Patent ID: 7353267
Filing Date: 2008-04-01
Classification: G06Q

Abstract:
1. A method of providing a user computer with access to files of a network, the method comprising: establishing a communication link from the user computer to an access control system of the network, wherein establishing a communication link includes: launching a viewer program that controls a status of the communication link; detecting times when the user is not actively sending or receiving data from the network, and downloading ad files from the network to the user computer during such times, such that the viewer program maintains a pool of ad files at the user computer for display and performs ad pool management tasks; periodically opening a viewer program window in which a next ad file from the ad file pool is displayed; hiding the viewer program window after a predetermined number of ad files from the ad file pool have been played and keeping the viewer program window hidden for a predetermined quiet interval; managing the ad file pool so as to keep track of the number of times each ad file in the ad file pool has been viewed and determine when each ad file in the ad file pool should no longer be viewed; determining ad impression viewing data corresponding to the number of times each ad file in the ad file pool has been viewed; determining click through data corresponding to network addresses visited by the user during the viewing of an ad file; reporting the ad impression viewing data to the access control system; preparing a Demographic Report that summarizes the reported ad impression viewing data for multiple computer users over a current time period; comparing an ad file having an associated demographic profile with demographic data for each of multiple registered users and identifying those registered users having demographic information that matches the demographic profile for the ad file; identifying a time period over which the ad file should be played; adding the ad file to a playlist for each registered computer user if the ad file is matched to the computer user demographic information and if the identified time period is available for the computer user; and decreasing an available ad file impression number for each identified and matched computer user.