Patent ID: 6070176
Filing Date: 2000-05-30
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
A computer-implemented method of representing data, the method comprising the steps of:receiving results of a first search of data distributed among a plurality of computers on a network, the results corresponding to user-provided search criteria, the results including a plurality of sets of data;automatically refining said results of the first search based on relevance of each of the sets of data to the user-provided search criteria by performing a content examination of said results;generating a ranking of the plurality of sets of data based on results of said refining;generating a map of the sets of data, the map for visually indicating the ranking, wherein the map includes a plurality of objects, each of the objects representing one of the data sets; andcausing the map to be displayed on a display device, the map having a three-dimensional appearance, such that the ranking is indicated by the apparent relative positioning of the objects in three dimensions.