Patent ID: 6701369
Filing Date: 2004-03-02
Classification: G06F,G06Q,H04H,H04L,H04N

Abstract:
A method of accessing one or more remote locations on a network by sensing a machine-resolvable code, comprising the steps of:providing a first computer disposed on the network, the first computer being connected to an input device for sensing a machine-resolvable code present at a first location, the first computer running a software application which includes a software identification code unrelated to the machine resolvable code having associated therewith at least one of the one or more remote locations, and which software identification code can be accessed from the software application after installation of the software application on the first computer; accessing with the first computer a second computer disposed on the network in accordance with routing information provided by the first computer and in response to sensing by the input device the machine-resolvable code present at the first location with the input device; transferring to the second computer from the first computer at least the software identification code; storing in an associative database at the second computer associations between software identification codes and ones of the one or more remote locations and operable to have routine information associated with each of the one or more remote locations, performing a lookup operation at the second computer to match the software identification code with the associated at least one of the one or more remote locations in accordance with the stored associations to obtain associated remote routing information corresponding to the associated at least one of the one or more remote locations; returning to the first computer from the second computer the remote routing information of the at least one of the one or more remote locations determined at the second computer to correspond to the software identification code that was transferred from the first computer to the second computer; and accessing with the first computer the associated at least one of the one or more remote locations according to the returned remote routing information to retrieve remote information from the one of the one or more remote locations associated with the returned remote routing information.