Patent ID: 7720871
Filing Date: 2010-05-18
Classification: G06F,G06Q,G11B,H04L,H04N,Y10S

Abstract:
1. A media management system comprising: a processor; a storage management component implemented at least in part on said processor storing at least a portion of a user's media files and information related to said user's media files on a storage device; a server communication component for permitting communication by said system with a media server on a network and other servers on said network, said server communication component receiving from said media server server-based media files and information related to said server-based media files, said files and said information either stored by said user in said storage device or associated with said user at said media server; a media player component for rendering a media file into a user cognizable form; an instant messaging component through which said system intercommunicates with an instant messaging server on said network and with instant messaging users accessible via said network, wherein user's media files and messaging users' media files and information related to said user's media files and said messaging users' media files are exchanged with each other; and a media engine component for managing said user's media files and said information related to said user's media files, said media engine component comprising: a subcomponent for identifying one or more locations at which said user's media files are stored or accessible; a subcomponent for communicating said locations to said server communication component for transmission to said media server as location data; a subcomponent for intercommunication with said messaging component for permitting communication among said media engine component and said messaging server and said instant messaging users; a subcomponent for handling playing of a selected media file to be played by said media player component, which playing subcomponent utilizes said identified locations to determine from where said selected media file should be accessed from and played by said media player component, such that said system can automatically select which location shall act as a source to render said selected media file, said automatic selection based at least in part on a correlation between said information related to said user's media files and said messaging users' media files, and said identified locations, said automatic selection determining whether said media file should be accessed from said storage device or from said media server or from another location on said network or from another user's computing device, so as to automatically select whether said selected media file, if not located in said storage device, should be received via said server communication component or via said instant messaging component or some combination thereof.