message to a caller |
US6594693B1 (en) * | 1998-02-10 | 2003-07-15 | Nitin A. Borwankar | Method and apparatus for a structured, synchronized conversation using electronic messages over a computer network |
US6173042B1 (en) * | 1998-02-25 | 2001-01-09 | Lucent Technologies Inc. | System for enabling personal computer access to an interactive voice response system |
US6173316B1 (en) * | 1998-04-08 | 2001-01-09 | Geoworks Corporation | Wireless communication device with markup language based man-machine interface |
US6449260B1 (en) * | 1998-05-01 | 2002-09-10 | Siemens Information And Communication Networks, Inc. | Multimedia automatic call distribution system |
US6549612B2 (en) * | 1998-05-06 | 2003-04-15 | Telecommunications Premium Services, Inc. | Unified communication services via e-mail |
GB2337399A (en) * | 1998-05-11 | 1999-11-17 | Ibm | Computer E-mail with telephony support |
US6308212B1 (en) * | 1998-05-29 | 2001-10-23 | Hewlett-Packard Company | Web user interface session and sharing of session environment information |
US6233332B1 (en) * | 1998-06-03 | 2001-05-15 | Avaya Technology Corp. | System for context based media independent communications processing |
US6252588B1 (en) * | 1998-06-16 | 2001-06-26 | Zentek Technology, Inc. | Method and apparatus for providing an audio visual e-mail system |
US6405225B1 (en) * | 1998-06-17 | 2002-06-11 | Microsoft Corporation | Integrating email functionality into a word processor by incorporating an email GUI within the word processor |
US6490624B1 (en) * | 1998-07-10 | 2002-12-03 | Entrust, Inc. | Session management in a stateless network system |
US6192394B1 (en) * | 1998-07-14 | 2001-02-20 | Compaq Computer Corporation | Inter-program synchronous communications using a collaboration software system |
US6212548B1 (en) * | 1998-07-30 | 2001-04-03 | At & T Corp | System and method for multiple asynchronous text chat conversations |
US6223213B1 (en) * | 1998-07-31 | 2001-04-24 | Webtv Networks, Inc. | Browser-based email system with user interface for audio/video capture |
US7536706B1 (en) * | 1998-08-24 | 2009-05-19 | Sharp Laboratories Of America, Inc. | Information enhanced audio video encoding system |
US6487583B1 (en) * | 1998-09-15 | 2002-11-26 | Ikimbo, Inc. | System and method for information and application distribution |
US6549918B1 (en) * | 1998-09-21 | 2003-04-15 | Microsoft Corporation | Dynamic information format conversion |
US6363352B1 (en) * | 1998-11-13 | 2002-03-26 | Microsoft Corporation | Automatic scheduling and formation of a virtual meeting over a computer network |
US6297819B1 (en) * | 1998-11-16 | 2001-10-02 | Essential Surfing Gear, Inc. | Parallel web sites |
US7076730B1 (en) * | 1998-12-10 | 2006-07-11 | Intellinet, Inc. | Electronic mail software with modular integrated authoring/reading software components |
US6327469B1 (en) * | 1998-12-11 | 2001-12-04 | Motorola, Inc. | Channel scanning method and apparatus |
US20010013050A1 (en) * | 1999-01-11 | 2001-08-09 | Shah Niraj A. | Buddy list aggregation |
US7136062B1 (en) * | 1999-09-14 | 2006-11-14 | Microsoft Corporation | Scalable multiparty conferencing and collaboration system and method of dynamically allocating system resources and providing true color support in same |
US8041604B1 (en) * | 1999-03-16 | 2011-10-18 | Studebaker & Brackett PC | Method of embedding advertisements in communication |
US7353199B1 (en) * | 1999-03-22 | 2008-04-01 | Perfect Web Technologies, Inc. | Method of moderating external access to an electronic document authoring development and distribution system |
US6604129B2 (en) * | 1999-03-25 | 2003-08-05 | At&T Corp. | Method and apparatus for a conference call mediation service |
US7245707B1 (en) | 1999-03-26 | 2007-07-17 | Chan Hark C | Data network based telephone messaging system |
US6366950B1 (en) * | 1999-04-02 | 2002-04-02 | Smithmicro Software | System and method for verifying users' identity in a network using e-mail communication |
US6430289B1 (en) * | 1999-04-13 | 2002-08-06 | Microsoft Corporation | System and method for computerized status monitor and use in a telephone network |
US6747970B1 (en) * | 1999-04-29 | 2004-06-08 | Christopher H. Lamb | Methods and apparatus for providing communications services between connectionless and connection-oriented networks |
US6564261B1 (en) * | 1999-05-10 | 2003-05-13 | Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) | Distributed system to intelligently establish sessions between anonymous users over various networks |
US7222309B2 (en) * | 1999-06-02 | 2007-05-22 | Earthlink, Inc. | System and method of a web browser with integrated features and controls |
US7103846B1 (en) * | 1999-06-02 | 2006-09-05 | International Business Machines Corporation | Collaborative application with indicator of concurrent users |
US6499053B1 (en) * | 1999-06-30 | 2002-12-24 | International Business Machines Corporation | Master/slave architecture for a distributed chat application in a bandwidth constrained network |
US6330719B1 (en) * | 1999-06-30 | 2001-12-11 | Webtv Networks, Inc. | Interactive television receiver unit browser that waits to send requests |
US7870479B2 (en) * | 1999-07-29 | 2011-01-11 | Electronic Arts Inc. | Electronic in-application postcards |
US7885899B1 (en) * | 2000-02-08 | 2011-02-08 | Ipass Inc. | System and method for secure network purchasing |
US6810410B1 (en) * | 1999-08-03 | 2004-10-26 | Microsoft Corporation | Customizing a client application using an options page stored on a server computer |
US6496851B1 (en) * | 1999-08-04 | 2002-12-17 | America Online, Inc. | Managing negotiations between users of a computer network by automatically engaging in proposed activity using parameters of counterproposal of other user |
US6487585B1 (en) * | 1999-08-11 | 2002-11-26 | Lucent Technologies Inc. | System and method for “Open Mike” network-based communication |
US20060167986A1 (en) * | 1999-08-30 | 2006-07-27 | Trzyna Peter K | Internet telephone system |
US7089278B1 (en) * | 1999-09-07 | 2006-08-08 | Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. | Anchored conversations: adhesive, in-context, virtual discussion forums |
US6687745B1 (en) * | 1999-09-14 | 2004-02-03 | Droplet, Inc | System and method for delivering a graphical user interface of remote applications over a thin bandwidth connection |
US6360221B1 (en) * | 1999-09-21 | 2002-03-19 | Neostar, Inc. | Method and apparatus for the production, delivery, and receipt of enhanced e-mail |
US7171386B1 (en) | 1999-10-08 | 2007-01-30 | Rfv Holdings | Real-time commodity trading method and apparatus |
US6522333B1 (en) * | 1999-10-08 | 2003-02-18 | Electronic Arts Inc. | Remote communication through visual representations |
US20020010608A1 (en) * | 1999-10-08 | 2002-01-24 | Scott Faber | System for provding services in real-time overthe internet |
US6606103B1 (en) * | 1999-11-30 | 2003-08-12 | Uhc Llc | Infinite resolution scheme for graphical user interface object |
US7020843B2 (en) * | 1999-11-30 | 2006-03-28 | Uhc Llc | Method and system for implementing a browser object container |
US20020056119A1 (en) * | 1999-12-23 | 2002-05-09 | Moynihan Michael W. | Personal video channel system |
US6625258B1 (en) * | 1999-12-27 | 2003-09-23 | Nortel Networks Ltd | System and method for providing unified communication services support |
US20010051982A1 (en) * | 1999-12-27 | 2001-12-13 | Paul Graziani | System and method for application specific chat room access |
US20080062893A1 (en) * | 2000-01-19 | 2008-03-13 | Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Ab | Method and apparatus for event-based exchange of information between communication devices conditioned on personal calendar information |
US20010034689A1 (en) * | 2000-01-21 | 2001-10-25 | Heilman Theodore A. | Method and system of negotiating a transaction over a network |
US20020002586A1 (en) * | 2000-02-08 | 2002-01-03 | Howard Rafal | Methods and apparatus for creating and hosting customized virtual parties via the internet |
US6839735B2 (en) * | 2000-02-29 | 2005-01-04 | Microsoft Corporation | Methods and systems for controlling access to presence information according to a variety of different access permission types |
CA2400123C (en) * | 2000-02-29 | 2008-08-12 | Benjamin D. Baker | Intelligence driven paging process for a chat room |
US6807562B1 (en) * | 2000-02-29 | 2004-10-19 | Microsoft Corporation | Automatic and selective assignment of channels to recipients of voice chat data |
US7240093B1 (en) * | 2000-02-29 | 2007-07-03 | Microsoft Corporation | Use of online messaging to facilitate selection of participants in game play |
US6731308B1 (en) * | 2000-03-09 | 2004-05-04 | Sun Microsystems, Inc. | Mechanism for reciprocal awareness of intent to initiate and end interaction among remote users |
US7565403B2 (en) * | 2000-03-16 | 2009-07-21 | Microsoft Corporation | Use of a bulk-email filter within a system for classifying messages for urgency or importance |
AU2001249239A1 (en) * | 2000-03-17 | 2001-10-03 | America Online, Inc. | Shared groups rostering system |
DE60132433T2 (en) * | 2000-03-17 | 2008-12-24 | America Online, Inc. | IMMEDIATE MESSAGE TRANSMISSION WITH ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE COMMUNICATION |
US6784899B1 (en) * | 2000-03-31 | 2004-08-31 | Ricoh Company, Ltd. | Systems and methods for providing rich multimedia messages to remote users using telephones and facsimile machines |
US7844670B2 (en) | 2000-04-03 | 2010-11-30 | Paltalk Holdings, Inc. | Method and computer program product for establishing real-time communications between networked computers |
US20020023134A1 (en) * | 2000-04-03 | 2002-02-21 | Roskowski Steven G. | Method and computer program product for establishing real-time communications between networked computers |
US6398028B1 (en) * | 2000-08-04 | 2002-06-04 | James G. Stovall | Pizza delivery system and method |
US7929562B2 (en) | 2000-11-08 | 2011-04-19 | Genesis Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc. | Method and apparatus for optimizing response time to events in queue |
US6721407B1 (en) * | 2000-11-09 | 2004-04-13 | Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) | Apparatus and method for identifying a third party engaged in communication with a called party |
AU2002219796A1 (en) | 2000-11-20 | 2002-06-03 | At And T Wireless Services, Inc. | Systems for providing wireless communication presence information |
US20020075305A1 (en) * | 2000-12-18 | 2002-06-20 | Beaton Brian F. | Graphical user interface for a virtual team environment |
US7957514B2 (en) | 2000-12-18 | 2011-06-07 | Paltalk Holdings, Inc. | System, method and computer program product for conveying presence information via voice mail |
US6968052B2 (en) * | 2001-01-24 | 2005-11-22 | Telecordia Technologies, Inc. | Method and apparatus for creating a presence monitoring contact list with dynamic membership |
-
2001
- 2001-02-28 US US09/794,391 patent/US20020023134A1/en not_active Abandoned
-
2005
- 2005-08-17 US US11/206,301 patent/US8671145B2/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
-
2013
- 2013-12-26 US US14/140,882 patent/US20140173008A1/en not_active Abandoned
Patent Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US6484196B1 (en) * | 1998-03-20 | 2002-11-19 | Advanced Web Solutions | Internet messaging system and method for use in computer networks |
US6463471B1 (en) * | 1998-12-28 | 2002-10-08 | Intel Corporation | Method and system for validating and distributing network presence information for peers of interest |
US6539421B1 (en) * | 1999-09-24 | 2003-03-25 | America Online, Inc. | Messaging application user interface |
US20020073163A1 (en) * | 2000-12-12 | 2002-06-13 | Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. | Systems and methods for supporting document centered discussion across heterogeneous devices and displays |
Cited By (176)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US9819629B2 (en) | 1999-12-01 | 2017-11-14 | Facebook, Inc. | System and method for analyzing communications |
US9514233B2 (en) | 1999-12-01 | 2016-12-06 | Facebook, Inc. | System and method for analyzing communications |
US9749279B2 (en) | 1999-12-01 | 2017-08-29 | Facebook, Inc. | System and method for analyzing communications |
US9749276B2 (en) | 1999-12-01 | 2017-08-29 | Facebook, Inc. | System and method for analyzing communications |
US9619575B2 (en) | 1999-12-01 | 2017-04-11 | Facebook, Inc. | System and method for analyzing communications |
US9813370B2 (en) | 1999-12-01 | 2017-11-07 | Facebook, Inc. | System and method for analyzing communications |
US9185067B1 (en) | 1999-12-01 | 2015-11-10 | Facebook, Inc. | System and method for analyzing communications |
US9705834B2 (en) | 1999-12-01 | 2017-07-11 | Facebook, Inc. | System and method for analyzing communications |
US9405843B2 (en) | 1999-12-01 | 2016-08-02 | Facebook, Inc. | System and method for analyzing communications |
US20020023131A1 (en) * | 2000-03-17 | 2002-02-21 | Shuwu Wu | Voice Instant Messaging |
US9049159B2 (en) | 2000-03-17 | 2015-06-02 | Facebook, Inc. | Establishing audio communication sessions |
US8041768B2 (en) | 2000-03-17 | 2011-10-18 | Aol Inc. | Voice instant messaging |
US9356891B2 (en) | 2000-03-17 | 2016-05-31 | Facebook, Inc. | Voice messaging interface |
US8429231B2 (en) | 2000-03-17 | 2013-04-23 | Facebook, Inc. | Voice instant messaging |
US8671145B2 (en) | 2000-04-03 | 2014-03-11 | Paltalk Holdings, Inc. | Method and computer program product for establishing real-time communications between networked computers |
US20110208819A1 (en) * | 2000-04-03 | 2011-08-25 | Roskowski Steven G | Method And Computer Program Product For Establishing Real-Time Communications Between Networked Computers |
US9929984B2 (en) | 2000-04-03 | 2018-03-27 | Paltalk Holdings, Inc. | Method and computer program product for establishing real-time communications between networked computers |
US20060010201A1 (en) * | 2000-04-03 | 2006-01-12 | Roskowski Steven G | Method and computer program product for establishing real-time communications between networked computers |
US9043418B2 (en) | 2000-05-04 | 2015-05-26 | Facebook, Inc. | Systems and methods for instant messaging persons referenced in an electronic message |
US8132110B1 (en) | 2000-05-04 | 2012-03-06 | Aol Inc. | Intelligently enabled menu choices based on online presence state in address book |
US8474628B1 (en) | 2000-05-04 | 2013-07-02 | Facebook, Inc. | Presenting a recipient of an e-mail with an option to instant message a sender or another recipient based on the sender's or the other recipient's address and online status |
US9699122B2 (en) | 2000-05-04 | 2017-07-04 | Facebook, Inc. | User interfaces for providing supplemental contact information corresponding to a referenced individual |
US9100221B2 (en) | 2000-05-04 | 2015-08-04 | Facebook, Inc. | Systems for messaging senders and recipients of an electronic message |
US9621493B2 (en) | 2000-05-04 | 2017-04-11 | Facebook, Inc. | Providing supplemental information corresponding to a referenced individual |
US20130054712A1 (en) * | 2000-05-04 | 2013-02-28 | Aol Inc. | Tri-state presence indicator |
US10158588B2 (en) | 2000-05-04 | 2018-12-18 | Facebook, Inc. | Providing supplemental contact information corresponding to a referenced individual |
US9360996B2 (en) | 2000-05-04 | 2016-06-07 | Facebook, Inc. | Intelligently enabled menu choices based on online presence state in address book |
US10122658B2 (en) | 2000-05-04 | 2018-11-06 | Facebook, Inc. | System for instant messaging the sender and recipients of an e-mail message |
US9356894B2 (en) | 2000-05-04 | 2016-05-31 | Facebook, Inc. | Enabled and disabled menu choices based on presence state |
US9531654B2 (en) | 2000-05-04 | 2016-12-27 | Facebook, Inc. | Adding contacts from a hovering interface |
US7979802B1 (en) * | 2000-05-04 | 2011-07-12 | Aol Inc. | Providing supplemental contact information corresponding to a referenced individual |
US8959164B2 (en) * | 2000-05-04 | 2015-02-17 | Facebook, Inc. | Tri-state presence indicator |
US20110231507A1 (en) * | 2000-05-04 | 2011-09-22 | Aol Inc. | Providing supplemental contact information corresponding to a referenced individual |
US10313297B2 (en) | 2000-06-26 | 2019-06-04 | Facebook, Inc. | E-mail integrated instant messaging |
US9628431B2 (en) | 2000-06-26 | 2017-04-18 | Facebook, Inc. | E-mail integrated instant messaging |
US20130124650A1 (en) * | 2000-06-26 | 2013-05-16 | Keith Bernstein | E-mail Integrated Instant Messaging |
US9363213B2 (en) * | 2000-06-26 | 2016-06-07 | Facebook, Inc. | E-mail integrated instant messaging |
US8918727B2 (en) | 2000-07-25 | 2014-12-23 | Facebook, Inc. | Video messaging |
US8078678B2 (en) | 2000-07-25 | 2011-12-13 | Aol Inc. | Video messaging |
US9100538B2 (en) | 2000-07-25 | 2015-08-04 | Facebook, Inc. | Limited length video messaging |
US7984098B2 (en) | 2000-07-25 | 2011-07-19 | AOL, Inc. | Video messaging |
US9071725B2 (en) | 2000-07-25 | 2015-06-30 | Facebook, Inc. | Methods and user interfaces for video messaging |
US8824643B2 (en) | 2000-12-18 | 2014-09-02 | Paltalk Holdings, Inc. | System, method and computer program product for conveying presence information via voice mail |
US8001190B2 (en) * | 2001-06-25 | 2011-08-16 | Aol Inc. | Email integrated instant messaging |
US20040128356A1 (en) * | 2001-06-25 | 2004-07-01 | Keith Bernstein | Email integrated instant messaging |
US9083661B2 (en) | 2001-09-28 | 2015-07-14 | Facebook, Inc. | Passive personalization of buddy lists |
US20060031772A1 (en) * | 2001-09-28 | 2006-02-09 | Judson Valeski | Automatic categorization of entries in a contact list |
US7774711B2 (en) | 2001-09-28 | 2010-08-10 | Aol Inc. | Automatic categorization of entries in a contact list |
US7765484B2 (en) | 2001-09-28 | 2010-07-27 | Aol Inc. | Passive personalization of lists |
US20030065721A1 (en) * | 2001-09-28 | 2003-04-03 | Roskind James A. | Passive personalization of buddy lists |
US7512652B1 (en) | 2001-09-28 | 2009-03-31 | Aol Llc, A Delaware Limited Liability Company | Passive personalization of buddy lists |
US9729476B2 (en) | 2001-09-28 | 2017-08-08 | Facebook, Inc. | Personalization of recent contacts list |
US20090248816A1 (en) * | 2001-09-28 | 2009-10-01 | Aol Llc, A Delaware Limited Liability Company (Formerly Known As America Online, Inc.) | Passive Personalization of Buddy Lists |
US7216143B2 (en) * | 2002-01-03 | 2007-05-08 | International Business Machines Corporation | Instant messaging with voice conference feature |
US20030126207A1 (en) * | 2002-01-03 | 2003-07-03 | International Business Machines Corporation | Instant messaging with voice conference feature |
US20030204741A1 (en) * | 2002-04-26 | 2003-10-30 | Isadore Schoen | Secure PKI proxy and method for instant messaging clients |
EP1506492A4 (en) * | 2002-05-21 | 2010-11-17 | France Telecom | Caller initiated distinctive presence alerting and auto-response messaging |
EP1506492A1 (en) * | 2002-05-21 | 2005-02-16 | France Telecom | Caller initiated distinctive presence alerting and auto-response messaging |
US7426537B2 (en) * | 2002-05-31 | 2008-09-16 | Microsoft Corporation | Systems and methods for sharing dynamic content among a plurality of online co-users |
US20030225836A1 (en) * | 2002-05-31 | 2003-12-04 | Oliver Lee | Systems and methods for shared browsing among a plurality of online co-users |
US7287054B2 (en) * | 2002-05-31 | 2007-10-23 | Microsoft Corporation | Systems and methods for shared browsing among a plurality of online co-users |
US7937440B2 (en) | 2002-05-31 | 2011-05-03 | Microsoft Corporation | Systems and methods for shared browsing among a plurality of online co-users |
US20030225834A1 (en) * | 2002-05-31 | 2003-12-04 | Microsoft Corporation | Systems and methods for sharing dynamic content among a plurality of online co-users |
US20170099238A1 (en) * | 2002-09-17 | 2017-04-06 | Dale W. Malik | Initiating instant messaging (im) chat sessions from email messages |
US10798122B2 (en) | 2002-10-08 | 2020-10-06 | Uber Technologies, Inc. | Preventing execution of programs that are embedded in email messages |
US9215095B2 (en) | 2002-11-21 | 2015-12-15 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | Multiple personalities |
US9807130B2 (en) | 2002-11-21 | 2017-10-31 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | Multiple avatar personalities |
US8250144B2 (en) | 2002-11-21 | 2012-08-21 | Blattner Patrick D | Multiple avatar personalities |
US10291556B2 (en) | 2002-11-21 | 2019-05-14 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | Multiple personalities |
US20050108329A1 (en) * | 2002-11-21 | 2005-05-19 | Andrew Weaver | Multiple personalities |
US8037150B2 (en) | 2002-11-21 | 2011-10-11 | Aol Inc. | System and methods for providing multiple personas in a communications environment |
US20100169801A1 (en) * | 2002-11-21 | 2010-07-01 | Aol Llc | Multiple avatar personalities |
USRE45254E1 (en) | 2002-12-31 | 2014-11-18 | Facebook, Inc. | Implicit population of access control lists |
USRE48102E1 (en) | 2002-12-31 | 2020-07-14 | Facebook, Inc. | Implicit population of access control lists |
US9742615B1 (en) | 2002-12-31 | 2017-08-22 | Aol Inc. | Popularity index |
US7725541B2 (en) | 2003-02-10 | 2010-05-25 | At&T Intellectual Property I, L.P. | Forwarding to automatically prioritized IM accounts based upon priority and presence |
US7725542B2 (en) | 2003-02-10 | 2010-05-25 | At&T Intellectual Property I, L.P. | Forwarding IM messages to E-mail |
US20040158609A1 (en) * | 2003-02-10 | 2004-08-12 | Daniell W. Todd | Forwarding to automatically prioritized IM accounts based upon priority and presence |
US20100191820A1 (en) * | 2003-02-10 | 2010-07-29 | At&T Intellectual Property I, L.P. | Forwarding to Automatically Prioritized IM Accounts Based Upon Priority and Presence |
US20040158611A1 (en) * | 2003-02-10 | 2004-08-12 | Daniell W. Todd | Forwarding IM messages to E-mail |
US20060248157A1 (en) * | 2003-02-10 | 2006-11-02 | Daniell W T | Forwarding IM messages to E--mail |
US8140633B2 (en) | 2003-02-10 | 2012-03-20 | At&T Intellectual Property I, Lp | Forwarding to automatically prioritized IM accounts based upon priority and presence |
US7689657B2 (en) * | 2003-02-10 | 2010-03-30 | At&T Intellectual Property I, L.P. | Forwarding IM messages to E-mail |
USRE43436E1 (en) | 2003-02-14 | 2012-05-29 | Devereux Research Ab Llc | System and method for immediate and delayed real-time communication activities using availability data from and communications through an external instant messaging system |
US20090216851A1 (en) * | 2003-02-14 | 2009-08-27 | Devereux Research Ab Llc | System and method for immediate and delayed real-time communication activities using availability data from communication through an external instant messaging system |
US20040205134A1 (en) * | 2003-02-14 | 2004-10-14 | Digate Charles J. | System and method for immediate and delayed real-time communication activities using availability data from and communications through an external instant messaging system |
US8375092B2 (en) * | 2003-02-14 | 2013-02-12 | Devereux Research Ab Llc | System and method for immediate and delayed real-time communication activities using availability data from communication through an external instant messaging system |
US8204938B2 (en) | 2003-02-14 | 2012-06-19 | Devereux Research Ab Llc | System and method for immediate and delayed real-time communication activities using availability data from and communications through an external instant messaging system |
US8402378B2 (en) | 2003-03-03 | 2013-03-19 | Microsoft Corporation | Reactive avatars |
US10504266B2 (en) | 2003-03-03 | 2019-12-10 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | Reactive avatars |
US10616367B2 (en) | 2003-03-03 | 2020-04-07 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | Modifying avatar behavior based on user action or mood |
US8627215B2 (en) | 2003-03-03 | 2014-01-07 | Microsoft Corporation | Applying access controls to communications with avatars |
US9256861B2 (en) | 2003-03-03 | 2016-02-09 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | Modifying avatar behavior based on user action or mood |
US20090158184A1 (en) * | 2003-03-03 | 2009-06-18 | Aol Llc, A Delaware Limited Liability Company (Formerly Known As Ameria Online, Inc.) | Reactive avatars |
US20110148916A1 (en) * | 2003-03-03 | 2011-06-23 | Aol Inc. | Modifying avatar behavior based on user action or mood |
US9483859B2 (en) | 2003-03-03 | 2016-11-01 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | Reactive avatars |
US20110209198A1 (en) * | 2003-03-03 | 2011-08-25 | Aol Inc. | Applying access controls to communications with avatars |
US9531826B2 (en) | 2003-03-26 | 2016-12-27 | Facebook, Inc. | Managing electronic messages based on inference scores |
US9516125B2 (en) | 2003-03-26 | 2016-12-06 | Facebook, Inc. | Identifying and using identities deemed to be known to a user |
US9736255B2 (en) | 2003-03-26 | 2017-08-15 | Facebook, Inc. | Methods of providing access to messages based on degrees of separation |
US7945674B2 (en) | 2003-04-02 | 2011-05-17 | Aol Inc. | Degrees of separation for handling communications |
US9462046B2 (en) | 2003-04-02 | 2016-10-04 | Facebook, Inc. | Degrees of separation for handling communications |
US7949759B2 (en) | 2003-04-02 | 2011-05-24 | AOL, Inc. | Degrees of separation for handling communications |
US8930480B2 (en) | 2003-04-02 | 2015-01-06 | Facebook, Inc. | Degrees of separation for filtering communications |
US20110196939A1 (en) * | 2003-04-02 | 2011-08-11 | Aol Inc. | Degrees of separation for handling communications |
US8185638B2 (en) | 2003-04-02 | 2012-05-22 | Aol Inc. | Degrees of separation for handling communications |
US20050076240A1 (en) * | 2003-04-02 | 2005-04-07 | Barry Appleman | Degrees of separation for handling communications |
US20050076241A1 (en) * | 2003-04-02 | 2005-04-07 | Barry Appelman | Degrees of separation for handling communications |
US8560706B2 (en) | 2003-04-02 | 2013-10-15 | Facebook, Inc. | Degrees of separation for handling communications |
US20040228531A1 (en) * | 2003-05-14 | 2004-11-18 | Microsoft Corporation | Instant messaging user interfaces |
US10482429B2 (en) * | 2003-07-01 | 2019-11-19 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | Automatic grouping of electronic mail |
US20050144291A1 (en) * | 2003-12-04 | 2005-06-30 | Randall Frank | Integrating multiple communication modes |
US20130205230A1 (en) * | 2004-02-12 | 2013-08-08 | International Business Machines Corporation | Establishing a chat session between users in a network system |
US8898239B2 (en) | 2004-03-05 | 2014-11-25 | Aol Inc. | Passively populating a participant list with known contacts |
US8918460B2 (en) | 2004-03-05 | 2014-12-23 | Facebook, Inc. | Organizing entries in participant lists based on communications strengths |
US10341289B2 (en) | 2004-03-05 | 2019-07-02 | Facebook, Inc. | Systems and methods of calculating communications strengths |
US8595146B1 (en) | 2004-03-15 | 2013-11-26 | Aol Inc. | Social networking permissions |
US10367860B2 (en) | 2004-03-15 | 2019-07-30 | Oath Inc. | Social networking permissions |
US20050256985A1 (en) * | 2004-05-13 | 2005-11-17 | Wildtangent, Inc. | Sending progress information of other users for transmitted shared content |
US8781523B2 (en) | 2004-07-12 | 2014-07-15 | Stragent, Llc | System, method, and computer program product for using a cellular phone as an interface for a VoIP-equipped computer |
US20060031293A1 (en) * | 2004-08-04 | 2006-02-09 | Thommes Christoph A | Business presence system and method |
US7836126B2 (en) * | 2004-08-04 | 2010-11-16 | Sap Ag | Business presence system and method |
US10521081B2 (en) | 2004-08-16 | 2019-12-31 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | User interface for displaying a gallery of formatting options |
US10437431B2 (en) | 2004-08-16 | 2019-10-08 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | Command user interface for displaying selectable software functionality controls |
US10635266B2 (en) | 2004-08-16 | 2020-04-28 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | User interface for displaying selectable software functionality controls that are relevant to a selected object |
US7472351B1 (en) * | 2004-08-18 | 2008-12-30 | Zilka Kevin J | E-mail manager interface with integrated instant messaging and phone call initiator feature |
US20150163070A1 (en) * | 2004-11-30 | 2015-06-11 | Iii Holdings 1, Llc | Method and apparatus for managing an interactive network session |
US9002949B2 (en) | 2004-12-01 | 2015-04-07 | Google Inc. | Automatically enabling the forwarding of instant messages |
US9088879B2 (en) | 2004-12-01 | 2015-07-21 | Google Inc. | Automatically enabling the forwarding of instant messages |
US9510168B2 (en) | 2004-12-01 | 2016-11-29 | Google Inc. | Prohibiting mobile forwarding |
US9560495B2 (en) | 2004-12-01 | 2017-01-31 | Google Inc. | Automatically enabling the forwarding of instant messages |
US8060566B2 (en) | 2004-12-01 | 2011-11-15 | Aol Inc. | Automatically enabling the forwarding of instant messages |
US9615225B2 (en) | 2004-12-01 | 2017-04-04 | Google Inc. | Automatically enabling the forwarding of instant messages |
US9049569B2 (en) | 2004-12-01 | 2015-06-02 | Google Inc. | Prohibiting mobile forwarding |
US9872157B2 (en) | 2004-12-01 | 2018-01-16 | Google Inc. | Prohibiting mobile forwarding |
US20090234922A1 (en) * | 2004-12-01 | 2009-09-17 | Aol Llc | Automatically Enabling the Forwarding of Instant Messages |
US8910056B2 (en) | 2004-12-20 | 2014-12-09 | Facebook, Inc. | Automatic categorization of entries in a contact list |
US20060190475A1 (en) * | 2004-12-20 | 2006-08-24 | Norman Shi | Group polling for consumer review |
US8775950B2 (en) | 2004-12-20 | 2014-07-08 | Facebook, Inc. | Automatic categorization of entries in a contact list |
US9727631B2 (en) | 2004-12-20 | 2017-08-08 | Facebook, Inc. | Automatic categorization of entries in a contact list |
US9652809B1 (en) | 2004-12-21 | 2017-05-16 | Aol Inc. | Using user profile information to determine an avatar and/or avatar characteristics |
US20100318622A1 (en) * | 2005-05-11 | 2010-12-16 | Aol Inc. | Identifying Users Sharing Common Characteristics |
US8712431B2 (en) | 2005-05-11 | 2014-04-29 | Facebook, Inc. | Personalized location information for mobile devices |
US9571975B2 (en) | 2005-05-11 | 2017-02-14 | Facebook, Inc. | Identifying users of a communications system at commonn geographic locations |
US9369411B2 (en) | 2005-05-11 | 2016-06-14 | Facebook, Inc. | Identifying users sharing common characteristics |
US9210546B2 (en) | 2005-05-11 | 2015-12-08 | Facebook, Inc. | Commenting on location information for mobile devices |
US9203787B2 (en) | 2005-05-11 | 2015-12-01 | Facebook, Inc. | Identifying users sharing common characteristics |
US9204255B2 (en) | 2005-05-11 | 2015-12-01 | Facebook, Inc. | Providing a log of location information for a mobile device |
US9197999B2 (en) | 2005-05-11 | 2015-11-24 | Facebook, Inc. | Providing a location identifier for a location with multiple co-users |
US20060258368A1 (en) * | 2005-05-11 | 2006-11-16 | Jennifer Granito | Personalized location information for mobile devices |
US9049160B2 (en) | 2005-05-11 | 2015-06-02 | Facebook, Inc. | Identifying users sharing common characteristics |
US8868112B2 (en) | 2005-05-11 | 2014-10-21 | Facebook, Inc. | Personalized location information for mobile devices |
US8818407B2 (en) | 2005-05-11 | 2014-08-26 | Facebook, Inc. | Personalized location information for mobile devices |
US8805408B2 (en) | 2005-05-11 | 2014-08-12 | Facebook, Inc. | Personalized location information for mobile devices |
US20100036928A1 (en) * | 2005-05-11 | 2010-02-11 | Aol Llc | Personalized Location Information for Mobile Devices |
US8787940B2 (en) | 2005-05-11 | 2014-07-22 | Facebook, Inc. | Personalized location information for mobile devices |
US8787932B2 (en) | 2005-05-11 | 2014-07-22 | Facebook, Inc. | Personalized location information for mobile devices |
US8719354B2 (en) | 2005-05-11 | 2014-05-06 | Facebook, Inc. | Identifying users sharing common characteristics |
US7765265B1 (en) | 2005-05-11 | 2010-07-27 | Aol Inc. | Identifying users sharing common characteristics |
US7890123B2 (en) | 2005-05-11 | 2011-02-15 | Aol Inc. | Personalized location information for mobile devices |
US20110106898A1 (en) * | 2005-05-11 | 2011-05-05 | Aol Inc. | Personalized Location Information for Mobile Devices |
US10681170B2 (en) | 2005-08-15 | 2020-06-09 | Oath Inc. | Systems and methods for determining the popularity of a user based on aggregated popularity measurements of other users |
US10248687B2 (en) | 2005-09-12 | 2019-04-02 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | Expanded search and find user interface |
US10482637B2 (en) | 2006-06-01 | 2019-11-19 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | Modifying and formatting a chart using pictorially provided chart elements |
US10642927B2 (en) | 2007-06-29 | 2020-05-05 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | Transitions between user interfaces in a content editing application |
US10521073B2 (en) | 2007-06-29 | 2019-12-31 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | Exposing non-authoring features through document status information in an out-space user interface |
US10592073B2 (en) | 2007-06-29 | 2020-03-17 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | Exposing non-authoring features through document status information in an out-space user interface |
US10445114B2 (en) | 2008-03-31 | 2019-10-15 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | Associating command surfaces with multiple active components |
US10997562B2 (en) | 2008-06-20 | 2021-05-04 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | Synchronized conversation-centric message list and message reading pane |
US8548503B2 (en) | 2008-08-28 | 2013-10-01 | Aol Inc. | Methods and system for providing location-based communication services |
US20100056183A1 (en) * | 2008-08-28 | 2010-03-04 | Aol Llc | Methods and system for providing location-based communication services |
US9705996B2 (en) | 2008-08-28 | 2017-07-11 | Aol Inc. | Methods and system for providing location-based communication services |
US9154561B2 (en) | 2008-08-28 | 2015-10-06 | Aol Inc. | Methods and system for providing location-based communication services |
US20120114108A1 (en) * | 2010-09-27 | 2012-05-10 | Voxer Ip Llc | Messaging communication application |
US11115354B2 (en) * | 2013-03-29 | 2021-09-07 | Orange | Technique of co-operation between a plurality of client entities |
US11755340B2 (en) | 2020-10-07 | 2023-09-12 | Microsoft Technology Licensing, Llc | Automatic enrollment and intelligent assignment of settings |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
US20140173008A1 (en) | 2014-06-19 |
US20060010201A1 (en) | 2006-01-12 |
US8671145B2 (en) | 2014-03-11 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US8671145B2 (en) | Method and computer program product for establishing real-time communications between networked computers | |
US9929984B2 (en) | Method and computer program product for establishing real-time communications between networked computers | |
US10740277B2 (en) | Method and system for embedded personalized communication | |
EP2115976B1 (en) | Method and system for resource-based synchronization between endpoints in a web-based real time collaboration | |
US8037191B2 (en) | Low-level remote sharing of local devices in a remote access session across a computer network | |
US7979489B2 (en) | Notifying users when messaging sessions are recorded | |
AU2008261648B2 (en) | Personalized social networking application content | |
US8250141B2 (en) | Real-time event notification for collaborative computing sessions | |
US7490126B2 (en) | Method and apparatus for generating data change requests containing data consistency information in a peer-to-peer collaborative computer system | |
US6907455B1 (en) | Apparatus and methods for providing an event driven notification over a network to a telephony device | |
US7653692B2 (en) | Method, system, and apparatus for generating weblogs from interactive communication client software | |
US20050010639A1 (en) | Network meeting system | |
US20050165785A1 (en) | Social network surfing | |
US20030097410A1 (en) | Methodology for enabling multi-party collaboration across a data network | |
US20090113014A1 (en) | Device, Method and Computer Program Product for Providing an Alert Indication | |
US20030156591A1 (en) | Shared application access for data services in wireless telecommunication systems | |
US20030079024A1 (en) | Querying applications using online messenger service | |
US20130205230A1 (en) | Establishing a chat session between users in a network system | |
JP2001521717A (en) | Dynamic group registry device and method | |
WO2006071324A2 (en) | Imroved bitmask access for managing blog content | |
US8725810B1 (en) | Method and system for anonymous login for real time communications | |
US20050091401A1 (en) | Selective mirrored site accesses from a communication | |
CN115001842B (en) | Method, device, equipment and medium for accessing user information | |
Della Mea | Internet in Telemedicine |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: HEARME, CALIFORNIA Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:ROSKOWSKI, STEVEN G.;RIEDEL, ANDREW D.;SAHAI, SHANKAR;REEL/FRAME:011913/0981;SIGNING DATES FROM 20010601 TO 20010612 |
|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: PALTALK HOLDINGS, INC., NEW YORK Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:HEARME, INC.;REEL/FRAME:012602/0230 Effective date: 20011219 Owner name: PALTALK HOLDINGS, INC.,NEW YORK Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:HEARME, INC.;REEL/FRAME:012602/0230 Effective date: 20011219 |
|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |